Turning Away watercolor sketch #255

This takes a lot more energy than I ever realized! I have been absent for a week do to a really nasty accident and 3 breaks in my leg, surgery, etc.I am not yet painting again, but am trying out 5 minutes at the computer so I have uploaded a sketch I did right before my accident. Maybe I will paint this afternoon or tomorrow, if I can have someone help me set it up where I can do it with an elevated foot. I suspect I will be doing watercolor for while due to easy clean-up. I really miss painting and exercising....

Wanting watercolor #249

This model was good at striking dramatic poses and holding them.

Kate ink #245

This is a quick sketch of my friend and fellow artist Kate. I didn't like the pose the model was holding so I did her instead. She is making a funny, serious look with her mouth as she studies her work.

Practicing #243 #244

Yesterday I took paintings to two galleries where I will be the featured artist. The openings are both today (don't ask). It is also the day a group of us gets together with a model. Long story short, I didn't get much actual painting done. I squeezed in a few small watercolors and am posting this one from an Artist Daily challenge. I am trying to teach myself how to manage watercolors and this is a good opportunity. On the right is a 5 minute sketch and I really like the weighted pose.

fast sketch water marker #239

15 minute pose II oil 8x10" #238

This is another quick pose. I see there is a glare on the photo. I don't usually paint on canvas board which is what this is. I, like so many other daily painters, like gesso board or a similar slick surface. There is something to be said about trying different effects, surfaces, colors, brushes, etc. I also painted these with a very thin purple underpainting instead of the usual black or red that I use. Yesterday I took a new lift to the terrain park when I was skiing. The lift is the oldest three person lift in the state and is pretty jerky. It doesn't take much to throw me off, and although I did fine, my nerves were on edge the whole time. This is what it is like for me when my "usual" conditions are challenged in painting.

15 Minute Pose oil 8"x10" #237

Belinda del Pesco posted this today: "Painter Gerald Brommer says you have to paint a minimum of three days a week just to keep from getting worse." That is motivation! I am a newer skier and although I am approaching 60 and not a big athlete, I know that I have to get out a couple of hours almost every day to keep my rhythm and courage, especially when I have half the year when I can't do it. Next year when I go out again it will take me a couple of weeks before I start to feel comfortable on the slopes. That is the way it is with drawing and painting. It is a bit like riding a bike in that you don't forget, but it takes practice to keep the rhythm and there will still be failures, but they will be wrapped in a lot of successes. I have really busy Thursdays so I don't get to paint until the evening when I meet with other artists and a model. It is mostly short poses and a lot of drawing, but I try to do a couple of really quick oil sketches so that I can get better at them. Even though they don't take much time, they take a lot of effort, quick thinking and fast movement. Sometimes I get something exciting and sometimes it is just a hot mess!

Midpoint Saturation acrylic #185

This hot and cool image makes me shiver as 2 feet of snow accumulates outside. It is above my knees and comes to my grandson's chest and is hard to maneuver in but fun to play in.

Thinking Legs 8"x10" oil #182

These legs are about to do something....get up....cross.....put on shoes...maybe move into position to have a baby, like my daughter did yesterday!

kneeling nude 6x6" oil #171

I am all goofed up and have scheduled 3 important things for the same time slot this afternoon, including an online arts radio show I am the featured artist for. UGH! So I feel like burying my head in a pillow and just hiding from the universe!

20 minute pose 8x10 oil #138

To paint at this angle I sat directly in front of the model on the floor. I wanted to get the most intense foreshortening that I could with the pose. I am overall happy with the results, although I did not spend much time on the arms, hands or face, and I think it would be better if I had worked on those areas a bit more. Her right arm looks a bit like Popeye's! It is all about learning, finding out what I do well, working on what I don't do well and finding meaning in the process.

On Second Thought 8x8" oil #125

"This is no difference for any creative individual whether it's a painter finding his way to the easel or a medical researcher returning to the laboratory. The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightening bolt of inspiration (perhaps more). And it is available to everyone. If creativity is a habit, then the best creativity is a result of good work habits. They are the nuts and bolts of dreaming." Twyla Tharp from 'The Creative Habit'