Here are some recent pages from my sketchbook. As I have stated previously, it goes pretty much everywhere with me, as evidenced by this random collection of everyday images. The top one is a pen sketch of my studio from the outside patio looking in.
The next one is a view of some hillside houses in Pasadena. While waiting for a friend on the campus of Azusa Pacific University, I sketched a very ordinary streescape. Below that, the view while waiting in line at the car wash. And finally, another hillside scene.
Sketching and painting everyday, and everywhere keeps me in shape, and helps me see things more clearly.
I try not to throw away a painting that I am not happy with for at least a few months. That gives my time to look at it and reflect upon it, to see if there is any way to save it. These few were in storage for a years. I brought them out this past weekend, and seeing them with fresh eyes, I was able to figure out what they needed.
Sometimes a bad painting needs a good cropping. The top one started out as a half sheet horizontal and is now a vertical 11" x 14". In addition to cropping, it needed some serious color reworking and some softening. The second one just needed a lighter touch with the color, which I did with titanium white paint throughout. The bridge moonlight scene just need a slight color adjustment.
I am still working on the bottom one. I am adding more pen work, more shadows, and some white highlights. This one also benefited from a good, stiff cropping from a half sheet to a quarter.
