Imaginary Landscape #3

This is another watercolor and gouache piece, done in class as a demo for my students

yesterday. I was lucky it came out so well. That doesn't always happen!!

This was done on a wonderful new product which I just love! Fredrix Watercolor Canvas.

I had been painting on it already in oils, because it has a lovely smooth, delicate surface,

and I had been using mostly paper and panels, because I Hate canvas generally!! But this

stuff is very different.

But, for watercolor, and gouache, it's absolute revelation! You can lift, wipe back, lay

washes, remove whole areas of color - you name it, it's more like working with oils

practically when you work on this product. I've been having so much fun, I can't wait

to get up in the morning! Of course all days aren't successful ones, but one can always

try, and always hope! I'm planning on filling this whole sketchbook with these landscapes,

exectued entirely with brush, and having a feeling of being partially imagined. I've got

13 to go. The paper in the book is Canson watercolor.

I usually begin by covering my picture area with Winsor and Newton Lifting Preparation,

because right now I like to paint skies, and it is enormously helpful. Of course this isn't

necessary on the Fredrix Watercolor Canvas, but I sometimes do it anyway.

So much fun.

Thanks for visiting.

Isla Morada Hybiscus

Go Here to Bid           SOLD

Oil on Canvas laid down on board, 7.5" x 9 3/4"

I did this from a photograph outside of the Casa Thorn, 

a  wonderful B&B we stayed at in Isla Morada in the Florida Keys. 

 The whole

place seemed enchanted, from the wonderful woman

after whom it was named, to the myriad of fascinating

objects with which she had decorated it - all things she

had collected during her incredible 91 years. Everywhere

you turned there was something beautiful to see: Moroccan

screens, carved ivory netsukes of sensitive nudes, unique

paintings from the 1940's,  photographs of her friends - who 

just happened to be Frank Sinatra and his ilk - and plants

everywhere inside and out.  Giant palm trees, flowering

plants, with Cambodian granite heads peeking out from

behind.

 I've been thinking of painting this since last

August, and I finally did. I'm really happy this evening.

Gestural Figure Study in Red and White Conte on Blue Paper

Red & White Conte on Blue Paper,

11" x 14" , NFS

I really enjoyed working from this model.

She is so statuesque. Gesture drawing is

so much fun, and good for you too! So many

students are afraid to let go and try it - they

don't realize how much it can improve your

drawing.......

Storm Off the Keys

Gouache on Canson WC Paper, 4 1/2" x 7" Bid Here

I just got back for the Florida Keys on Saturday. We spent two days

dealing with a hurricane, which was at times exciting, at other times

disappointing. But it also yielded mind-gripping images such as

the one above, which I did from memory completely, so of course

it isn't as fantastic as it was in real life.

I was five miles out off the coast of Key Largo, snorkeling from an

excursion boat. We had all just finished and returned to the boat,

when a storm pulled up really very fast. It literally started raining

as the last person climbed up the ladder into the boat. But as we

made our way back to shore (we had been at the John Pennecamp

Natural Park, which is the only great barrier reef in the United States),

and moved away from the storm, there was this amazing limpid green

water backed by a threatening black sky. There was no blue, or visible

clouds. I just stuck those in there for artistic effect.

Thanks for visiting today.

Gouche Fantasy of Summer in the Shenandoah

7 1/4" x 4 3/4", Gouache on Plate Bristol Paper, Bid Here

I have always loved the Shenandoah mountains. To me they are a

magical place. I spent a lot of time there many years ago. My memories

of them are some of my most cherished. I go back to them time and

time again.

There is almost nothing as beautiful as a line of several

mountains (not depicted here), moving away from you in the distance,

getting fainter and fainter, and bluer and bluer, until you can't be certain

if you really see it or not - it almost looks transparent.

This is sort of a made-up picture. I had a small photograph. But it

was quite different from this. I also like working in gouache, for reasons

I have given previously.

