McRae Park

"McRae Park," wc/ink on paper

This watercolor and ink sketch is from a Saturday excursion a couple of months ago on a sunny afternoon not far from my home studio.

Retirees

"Three Retirees," wc/ink on paper, ~5x9

Here's a watercolor of three antique trucks on a dealer's lot, from a few years back. Each of these likely has more than 100,000 miles and years of work behind it.
 

Casein Experiment

"A Walk in the Woods," casein on panel

This painting is an experiment in casein. Casein is a kind of paint made using milk protein (casein) in an oil emulsion. It's an older medium that's made a bit of a comeback in recent decades. In some ways casein is like acrylic paint--rapid drying in particular, durable when dry--and it photographs very well. Back in the early to mid-twentieth century casein was the medium of choice for many. 

This painting is an imaginary landscape done a few years back to practice with the medium. I don't think I've posted this one before.

Favorite Still Life

"Winter Onion," oil on panel, 6x8

This is a favorite old still life from more than a decade past. Sold long ago.
 

Postcards Home

When travelling I carry along a pad of postcard-size watercolor cards. The surface is a standard, moderately rough cold press. While travelling I make small watercolor paintings, stamp them with the postage of whatever place we're visiting, and mail them to friends. It keeps me working and family and friends love to get something of that sort. 

"Kasbah, Tangier," watercolor postcard

 

"A View of Avignon," watercolor postcard

"Street in Eze, France" watercolor postcard

Saturday Sketch

The weather continues to warm and moderate. Last Saturday the sketch group went to a small local lake, where flowering trees were beginning to show color. The day was warm enough to sketch outside, the first time of the season. Flowering trees have fat buds and the grass is greening more every day. I sketched this in pencil, added watercolor and then ink.

Last Year

"Raccoon River," wc/ink on paper

The winter just fading was unseasonably warm--possibly the warmest in history. Even so, the look of the countryside hasn't changed much. My sketchbooks are a kind of visual journal, and most of the sketches are watercolor. This particular work was done just over a year ago. Like now, the grasses are a series ochres, the trees loom grey against the grey-blue and distant clouds.