sort of a sunflower

 That abstract thing I was working on wasn't working out so I am going with this sort of sunflower.  Here is a photo, a sketch, and the real painting on big paper.  Going to be pretty loose with this, so wait and see.

Here is something I put up on my fb page because I had nothing for Monday that I thought I would share with you non fb'ers.  What has become of the promise I showed at ten years?

Good morning Louisville

 

Not sure what enamored me so much about this view from a friend’s guest bedroom in Louisville, but something did, enough so that I did 4 studies. The top two are 5x 7, the bottom one 8x10 and the horizontal 11x15.I like the first one best, as it shows the pinkish sky I was initially attracted to. I  may try it on better paper. They were all painted with a triad of red, blue, yellow.

Elaine O. — March 25, 2023

I'm almost finished with this portrait of a young girl and her robot. You were expecting a Squishmallow or some adorable stuffed animal, weren't you? Surprise! Now, all I have left is some fine-tuning and a background. And then, on to the last of the 6"x18" papers...maybe! I find I like the way this format makes me look at things.

18"x6"

 

And did I mention that it's great to be back with everyone again? Well, it is.

Class Assignment

 Teacher handed out colored photos (real ones from a camera). We were asked to do value studies.  This exercise forces you to see and paint shapes.  My colored paintings are postcards. Who sends a postcard these days?

Alan in Mississippi 3

 Ah’m saprized thayat y’all didn’t mention mah stamen work on my azaleas. Done with a strip of cardboard dipped in paint. 

Not a lot to show this week that was mainly spent playing golf, taking long walks and eating oysters, but I did do something. I worked a lot on value drawings and paintings. Here’s a little sample of some Mississippi lighthouses. 

And this is one of a simple beach scene. 

And here is the value painting in color. 

And here’s a baby turtle. 

Kitchen Action

 In Chicago, this is a shot of my favorite stir fried meal being prepared….pork ribbons with peppers over crispy fried Chinese noodle pancakes.

My color choice for the shirt,French ultramarine, has gone blotchy. I’ll give it one more try but it’s reaching the point of no return.

A (Very Green) Café

I did not enjoy painting this subject!
Was it all the green? The words/letters?
Why is picking something to paint so hard!?

See ya Saturday!
-Allison

Guess the subject ….

 This is 5 x 7. I painted this from a photo I took because  I liked the composition and the colors. But can you tell what it is?

 Also 5 x7. Here’s another quick study of  Quinn from a photo. I feel like I captured her expression well…she has her arm around a bronze nymph, so that part is a little wonky.

A Bunny is OneThing, a Rabbit’s Another

 Getting loose, single pansies not drawn. My rabbit got all demented. Same thing happened years ago when I painted one. 

Alan in Mississippi 2

 OK. These are some small sketchbook paintings I’ve been doing. 

This is a weird little courtyard in Paducah that I liked. The back wall is all ceramic tile. 

I told you. Bunnies (or bunny) as an exercise for class. It’s amazing how many versions of the same picture are done. This one’s on Yupo. 

When we got to Mississippi the azaleas were in full bloom and I was going to paint plein aire around the neighborhood but we had a serious thunderstorm and the next day they were all gone. Luckily Greeta had taken some photos so I managed to get a painting out of one of her pictures. I did spend a little more time on this one. 

Another street in Paducah. I’m trying to paint these very loosely but I feel compelled to stay within the lines. After all, I drew them. 

A very loose painting of a clover field (where a bunny might play). 

I painted this as an exercise in negative painting. I cheated by using some masque on the clover flowers so I wouldn’t forget to save the white. 

The last punkin

 Well here he is.  The background in the photo was scraps of dead plants against a background of blackish dirt.  Seemed ho hum to me so I popped it up a bit.  Maybe too much but I never know when I am done until I have overdone.  Think dark and stormy night, yeah, that's the ticket.

I've been messing a  bit with yupo, doing those symmetric designs that I do,  but Thursday I decided to try to paint actual things, and here is a boat just after St Patrick's day, and the sun rising about a week before the equinox. 

Elaine O. — March 18, 2023

I think all our talk about color theory, temperatures, palettes, etc. has me overthinking myself! After days of planning, I started this sweet painting of a girl and her robot on the penultimate sheet of my 6"x18" paper.

