Welcome back! It's been a lovely vacation, but we're back and ready to work.... well, maybe not right away. We will admit to spending a little time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. But then, as you can see, we were right back in the swing of things. Our brushes didn't miss a beat.
We start with the essence of vacation—fairs! And Abla managed get in some painting, too. Here she tries her hand at acrylics while visiting a fair.
...before returning to watercolors for these lovely "vacation" paintings of grapes in fall and a tropical island. Notice the details and the movement. You almost feel like you're there.
Meanwhile, Mohammed also turns to landscapes, except he is still in the sketching phase. The vast scale of the scene is already intriguing.
Sara also concentrates on nature, but her focus is more urban. She uses color and value masterfully to examine the quality of light on a flowering tree at twilight...
...and early morning summer sun and shadow in her garden.
Notice how we're all drawn to the pinks and greens of summer? Ellen is no exception as she paints flowers...
... and friends. The same pinks and greens look as lovely on people as they do outside.
Coincidentally, Susan is also painting flowers and people. Here is a lush bouquet of flowers against an almost abstract background, followed by a beautifully composed hospital scene. Notice the rich colors in the whites of the linens and lab coats.
John's into people, too, as he fills in his colored pencil masterwork. Every one of the paintings, objects and characters figures into the story of the writer at the desk. This should probably come with a legend!
What would fall be without newbies and plaids? Most particularly, the plaids of some of our newbies. This is always exciting as they use the same colors and tools, yet manage to create such different plaids. Bill and Madeleine's turned out so well that we imagined them as fabric.... madras shirts maybe.
And lest you think plaids are just for new students or back-to-school uniforms, here's Ken with a totally urban landscape. The grid-like skyscrapers and windows have an abstract plaid quality. The addition of the signage is inspired.
Here's the beginning of the next painting in Ken's series. The soft sienna/ochre underpainting may be a bit deceptive, though. Sure it looks soft and delicate right now, but watch this space as he adds color and pattern.
Same for Elaine. Like Ken, she's also into urban landscapes. Interestingly enough, even though they both chose similar subjects and start painting in the same way (light washes of color), we predict that they are going to part ways when they start adding color. Ken will go for technicolor, while Elaine will probably stick with the two colors she's started with below. We'll see.
And here's a brainstorm—tired of waiting for paint to dry, Elaine's gone ahead and started a smaller study of the subject above so she can work on one while the other dries. Good thinking!
A disclaimer. You may have been blown away by how prolific we seem to have been... especially with all the catching up and chit-chatting we had to do. In the interest of full disclosure, however, we feel compelled to admit that some of these were done while we were on break. But that's okay—we're still as good as you thought (just not as fast).
See you next week!
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