This may be my last post for quite a while. I am leaving on Thursday

for vacation. I will be back on the 22nd, but as I'll be teaching on the 23rd,

and the 24th is Sunday, I doubt there will be anything here until at least

the 25th -- that is unless I can squeeze in a painting tomorrow, or the next

day with all the other things I have to do. I am taking a laptop with me, so

will not be completely out of reach.

Thanks for stopping by.

St. John Day

Oil on Archival Card, laid down on board, 6" x 5 1/2",

SOLD

When I was in the Virgin Islands a few years ago I took a lot of

photographs. I am glad I did, for I never get tired of creating land-

scapes using them for inspiration. I never copy them - they are

just "memory-joggers".

I love the colors of the Caribbean, and the

way they change constantly when you are there.

The infinite number of blues never ceases to amaze and

inspire me, and they are so much
fun to play with when I am painting. I enjoy

the challenge of trying to suggest a grand space on a

small picture plane. But the process of painting is also a peasure,

because as I am creating, I am immersed in memories of the place,

and it is a very sensuous experience.

Quick Gouache Sketch of Alan Posing in Class

Sepia and White Gouache on Light Brown Pastel Paper,

8 1/4" x 6 1/2", Bid Here

This is a quick study of one of my favorite all-time models, Alan

(he has dreads), in one of my favorite mediums, gouache. For those

of you who don't know, gouache is an opaque form of watercolor.

If you ever see the term "bodycolor", particularly in books about

drawings from the past (silverpoint, Renaissance, etc.), "bodycolor"

refers to white or colored gouache.

Gouache is wonderful, because you can use it both transparently

and opaquely, so it is virtually impossible to make a mistake -

at least that you can't cover up!! I love it for quick sketches like

this, and I prefer it over watercolor for painting in water media

in general, primarily because I don't have the skill in it that someone

like Belinda del Pesco has. She rocks with watercolor!

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you are surviving the heat,

wherever you are!

Tiger Lilies

Oil Color Monotype, approx. 5" x 6", $45.00, Go Here

This quick sketch of some tiger lilies was done from some

that grew near my yard. I like doing monotypes outside.

I paint them on metal, plastic, mylar, Yupo watercolor

paper - I even once painted one on a piece of gessoed

thin wood - it actually went through the press with

the printmaking paper very well. I never print them

by hand. Well, not since I got my press in 1976.

This was fun because of the challenge of getting the little

purple pieces to hang off of the stamens (?) just so. I have

always been fascinated by these flowers; they are much

hardier than daylilies. Daylilies are very beautiful, but die

about twenty minutes after you pick them. Hard to paint

a picture quite that fast (unless you're Delacroix.....).

Thanks for visiting today.

(I'm still working on that painting - I haven't forgotten!)

Side Yard in Blacksburg

Oil Monotype on Fine Printmaking Paper,8" x 6",

$200.00, Go Here

This very painterly monotype was done from partly from memory

and partly from my memory of a beautiful place where I lived several

summers in Blacksburg, Virginia during the 1980's when my husband

was going to architecture school. It was like the Garden of Eden there.

I will always remember it as being one of the happiest times in my life.

Unfinished Painting of Sophie in a Silk Kimono

Oil Painting on Gesso and Oil Ground

15/3/4" x 22 1/4" NOT FOR SALE YET

I thought that today, since I never publish progress

pictures, that I would publish a picture of a partially-

completed painting that I did today. It is painted on a

piece of 100% rag mat board that I had previously

covered with two coats of gesso, allowed to dry, and then

covered with a neutral sort of mushroom-color oil paint

mixed with Liquin for a ground.

You can kind of see the ground color in parts of the

feet that are not painted yet, and in the upper left hand corner,

which also is not painted yet. This is not the greatest photograph

of the painting, unfortunately. I have a very good digital camera,

but sometimes something gets lost in the translation.....

I did a line drawing of the composition, using a ball point pen,

squaring up a few areas that were particularly challenging.

I like to use ball point pen, because you can paint right over

it, and the paint and solvent don't budge it, so your drawing

stays put.

