I forgot to post Greeta’s version of the peppers so here they are.

Sorry Greeta.

Leaving Mississippi soon

I tried painting the house we stayed in. But it didn’t turn out well. I’ll try again.

Greets painted one of our liberal friends in front of a lovely store selling a lot of really good art.

Then she painted one of the beautiful simple houses in the older part of town.

We’ll be back soon.

Sara chimes in...

I’m still working from this photo. I did a more proportional sketch, actually using math and it worked!

Also trying to work out values & colors ...all in preparation

For painting it on good paper (300 lb). Then I spent a few days with this cute baby & her sister and forgot all about it!

Apr 25 elaine t.

This week I felt like I was moving through molasses, and got nothing done, painting-wise. This is my visual report!

April 25, 2020 — Elaine O.

Here's the last of the mudras!

With that, I began a painting of today's birthday girl. Yes, it's going to be very pink!

This was rather a busy week, and the sketchbook suffered. This is a pen and ink sketch out of a side/back window.

The view from the next window, this one in direct watercolor...

... and here's the reason for this week's upheaval. This is a quick sketch of our new refrigerator. We spent a good bit of time listening to the old one die, shopping for a new one (quite an adventure!), and playing food Tetris as we filled the newly installed fridge.

You can't tell from the sketch, but we mis-measured slightly and wound up getting a slightly smaller unit. It works, though! Maybe next week, I'll throw open the doors, bask in the cool breezes and sketch the insides. There's something strangely attractive about a newly packed and neatly organized refrigerator.

Greeta and I getting ready to come home

When you are in Mississippi you must paint a magnolia. 

Actually I’m happy with this. 

Greeta’s painting of the banana plant in our front yard. That’s right. Our front yard. 

Looks like something from”Alien” but those are baby bananas. 

A wider view of the entire plant. It’s hard to get all those light greens right. 

Big Cat Three

Started out with a bang, but got a little boring at the end.  I think the image was so strong that it didn't allow for much improvisation.  And looking at it right now I notice that there is not really a background, and I love backgrounds.

Still in Mississippi

I tried to do this scene from Chicago but got messed up between two different ways to paint. I wanted to be loose with the ink and got that on the large building but got too exact in the foreground building. I think I should have been more careful on the big building.

Back to what gets us thru shelter in place with my drinks series. This is a kumquat infused old fashioned fashioned out of kumquats next to our back door.

Stay safe.

Greeta and I down south

I lost my first post the first time I tried to post to the blog so I’m trying again.

Greeta and I started talking art classes but those were shut down shortly after we got here. One of our instructors did give us direction on social media but we decided that she shouldn’t do it for free and stopped.

I painted on Yupo for awhile but the humidity made it hard to paint as it wouldn’t dry so things I tried to do didn’t work so I started painting on this inexpensive paper I bought at Blick. It’s Fabriano 140 lb 25% cotton and I really like it.

This hibiscus was painted on it

We are safe and warm and living in a lovely place but we miss you and our places.

Alan and Greeta

Down in Mississippi

Watercolor on Yupo

View from our front porch

Wrapped peppers on Yupo

Japanese iris on Yupo 

Inner harbor. Humidity making it hard to paint on Yupo. Regular watercolor paper. 

Shrimp cocktail. Made the shrimp and then painted it. 

April 18, 2020 — Elaine O.

I'm trying the mudras in a different style. This is more painterly and draws on the Tibetan paintings more than the sculptures. The colors are traditional. I'm happy with the first one, but having trouble delineating between the red and green on the second, especially on small areas like the fingers. It's not finished, but I may have to try the second one again!

I've been sketching, too, but not as religiously as I'd like. I missed a day here and there. Here is the tree out my front window. It's at one of my favorite stages, where the buds look like glowing green popcorn bits.

Nothing to see here. It's my bathroom window and it looks onto a brick wall. I rather like it by night, though.

I skipped a window or two, but I had to document the unseasonable snow as seen from the rear window.

