Along Druid Hill Creek

"The Creek," wc on paper, 3.5x11

This is the final page of a sketchbook I've kept for a couple of years, documenting my view of the creek from the north window of my studio at home. 

A small book of sketches of the same subject becomes a different sort of art--a visual journal. Here, at the end of April, I did a watercolor on both pages, making it very tall and narrow. The greening trees in the distance are set off by the tree and its spread of branches. And the creek is a dark smudge below the leafing honeysuckle. Spring at the highest levels.

I've posted this one almost life size, to give the viewer an idea of the actual sketch.

Three Retirees

There is a classic auto dealership in downtown Des Moines that sometimes parks its cars and trucks outdoors. I spotted these three pickups, painted in classic primary colors, one afternoon. As always I started with a pencil sketch, painted the scene, and inked certain parts for emphasis.
 

Study to Partial Finish

A decade or so ago I did a series of studies of railroad subjects, intended to celebrate the history of railroading in southwestern Virginia. The small graphite and ink sketch to the right is an initial idea for a poster, incorporating the mountainous terrain, an old switch tower and an approaching train. The poster was intended for a historical society in Clifton Forge, Virginia.  

After several iterations and sketches using traditional materials,  I decided on the layout below, then colored it digitally to explore the final effect before completing the painting for printing. Not long after that the agreement fell through and the painting was never made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.