Sledding, Snow and Sketching

"Sledding at Waveland," wc/ink on paper

Last week, just before the polar vortex brought a bitter cold blast, we had perhaps 7 to 9 inches of snow, our largest accumulation this year. It was enough to shut down schools and businesses for a day or so. 

The sketch group, undeterred, met and went looking for someplace outdoors. One of the oldest city golf courses opens on snow days for cross country skiers and sledding down it's prodigious slopes. We went out to see if anyone was there and discovered dozens of sledders in small groups and family units, but the cold was too much to sit outside. Instead I hiked a short distance to a better vantage point, then quickly did a rough graphite drawing, opting to retreat to my car to add watercolor. After I splashed in colors I accented certain spots with waterproof ink, then went back with a bit more color.
 

Raccoon Rocks

"Raccoon Rocks," casein on bristol, 11x14

A few years ago I experimented with casein paint both for sketching and for studio works. This casein painting is a view of the Raccoon River in Waterworks Park, about a mile from my home studio. I did this from sketches and reference photos, trying hard to understand the properties of casein. The paint is opaque, goes down smoothly, and is easily thinned with water. But once casein dries it's nearly bullet-proof. If you don't believe that, remember how hard it is to clean dried milk from a glass that's been standing for a day or two. The colors available comprise a full range of cool and warm hues, too.

 

Casein Woods

"Studio View," casein, ~12x5

This small sketch was made using mixed media in the sense that the underpainting was done using a violet acrylic wash and the scene itself rendered using casein paint. As mentioned in past postings, casein is made using milk solids The resulting paint is water-soluble, dries rapidly and makes a permanent dry layer. 

This particular small sketch was made in a mixed medium way--that is, a violet acrylic wash followed by a casein overpainting. Monet did something similar in his oil by using a violet underpainting (the complement of yellow) in his plein air works. The limited palette was an interest as well. The view is the woods outside my home studio in late spring a few years ago.
 

Regret

"Regret," oil on unprepped panel, 20x16 (approx), private collection.

This painting, "Regret," is something of a mystery. That is, I recall it well and remember making it, but details and images (with the exception of this one) are scanty in my records. It was sold the first time I displayed it, during an arts festival in Iowa. 

The painting is loosely based on an image I saw online but simplified and painted quickly with some areas of the underlying unprepped support remaining completely untouched. 

 

Windows

"Windows," wc/ink ~8x10

This watercolor sketch of a large display window enclosing several stained glass windows was an interesting subject at West End Salvage last weekend. Stained glass with light behind it is challenging but unless one's intent is a detailed realist work, approximation serves well enough.

Sentinel

"The Sentinel, Washington Square North," oil on panel

Many who visit New York remember the long row of red brick townhouses that line the north border of Washington Square Park, sometimes called The Row. Edward Hopper lived along this street as have other famous folks. Today much is owned by New York University. 

One of the buildings sports two stone lions on either side of its entry. I thought at least one of them was worthy of study.
 

Primaries

"Primaries," oil on panel, 6x8

This small oil painting is from a larger series of still life studies I did perhaps twenty years ago. The purposes of those studies were multiple. First, since these works were small they could be finished in a single sitting. Second, they offered an opportunity to compare paint brands, types of brushes, various supports (gesso panels vs bristol for example), and more. They offered an opportunity to paint alla prima and loosely, trying hard to capture the essence of the subject. They also provided daily practice and an impetus to keep going. All in all the series was great fun, useful, and productive. 

"Primaries" refers to the three traditional primary colors--red, blue and yellow. These paints were in aluminum tubes. The brand and lettering were omitted as irrelevant, though many oil painters may recognize the format.