I'm planning on finishing this tomorrow, so you may

or may not see it again. We'll see how it goes. So far, I'm pretty

happy with it. We'll see how it turns out. I want to try and maintain

the "loose" quality of it. I like that.

Fountain Statue in a Park in New Orleans

Oil Color Monotype, 4" x 5 1/2", $90.00,

Go Here

This piece was done from a photograph that I

took in New Orleans many years ago when I went

there to visit some dear friends. I was captivated

by this fountain, which had three figures.

I think I will do a triptych eventually.

If anyone is wondering about the scarcity of

posts here recently, it is just that life has been complicated

lately, with several ill friends, family obligations, much

teaching, and little time to paint. I am hoping some time

will open up this week, because I am dying to paint!

Thank you for visiting today.

A Yellow Pear

Oil on Board, 4 3/4" x 6", $85.00 Go to eBay

I really love the yellows in this pear, and the contrast

with the blue background. Overall, I was pretty happy

with this painting. It was a nice break from some more

complicated paintings that I've been working on lately.

Sunset over St. John II

Oil on Board, 1o" x 7" SOLD

This is another view that I am obsessed with. Probably because

I haven't been there in three years. I love the Caribbean. If someone

were to ask me where I would rather go right now than anywhere on

earth, and I could choose any place, it would be the Caribbean. It i

a magical, beautiful place.

The colors in this painting did not come out well in this photograph.
They were much more luminous. The yellow was yellower, and the
pink was pinker.

I had a strange experience today. I get Chris Bolmeier's blog post.
She's a fascinating character. Does good art, can write up a storm,
has a fantastic voice - multi-talented. Well, she suggested watching a YouTube
video with Karin Jurik laying out her palette. I love those
things, so I did watch it.

It was uncanny. One by one, I watched her lay out every single
color I use on my own palette!! I should have had Twilight Zone
music playing in my head. Our work is nothing alike. (I admire
hers very much.) But, we obviously both love to have a lot of color
to work with, because she had about fifty, just like I do, and just
about the same, exact colors! Weird....but interesting.

Thanks for visiting today, and have a nice weekend.

Portrait of Mary-Elizabeth

Pastel & Carbon Pencil on Drawing Paper,
9" x 16", NFS

I love drawing Mary Elizabeth, her high,
round forehead would have been the envy
of every woman in the Renaissance. I did
this is an open life class, and was very happy
with the results. Usually I find it hard to
concentrate.

Mary is also a swimming coach, so she
is a very graceful and imaginative model,
and just wonderful to draw.

Two Bosc Pears in a Blue Light

Oil on Gessoed Rag Board, 8" x 7 3/8", $100.00 Bid Here

These pears were painted on a piece of rag board that had been

covered with pink gesso. I love the slight irridescent appearance

caused by laying the blue glaze over the pink. I think one of the

reasons I love oil paint so much is that it is so versatile, and you

can do so many different things with it: use it thickly, smoothly,

tranluscently (called a "half-paste" - see Titian), transparently

(a glaze), or whatever else you can think of. As long as you are

careful with your mediums and solvents and drying times, you're

OK. It's really fun, and challenging too.

Thank you for visiting today.

Pre-Raphaelite Sophie lll

Oil on Board, 5" x 7 1/2" , $125.00 SOLD

I was excited to be able to finish this painting

today. It certainly helped that it is not very

large. I'm finding it harder and harder to find

large enough chunks of time in which I can really

concentrate.

I know you've seen this kimono before. But I

really like it. I tried to turn it away from a real

red this time, although it does not come through

in the photo. It's more like a coral. What I like

about the picture are the pearly tones in her skin.

I once did a painting of her (this is my daughter)

where I made her face pink and green like a nautilus shell.

