Quick Sketch of a Triumph

Ok, I had about 20 minutes during lunch today.  I sketched this triumph and gave a quick wash.  I had very few colors on my palette today, and didn't want to get more out.  So I used the colors I already had.  As you can tell, it was filled with mostly reds.

Down on the Embarcadero

Ok, here we go again.  This is a second painting of Giovanni's Market and Gallery.  If you don't remember the first one, you can view it here.  This painting is from the opposite direction and some obvious differences.  

The first real differences is that this painting has all the proper colors.  The previous one was taken from a black and white photo, and I was working from memory on the colors. This one was painted from a color picture and so, all the colors are correct(ish).    I got a bit more ambitious with this one too.  Obviously there are people in the painting, but also there is tile and brickwork, among other things.

I used ink to outline and highlight edges on this painting.  My intent was to not to do that.  I wanted to only use paint to edge the painting, but I couldn't quite keep the lines straight enough, so i had to switch over to pen.  I like how the outlining turned out everywhere except around the main awning.  Oh well, that's how it goes sometime.

Anyway, I had a great time painting this, hope you all enjoy it.

blue door

Getting back to the doorway theme I was working on a while ago, here is a blue door.  The proportions aren't quite right, the angles aren't quite right, bars over the door aren't quite straight, but for some reason I like this little picture.

Can you spot the glaring problem with this painting

There is one huge problem with this picture.  Can you spot it?  I know that technically There are some problems with the picture, but there is one huge problem.  I didn't realize I had done it until it was time to scan the painting.

I on looking at this painting again, I think I need a shadow from the large pine tree on the left hand side.  I could go back and add that in later.  It's funny what you notice while you are painting and what you dont recognize until later.

Gus's Grocery

Ok, I will admit, Gus's isn't in Morro Bay, it's in San Luis, but its an institution and everyone knows it.  I had to give it a try.  Incidentally, if you want a great sub, Gus's is the place to go.

Some good and some bad on this one, just like the rest.  Seeing the scanned image, i can tell my perspective is still off a bit, but I don't think it really takes away from the picture all that much.  Some good coloring on the trees, and a bit ont he brick on the front of the store.  The stucco, I feel like I am having trouble with.  Soooooooooooooo many of the building here are all stucco, and if you know me, you know that i think stucco is like the laziest way to finish a building.  It rarely ever looks good.  Maybe I feel I am having a little trouble painting it because of the way I feel about it.    After painting the Bayside, I was told that if I made the windows totally dark, or black, that they would be much more dramatic.  I have to say, That was some good advice.  Well, I hope you all enjoy the painting.

A Continuing Assault on Campus Buildings

I thought i would try something a little different today.  Bothe pictures today were done in watercolor crayon. It is sometimes hard to find a bench to sit on and paint, let alone a bench and table in an area where you want to paint.  So I thought it would be easier to take my watercolor crayons out and draw the pictures, then return to my office, wet them and outline them.  I have to admit there are some things I like about this approach.  I lose the opportunity for any detail at all, but gain speed and the ability to do this just about anywhere.  This picture is of the entrance to Cradall Gym.  The gym itself isn't used anymore and the University is trying to find a good way to utilize the space.  It is a huge building built in the old mission style.  This is the first crayon drawing I've done.

This picture is the corder of building 38.  I believe it is one of the Mathematics buildings.  The black in the center is a bank of doors that are just set back and very dark, even in real life.  I am working with a limited selection of colors which is why the bark mulch might look a little orange, and the bricks in the road a little too pink.

Hope you enjoy them both.

A Little Urban Sketching

Yesteday and today I decided to do a little urban sketching.  I suppose that is the new term for painting plein air.  Urban sketching sounds a bit less hoity toity.  I have been walking around campus trying to find places to sit in the shade and paint.  The shade part was crucial for me, and as I found out, was also the limiting factor in what I paint.  It turns out that nearly all the benches on campus are in direct sunlight at noon.  Who would have figured.  Anyway, in my hikes around campus, I found 3 places to paint.  They all seemed to fit onto one sheet, but the sheet is bigger than my scanner.  The first picture, Bench on Dexter Lawn, is actually on the bottom of the sheet.  You can see part of the Building 52 Plaza in the top right.

This is the picture that is above it.  This is Building 52 Plaza.  Or at least part of it.  I don't think I got this quite right, but you get the idea that it is a bench with mulch around it, and (absent detail) brick walkway in front of it.  I assume you all can tell it has a tree behind the bench?

This third picture is actually the first one I did.  I wanted to get the little taco stand next to this, on the left side of the tan building, but i didn't have a clear view from the bench I was on, so this got chosen by default.  Some different types of bushes and shrubs with a few rocks, and a wooden wall behind, just in front of the building.  I'm extremely happy with the way this turned out, I often have trouble working in different colors of greens.  The fact that you can see 4 distinct colors of green and a little shading in each is, for me, a triumph.

Bench and Brick Wall

Plein air painting at lunch today. Had to walk across campus to meet friends, find a place to sit, then paint, pack up, and back to work all in an hour. As you might assume, I picked a topic that I though I would be able to finish given the time constraints. The place we chose was in a bricked in courtyard.  It didn't afford the most fantastic views, but it did allow us to sit in the shade. 

The plants in the area while green, didn't afford me a real pop of color to offset the green.  So I chose a little different tact.  This afforded me the opportunity to work on perspective lines and trying to keep things square.  I think I might have been able to make the grey cement of the ground a little more angled to the right, but since I had to work quickly, I didn't have that much time to double-check my work.  I still think this little painting work out nicely.   Enjoy.

Wednesday's Door and Window

Watercolor 6x9 SOLD

I think todays picture came out pretty good.  A nice perspective painting.  I painted this because I loved the way the wall had stucco, brick and rock exposed.  It made the surface really interesting.  I just hope i did some justice to the real place.  Hope you all enjoy the painting.