...which haven't thrilled me. So I tried a view from behind...
... and an action sketch. This is on bond-weight sketch paper so the paint spreads and absorbs rather strangely. It's meant for pencil, not paint!
So much for the direct watercolor. Other than that, I've been eating watermelon,
... and making custom painted masks for a school graduation (and for next year). They have a Bengal mascot. There is a fiercer one for the higher grades and a kinder, gentler version for the kindergarteners. They are quite funny looking in action and I'm hoping to get photos of that. (Update: I only made two--not enough for the whole class!)
More sketches out my windows, concentrating on the people across the alley. There's a very active 6-flat (shades of Rear Window!) and a neighbor with a lovely garden featuring the most brilliantly colored clematis.
Love the direct portraits, very expressive but not fussy. Love the watermelon and the masks - what a great idea! How many masks will we need going forward? One for every day? Winter masks and summer masks? When we were in China several years ago, the pollution was bad in the cities & I remember seeing young women in Burberry masks that matched their scarves. I thought it would never happen here...back to your paintings . I really like the composition of the last sketch, like the way you pick out the odd angles. All the work is fresh & lively — what kind of magic paints are you using?!
ReplyDeleteMagic paints!? Hardly! I've been using a cheap travel set I got on Amazon. It's by Prima Markets (I think) and I bought it for the black metal case and because the price was right. I bought the "tropical" set as it was in stock, figuring I could toss the paints and fill the pans from tubes and still come out well. Turns out I really like the colors (very clear and vibrant, although the quality is a bit grainy) so I've kept them and am using them for sketches.
DeleteI love your direct paintingss! Between you and Sara, I may work up the courage to try that in the next few weeks. (Then I have to work up the courage to show them to someone.) Now you'll have to paint some of the stories from the 6-flat for us.
ReplyDeleteWe have little names and backstories about them, mostly based on sightings of them in the yard or glimpses in their kitchens. It's almost like we know them, but we don't. Makes me wonder what they call us or think about us!
DeleteI like that third sketch too. Is that a trash can? Is that an alley? Are you going to paint that in or leave it like it is. I always thought it would be cool to do a painting that was supposed to look like it's only partly done. But all that white space, I just don't think I am capable.
ReplyDeleteIs that little girl the one you have painted for who was at an early age street smart and world weary?
And I like the splotches of paint that make up the viewer of the painting.
Yep, that's a recycling bin. I'm looking down into their yard across the alley. I can't see a lot, but the flash of color in the clematis really catches my eye. The original plan was to only add color there and leave the rest vignetted. I tried to blot some color from the parts that weren't the focus, but I think I went too far.
DeleteAnd yes, that's Angie. She looks even older and more cynical here, sadly. It's like another person wearing her hair and sweater.
Wow Elaine. So much artwork! And everything is so sparkling with the white of the paper left to be itself. It adds to the freshness of the direct portraits. The painting and the viewer are interesting in how they're painted similarly yet subtly different. Cool. The essence of watermelon with exact color matching. The painting of the painted masks are truly spectacular. It's the quintessential shadow that does it, I think. Could you post those little sketches any tinier? The sketches look effective and yet carefree to make - they probably think you're a spy...
ReplyDelete