Page of Small Gouache Landscape Sketches

Canson WC Sketchbook Page, 9" x 12", sketches

in varying sizes NFS

I'm going to be teaching a Gouache workshop

in about three weeks, so I thought I should just

get back in the swing of things as far as gouache

is concerned. These sketches were all done in

a Canson watercolor sketchbook, which is one

of my favorite things to work in. If the pictures

don't get too large the paper doesn't really

wrinkle too much.

I like to use gouache as a combination of

watercolor and the way it is supposed to be

used, as an opaque medium. I love the various

contrasts that can be gotten in that way. It is

also fun to squeegee down a layer of Aquapasto

first, and see what effects that has on your work.

I will also work sometimes on Canson papers, which

have such nice colors, if I feel like working on a

colored background.

The mountains are the Blue Ridge; the river is

the Potomac (two blocks from where I live); the

trees and sky are a park down the way from me.

I really love painting with this stuff. It is relaxing.

Gouache Sketch after a Pontormo Fresco

7 1/4" x 9 1/2", Gouache on Canson WC

Notebook Paper

I have always loved this image - and certain

other things by Pontormo.

He was a really strange person. He lived in

a room that had no door, but only a window

to the outside, from which he entered and

left by a ladder. He kept a diary of everything

that he ate. He didn't like people, so he didn't

generally use models. If you look closely

his altarpieces, you will see that each person

is the same one, whether they are female, or

male, they all have the same face.

But I've always found this to be a particularly

delicate, almost celestial image. I just did a

quick sketch of it in gouache - some day I think

I'll do a longer study of it in oil.

Thanks for visiting today.

Tribute to my most esteemed model, Sharon

These are three of the many pieces of artwork

I have done over the past fifteen years with

Sharon as my subject. She has been a never-

ending inspiration, and I just thought she

deserved a little bit of a tribute. The painting

on the top is not for sale, unless someone is willing

to pay me about $8000.00 for it (seriously).

The second piece is just some 2-3 minute gesture

poses on newsprint, and isn't in saleable condition.

The drawing above is in pencil on white sketch-weight

drawing paper. I did it as a portrait demonstration

exactly ten years ago. No one else has eyelids like

that. Her father was from Ireland, and I think it shows

in her soulful face. Thank you, Sharon.

Ancient Greek Venus Fragment

Pastel and Chacoal Pencil on White Drawing

Paper, 8" x 10 1/2" ( w/1" margins),

I love this image, even though it is very high

key and the color is very subtle. I feel that it

highlights the line work that way. Line is very

powerful - something that I am always encouraging

my students to understand. Trying to master

line is a big part of learning to draw fluently.

Thanks for visiting today, and have a nice

weekend.

Oil Sketch of Lesli Posing

Oil on Gesso- and Oil-Primed Rag Board, 9" x12",

SOLD

This was a really fast sketch, and it looks like it.

I did this from a photograph - not from life. I enjoy

doing that, although I always wish I had a model in

front of me. Unfortunately, my studio is too tiny to

accomodate one, so the only time I get a chance to

work from life is when I am teaching, or if I go to an

open life class (which I should do more often...).

If only there were a pill you could take that would

cause you to never have to sleep - I'd be first in

line.

Thanks for visiting today.

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.

Quick Sketch of Alan Posing in Class

Pencil and White Gouache on Brown Paper,

6" x 8" , NFS

This is a quick sketch of Alan, one of the best

figure models I've ever known, in one of my

favorite quick sketching mediums - mechanical

pencil and aqua-flow brush with white gouache.

Fun! The lovely brown color of the paper didn't

come through too well in the photo, unfortunately.

Liz's Reverie

Oil on Board, 6 1/4" x 7 1/2 SOLD

This is a portrait of a young woman who used to model

for my classes several years ago. She was a very good

model, and a very nice person, though a little taciturn.

She left for the Peace Corps - I think she went to Morocco -

and that was the last I saw of her. She had such an expressive

face. Wonderful to paint.

The kimono was lent to me by a good friend, and is from

the 1920's. It is really wild. It only comes to the waist, and

then has fringe that is about 18" long, all along the hem.

I think it was meant for the boudoir...........

Thanks for visiting today.

PS. I did not do this painting in just one day - I cannot

tell a lie.

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.

The Eastern Shore at Midday

Oil Pastel w/ Van Eyck Painting Medium on White Acrylic-

Sized Paper, 9" x 7 7/8", $100.00 Bid Here

I have a set of Sennelier oil pastels - actually I have two - one that

I have never touched because it is so beautiful I can't bare to touch

it, and another that was bought over time; piece by piece, also a Holbein

here, a Sakura there, that's been used and used.

I just love this image,

and thought I would play around with it using oil pastels. The Senneliers

are so soft, they are literally like lipstick. The Holbeins - and I forgot to

mention the Caran d'Ache, are somewhat firmer, but still incredibly

smooth and satisfying to work with.

I will put some color down, and take a deerfoot brush ( these are

brushes that I used for blending in oil painting) and dip it into a

tube of Sennelier Van Eyck Painting Medium (gelatinous but delicate),

and you can push the oil pastel around with this, and blend it together.

It is really fun.

Sometimes I feel really serious about my work, and sometimes I think

it brings out my (caution: over-used word alert - ) "inner child". I'm

planning on doing a series of figure paintings next, and they are very

demanding, so that is probably why I am doing this, and why I did the

pears yesterday. Just something light, and.....entertaining.

Thanks so much for visiting today.

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:

Sharon Posing Seated on a Stool

Sanguine Conte Pencil on Blue Canson Laid

Paper, 8" x 11", $80.00 Bid Here

This drawing was done as a demonstration in a

figure class. It was meant to show the use of

sanguine (red) conte chalk or pencil for linear and

tonal work, and then the addition of white as

highlighting of highly illuminated areas. It is a classical

drawing technique. The demonstration part of it

explains the unfinished hands and feet, which I actually

like. It leaves something to the imagination.

Completely finished classically-rendered figures

are not something that appeal to me tremendously, but I

do love to draw!

Thanks for visiting today.