Racing

"Racing," casein on panel,

This small painting (6"x8") is one of a relatively small number of paintings I've done using casein paint. This one was in done in part to test the opacity of casein as well as mixing properties. The picture itself is from a few reference photos, modified significantly. The far coast could be anywhere, The color palette is intentionally limited and with the exception of the sails the craft is quite vaguely abstracted.
 

Cubist Self

"Cubist Self,"charcoal on paper

This self portrait is an experiment in Cubism. What cubist portraits did, at least by Picasso and his colleagues of a century and a quarter ago, was cut the face up into views from different angles, then rejoin them.

In this image you can see two noses, two mouths and mustaches, and only two eyes.

 

 

Saturday

As the season advances and so many flowers burst into bloom, the sketch group has spent much of our time doing landscape sketching. But last Saturday we spent the afternoon in a local neighborhood with a number of houses dating to more than a century ago. Many have been restored or rehabbed and painted in Victorian color schemes. Many have a tower or turret or other sorts of architectural gingerbread, making them interesting for their own sake. 

"19th & Pleasant (Sherman Hill)," wc/ink on paper, 8x10

I chose a multistory house on a corner for my efforts. It was painted in bright colors non-typical for today's housing and was overlapped by signs, streetlights, and several trees.

Cascade

This small landscape was done in the studio, from reference materials. It's an oil on panel of a spring bubbling and tumbling over worn rocks, somewhere mountainous. The challenge with this was finding ways to show the immense variety of water--transparent, reflective, many-colored and a lot more. To give it motion and substance was on my mind, too. 

"Cascade," oil on panel, 9x12

Happily this painting has been juried into the Salmagundi Club Summer Invitations, a member exhibtion. The show will run from May 20 through June 6 at the Club's gallery, 47th 5th Ave, in New York. You can also see the work on my website, in the Rural Landscapes gallery.

Last Saturday

This time of year, with the riot of flowering trees lighting up a significant part of the Waterworks arboretum,. the sketch group goes there every weekend. Last Saturday was delightful, warm and sunny, and I chose to sketch an old gazebo at the southern end of the flowering grove. The gazebo is tucked into a less-trafficked corner, shaded by old trees. 

"The Gazebo," wc/ink on paper, 8x10

I sat on a bench nearby and sketched the scene before me.

Bottle

"Bottle," oil on panel, 6x8

This small still life was part of a much larger group of works done about fifteen years ago. My intent was to simplify by limiting the palette while observing the subject minutely. That is, there are tiny reflections, color shifts, value changes that describe contours and edges, and a lot more to observe in this simple setup. 

For me, this kind of deliberate simplification is a useful way to advance the skill of seeing. 

 

Exploding Flowers

This time of year, rain and a bit of warmth come along and bam! all of the flowering trees in town burst into bloom. In Waterworks Park there is an arboretum that's been planted with flowering trees--crabapple, plum, etc--mostly in shades of red and pink but also some beautiful whites and others. It's in full flower now, and the park is crowded with folks strolling, snapping pictures, and (in our case) sketching. 

"Arboretum View," wc/ink on paper, 8x10

This is just one of the dozens of trees in full flower. The right side, if finished, would show you a backdrop of trees that either haven't flowered yet or don't have showy flowers the way many of these do.