Even though summer is moving through July, soon into August, the rains we had over the spring are still leaving waves of color in the hills of the California back country. Usually at this time of year beige is the predominant color, and in really dry years, a dark dirty brown. This summer is a delight of colors – pale compared to spring – with wildflowers still hidden amongst the grasses.
I’ve had this painting on my easel for about a week. There was a lot of thought put into it – an almost scary amount given my impatient, impetuous tendencies. Sky and basic colors in pale shades. From there, midtones, darker shades, and finally details. The foreground was so challenging – the cone flowers want detail, but don’t want too much. The orange ones are totally lacking in detail, and are just blobs of color. And then the buildings . . . still some perspective issues, particularly in the house on the right, but better than anything I have done to date. Dreams of summer now that spring is blooming here in California!
The temperatures this summer, locally and worldwide, seem to have been – and continue to be – brutal. Finally, nights are cooling down and the day’s highs are 85, not 105, in Fahrenheit (not C fortunately!).
Film, two images merged in PS6. Cosina CX-2, Agfa Vista 200.
I love mornings! They are the time of day when everything is new and fresh, and each day is a gift. Add to that I fall asleep at 9, and you can tell I am a morning person for sure. Usually I spend my mornings reading the news – but that is becoming less interesting as I change my usual morning habits to spending anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour sketching or doing some form of watercolor, structured, unstructured, from an object, a picture, or my imagination. Hopeful that I don’t dump my paint brush into my morning coffee (believe me, it has happened more than once!), here are some pieces from the past few weeks.
Doing these paintings and drawings every day is resulting in some good experiences and increased confidence in what I can do. There are times everything sucks – no perspective, no contrast, whatever – and then there are times when it comes together. And times when that proverbial “ah ha!” moment hits, and what has been intellectually clear is now clear in the mind-muscle-eye coordination when rendering paint. Occasionally I use line, other times I don’t and just paint, thinking ahead to figure out what goes where. Stepping back to critique things is also a worthwhile endeavor – fresh eyes after a few days.
In a couple of weeks – no school! I’ll be free until I pick up 3 weeks of ESL at the end of July. Until then, painting, continued cleaning up and unpacking after the flood, and a trip or two here or there. Summer awaits!
Yesterday, here in the U.S., was Thanksgiving. We celebrated it with a few members of our family out of town. Tomorrow, members are coming here for the big family gathering, from east and south and west. So, Wednesday we made pies, and today we set up the tabbouleh, tzatziki, zhuk, and marinating chicken for tomorrow’s feast. Lots of chopping and such, along with a fun grocery trip to a market that sells all sorts of foods not seen in the ordinary middle class market . . . this one caters to Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian, and Mexican tastes, so there is a lot of fun and strange food to be had. On top of it all, it’s so reasonably priced! If you enjoy cooking, nothing like an exciting market and a family which loves good food.
So, did I spend my entire day prepping? No, I didn’t. I did some napping, had some coffee, edited some photos, and then had an epiphany: I can use my photos for subject matter, whether sketching, ink-and-color, or pure watercolor. I went through a few photos from our summer on the road throughout the Southwest and Western U.S., to places like Mesa Verde, Ft. Laramie, Yellowstone, and Teton National Forest. Lots of wonderful things to see. Now, a lot of wonderful things to recall with a drawing . . .
Photo from Fort Laramie in Wyoming:
A quick ink-and-color sketch of the same:
They don’t really look like each other, but what the heck. I liked the roof and chimneys against the blue of the sky.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 