Here are some images from Saturday's painting workshop at the Brea Art Gallery. We did a sketch and a painting of the bungalows overlooking the Arroyo in Pasadena. We met upstairs in a large space that was the ultimate workshop room: it was well lit, the tables were big and spread out, and there was water close at hand. It made for a perfect Saturday afternoon of painting.
And afterward, everyone could view the Watercolor West show in the gallery downstairs.
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.
Here are some recent paintings. The top two are of the Vista del Arroyo as seen from the roof.
Below that is a reworked sketch of the City Hall in Santa Barbara.
Lastly, a mid-century modern house in Pasadena.
Here are two recent paintings I did of Pasadena. They were done on Arches hot press paper with a pen drawing and Holbein transparent watercolor with accents of white gouache. These are small paintings measuring 6" x 6". I will be mounting them to a 2" deep cradled hardboard panel.
Here is the second painting done at Maranatha High School for the Mid Valley Art League, Saturday In The Park with the Masters event. My initial sketch is shown at the top, followed by the final painting in progress, and the final painting, at 90% complete.
This is an 11" x 14" painting of the Gamble House in Pasadena. I used watercolor, pen and ink, and gouache on 140# Arches hot press paper. It will be for sale at Galerie Gabrie in Pasadena.
Here is some recent work done this past weekend: The top image is a painting of the Arlington Garden in Pasadena. Below that is my folding metal Holbein palette after the session. I did a few previous attempts that I was not happy with, which are shown in the third image. And finally some study sketches.
Here is a series of quick sketches I did yesterday at lunch time of the Athenaeum in Pasadena. They took about five minutes each. My goal was to get the essence of the architecture and the trees and make a quick compositional study. I took some reference photos but I am finding that the images I get from my iPhone, while being incredibly detailed and of a high quality, are of such an extreme wide angle view that the subject is sometimes distorted. A quick field sketch lets me see the proportions correctly. I will use my photos for details later, but use these sketches for the overall view. I am trying to use my sketchbook more, and not rely so much on photography. Besides, I really need the practice.
Here are some study sketches I did last night for two commissions I am working on. The top one is of a cottage with a waterwheel secluded in a forest of trees. The bottom one is an outdoor restaurant with seating under a giant tree.
Here are some quick sketches of the Vista del Arroyo and the bungalows below.
