Los Angeles Sketches

I frequently rework paintings, particularly ones I am not satisfied with. While I am pleased now, this collection of Los Angeles sketches was never quite right, and for a long time I wasn't sure why. I finally realized the colors were too strong. So the other night in my studio I started playing around with white paint. I lightened the sky with titanium white, and created a sense of atmosphere with varying degrees of wash over the background. In the process I smeared some of the details, which loosened the painting up, and gave it more energy.

While I am a fan of bold, bright colors, there is something to be said for muted and subdued tones, and trying to develop the look of faded colors on a hazy summer day, (or in the case of Dodger Stadium, a warm August night).

Reworking Paintings

Something I like to do occasionally is to go through earlier paintings and see if I can improve them. It might take a year or more before I know how to approach an old painting with a new vision of what it can be. I did these last weekend.

The top two were reworked with pastels. The third one was attacked with watercolor, more paint, and more vibrant paint. I have a tall stack of these average works so this will keep me busy for many weekends to come.