The Four and one more

 

This is the one more.  It was supposed to go last but you know how nutso blogspot is about where it puts your paintings and how stubborn it is about letting you arrange them.  The last four are shown in their final form.  

Then I wanted to start a new one.  The rule of Ken's latest abstracts is that if something begins to look like an actual thing has to be destroyed at birth.  And in the first one I just started out with some blues and a bit of maroon and without my being aware of it until too late, a sailing ship hove into view.  I could still destroy it, but I kind of liked the water and I think I will sail on with this and see where I end up. 

City Hall - Castro Urdiales, Cantabria

Saint Ita Catholic Church - Chicago

Sighișoara, Romania - My hometown

Internet Picture

You Have To Know How To Wear It

 Those red lines are too thick and he thinks his hair is too white. Happy to move on from this one. 

Home Art….

 

I have a lot of time on my hands, now that I’m off the serious drugs…These are two small sketches done with Pitt brush pens, which I don’t really like because they don’t blend well. And they’re not really brushes but hard tip markers. I read that people use them with water but they dry really fast and the whole reason to use markers is so you don’t have to use brushes,but whatever. The first is Joe sitting in the back yard with the morning sun coming in but I called it an homage to David Hockney cause it reminds of his Nicolas Canyon painting — I have the poster of it. The second one is draw what you see….

June 13, 2026 — Elaine O.

When someone suggests you paint something, why not? Especially when you've already been painting flowers. So, Sara, here's a lovely planter—first as a pen and ink sketch (color first, then outlined with ink)...

4" x 3"

...and then the beginnings of an actual painting.

14" x 10"

I'd suggest you get used to this planting as I already think there may be another version coming in the future.

The Four

One of the downfalls of my abstract paintings is I start out well enough but then when I have most of the stuff in I tend to tidy stuff up finish it up and it loses it's spunk.  I think of it as order vs chaos, and I am putting too much order into them and they're boring.

So I am going to watch myself on these four and try to keep them more free.  I think if I do four at one time I'll be better able to watch myself.  

The original plan on these to begin with I would use four colors to put in the foreground: Sepia, perylene maroon, olive green, and something else, and in the background: indigo, cadmium red, gamboge, and something else.  Anyway I had a plan at first, and this is what each one looked like after the first session.

1

                                                                                    

                                                                                2

                                                                              

                                                                               3

                                                                                4                                                                                          

 

And this is what they look like after 2 to 4 more sessions.  I think they are all almost done as long as I don't try to sneak in any tidying.  I think that is the key.  Remember Glengarry Glen Ross where the bigshot real estate guy has this slogan: Always Be Closing, ABC?  My slogan is Never Be Closing, NBC.  I never think about ending any of them, like this part is finished now let's do this next one, and three or four more and then it will be done.  I just paint on and on and suddenly it occurs to me that this one looks done and setting my brush down right there and then.

That's my theory.  Thank you for your time.

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2

3

                    4

June 6, 2026 — Elaine O.

It's been a while and all I have to show is some sketchbook experimentation/exploration. I was intrigued by some of my test strips where I color test watercolors. Then, while waiting for other watercolors to dry, I casually outline those color blobs with ink. Here are a couple, for example.

I liked the look of them and wondered what would happen if I tried this deliberately. So I sketched a scene with lots of bits and colors and went in with grey ink outlines when the paint dried. Nothing special.... just playing.

Honestly, I think this looks better with fewer details and larger surfaces of color. I don't know that I'll do this technique again, but I had to try it once!