I think I'll post it, just so you can see it. I was very happy

with it. Someone bought it a long time ago, so I don't have

it anymore. But I do have a picture of it:

Essence Drawing of Sharon Posing

Essence on Laid Paper, 7" x 9", $100.00 SOLD

This is another painted drawing done in the

essence technique that I've talked about in

previous posts. I wasn't crazy about the color in

this one, but I do love the pose, light, and linear

work. The paint goes on the laid paper (Ingres

paper in this case) just beautifully once the oil has

been leached out of it, and of course it dries with

no ugly oil stains around it. I love this technique!

It is great for quick sketching of the model. I will

be offering a workshop in this at The Art League

School in Alexandria, VA next School year, and

will also ge using the technique this quarter in

my figure class.

Jaclin Posing in a Kimono

Oil on Board, 5" x 7 1/2" , $100.00 SOLD

This is another composition that I have played

around with several times. I took a series of

photos of this model in various positions quite

a while ago. I was so captivated with her long

torso and legs, and her white skin, which really

was pale like this. She owned the kimono, and

the colors weren't anything like this, but I have

fun making up the colors each time I paint her.

Creating color harmonies is one of the things

I enjoy most about painting.

When my husband and I lived in Boston in the

80's and part of the 90's, we had an architecture

and interior design business. I am not an architect -

he is - although he also went to art school... but I really

enjoyed the interior design part of it; particularly

when we had interesting, imaginative clients who

weren't afraid to experiment with color and pattern.

My own taste does not lean toward the modern in

interior design, so it was fairly easy to get along with

our clients, most of whom had a "Beacon Hill" mentality.

We got one job just because, when the woman said,

"I'm thinking of a specific color for my library", I piped

up with "Pompeiian Red?". That just happened to be it,

and we began a job that lasted two years, and included

our designing everything in her residence down to the

bookshelves, the rugs, the tiles in her bathroom, and

a mural in her dining room. That was something.

A lot of work. But, I learned a lot as well.

Thanks for visiting today.

Chincoteague Afternoon

7 1/2" x 5", Oil on Board, $100.00 BID HERE

I went to Chicoteage with my family many years ago, and I was

most fascinated by the marshy land that spread everywhere, and

the little inlets of water that would reflect the colors of the sky.

It was also fun to see the horses.

The last time we were there some of those horses were actually

wandering around on the beach trying to steal peoples' lunches

and treats, and my daughter, quite a bit younger at that point,

kept talking about "ponies gone bad". It was so funny, and we

had a wonderful day. I think this is kind of a Technicolor

Chincoteague, but, whatever. I had fun using my memory,

which was probably looking " through rose-colored glasses".

Silverpoint Head with Highlighting

6" x 8", Silverpoint on prepared, grounded

hotpress watercolor paper,

Bid Here

This is a silverpoint drawing, it was drawn

on a piece of paper that I prepared with a

ground made of a small amount of Liquitex

gesso mixed with a small amount of white

Gouache paint and then colored with cyan

and green watercolor paint. The ground is

applied with a wide, soft watercolor brush

and allowed to dry. It can be sanded if

it is too rough. You can also use straight

gesso, casein, or gouache as grounds. The

problem with gouache is that it remains

reactive to water.

It is easy to do a silverpoint drawing. All

you need is an architect's technical lead holder,

a piece of 18 guage silver wire, some masking

tape, and some very fine sand paper. You cut

a piece of silver wire about one inch long, and

wrap some tape around it so it won't wiggle

around in the lead holder. Then you place it

in the lead holder and retract the metal
"petals" that hold the lead in, and make sure

the silver doesn't wiggle.

Then, you sand the point until it is round.

This is very important, so that you won't just

rip lines in the ground. The abrasive ground

causes a little bit of silver to come off of the

wire each time you make a stroke, and

voila, you have a silverpoint drawing.

The highlighting was done with a very fine

#00 round liner-type watercolor brush and

some white gouache (often referred to as

"body color" in descriptions of old drawings).

This is really fun. You ought to try it. The silver

will oxidize over time, turning browner. If you

paint some egg yolk over it lightly, this will

accelerate the oxidation.

Thanks for visiting today.