18" x 6"

Now, normally I just go in somewhat intuitively, but this time, I pondered a color scheme...and pondered...and pondered. I considered moving from warmer near her face to cooler at the floor; I planned to start with a single color and added different pigments as I moved down the painting. I thought of surrounding the subject with neutrals; or with darks or a cool to warm progression. I did color studies and schematics (one is below). In the end, I just confused myself and went back to winging things.

Otherwise, it's been a good news/bad news kind of week. I've almost finished my panoramic paper pad, but I've discovered I like the format and am considering buying more. Blick still carries this same size pad—but do I want to commit to another 10 sheets or just try cutting down other paper? 

I've been doing a 30 day project getting re-acquainted with dip pen nibs. I love the nibs, but I'm getting frustrated with the fountain pens that handle these nibs. I'm seeing serious ink starvation and find the endless fussing is more annoying than simply stopping and dipping the pen old school.

In short, I'm ready to get back. I crave consults with people and not just my sketchbook (even if I ultimately choose to go my own way after all!). See you next week!

Painting on the Gulf Coast

 A friend gifted me with a beautiful handmade Italian watercolor book. It’s 4x5-1/2. Our class down here is combined beginner/advanced. The beginner eggsersizes drew me in and I’ve worked in the little book. 

This is not a painting. Just one of the neighbors eating breakfast I provided—-oatmeal and banana. 

the last punkin

 This will be number eight.  I never did cotton to those fan-favorite cheery Petes so I am taking him out with a snarl.

Alan in Mississippi

 I did this ink drawing of a cultural center in Paducah KY and loosely painted that. I used an app called Grid Painter for help  with perspective.

I did a quick contour drawing of an old glider in the front yard. I drew it with one of those markers that diffuses when hit with liquid so things got dark too quickly. I’ll try again with India ink that won’t run. 

In class we worked on shadows with several different components using Easter eggs as the base. Never thought I’d be doing this but it was fun. Bunnies next. What can I say?

Lastly I did a cocktail painting of a Cosmopolitan on the dock on Harwood Lake. They say not to stack elements on top of each other (stacky is tacky) but I thought that the clouds coming out of the drink is what made it special. 

Desert at Night with Cacti

This one was fun. Grabbed a National Geographic to a page that caught my eye, went at it for a few hours, called it done, walked home, and had fun noticing new things as it dried.

Really enjoyed our last few Saturday mornings together, folks. Looking forward to reconvening in a few weeks.

 

Elaine O. — March 4, 2023

I thought I was finished, but as I looked again, I realized I hadn't quite caught what appealed to me about the original experience. So I went back in to push the backlighting effect even further. Much better, especially the way the details of the statue are softened and almost lost against the bright window.

18" x 6"

 

Other than that, I've been quick-sketching people (and statues), both in ink...

... and direct watercolor, using up some palette dirt. 

 

Missed many of the faithful stalwarts yesterday, but look forward to seeing everyone in two weeks.

5 Minute Warmups — March 4, 2023

Well, four of us did participate in the warmups. Sadly, they weren't photographed as we were so engrossed in painting and talking and eating Bryan's lemon poppyseed muffins. Both the warmups and the muffins were magnificent.

Lotsa Stuff…

 Three-Year-Old With an Attitude, wc on hot press, 12 x 16”she has a strange glow because I drew her and a grid on the paper with a yellow watercolor pencil. I thought it would nicely dissolve, but it did not. Hot press is a challenge, but I have several more sheets in this block to learn how to paint on it…

Five-Year-Old Yearning to be 13; 12x14, wc on cold press…I painted this in class today. I didn’t have a lot of hope for it, but it turned out okay. She’s a little light, but maybe I could darken up the coat and hair.

Here’s another bowl of shallots; I think I posted the other two last week. The oranges painting is a copy of a Hazel Soan painting from her book on the limited palette. It’s painted with alizarin crimson, ultra marine blue and Indian yellow. Her paintings are really nice, although her subject matter is often elephants. There’s an interview with her on utube discussing using a limited palette. The woman interviewing her is a bit ditzy, but Hazel imparts a lot of good info. And her paintings have that “just dashed off” fresh glow that watercolors should have imo….

Missed all the old masters today…