Went back to sketch this window. It normally has the blinds drawn, but it does have some interesting textures—bricks, both old and replaced; and siding, both vinyl and old asphalt. Kind of like an Old Building Patchwork Quilt.

I'm so glad to be able to see and hear about everyone's work. Still, as good as this is, I can't wait to see everyone in person.

By the way, when you're posting, you can click on the image and enlarge it to "large." Most of them seem to default to medium and I think large works better.

Stay healthy!

Sara’s gone Daffa-dilly....

Picked a lot of my daffodils to rescue them from the snow. I really like this pic I took of them.

And I really like these quick sketches I did.

These watercolors not so much. They don’t have the energy of the sketches. And I’m struggling between details and no details in the flowers. Not to mention creating dark yellows that aren’t muddy.

So today I did a value sketch for another painting. I like the overall composition but I’m still struggling between details and values...

Ps I can see Alan’s post as a preview but I can’t add a comment. Good to see you Alan & Greeta. Love the paintings, esp. flowers &  food paintings. How is it down there? Is everything closed but the  casinos?..

Big Cat Three

Here's the photo and a preliminary study, and what it looks like now.  I have more to say, but I am putting it into a comment so as not to take up too much space.

Big Cat Two

I darkened the log, put some sienna into the face and put in a little more background.

elaine t., Apr. 18

I was more productive this week, both in painting and other activities. As always, a videochat with my son and grandson helped a lot.

I'm very happy with my eye studies. I managed to stop each one before it got overworked or lost the sense of spontanaity in the brushwork. One of the tutorials I watched urged using the largest brush possible, even for details, to keep that spontaneous feeling. It's working for me! Now I have to finish the commentaries on the right side.

It was a bit creepy working on this; I felt like the paper was looking back at me as I progressed. I guess that means the studies are sucessful!

Hope everyone stays well and sane in the coming week!

elaine t's work, Apr. 11

I didn't realize how much I count on little day-to-day contacts with people, passing them on the streets, smiles while shopping, seeing neighbors in my building. I got into a major funk this week, and wound up watching my Flash Gordon DVDs, napping excessively, and watching too much tv. I've also had some intense fears about catching the virus and needing to be intubated. I've watched too many Alien films, I fear. I had a videochat with my grandson on Thursday that rescued me. That boy has a black belt in peekaboo!

I will try to keep some kind of record my view of the pandemic. The plan for this sheet will be my eyes on the left, reacting to paragraphs that will be on the right, describing the first couple of weeks.

Sara’s work

 Spent a lot of time this week making a foldup paper Easter basket and a mobile for Nora, which we mailed to her. Unfortunately I forgot to take pics. So I did a few sketches one in pencil, pencil and watercolor and brush pen. The middle one is from a photo; the other two from life.

Also did this little watercolor and a marker sketch. These are both from life.

I did this sketch earlier this week and did the painting today, from life, direct without a drawing. I actually like the sketch better than the painting, altho I might do it again. The flowers are a swirl of yellow, which I’m not sure I captured. And the sketch looks better here than in person. It’s a little overworked....

Happy Spring!

April 11, 2020 — Elaine O.

I think I'm finished. I may look at it over the next few days and tweak, but nothing major.

I've been working on the above for much of the week, with some breaks for sketchbook action. For those of you interested—and I think you'll be sorry you asked—I've done color and value studies like these...

...along with some quick portraits, both in pen and wash...

... and in direct watercolor.

Then, there's my quarantine project. I'm doing a quick daily sketch looking out each of my windows (there are more to come!). I've used various media, but I've been partial to my fountain pen with the fude nib. Maybe because the lack of control with that pen mirrors our current existence... or maybe I'm just overthinking things.

I've also interspersed the window project sketches with some life points of interest, probably because I was trying to avoid the uninspiring brick wall views above. We don't often open the blinds on those windows—is it any wonder? Besides last week's bread sketch, I documented things like the first daffodils of the season...

... and my stack of mask-making supplies.