When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

work in progress

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Polypore Fungi, work in progress

Saturday, June 9th, 2007


 

Polypore Fungi, work in progress, 59 H x 41 W x 2 D, acrylics on canvas

Polypore Fungi, work in progress, 59 H x 41 W x 2 D, acrylics on canvas

Studying shades of dark and light are the basics of any Artwork done with color,  and it’s good to practice “real” drawing every so often, paying attention to lines, shapes, spaces…but enough of pencil drawings for a while. I’m craving color and space once more- ready to paint again, but starting this so close to the date we leave for holidays this coming Friday. My hope is to call it finished while it’s still at the open and lively stage, before over-working it.  Here is the painting after about two hours.

Redbuds 02

Saturday, March 17th, 2007


 

Redbuds 02, misty morning in Coppell, TX, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels, graphite, watercolor pencils on paper
Redbuds 02, misty morning in Coppell, TX, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels, graphite, watercolor pencils on paper. 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.

This drawing was an experiment with oil pastels and water-soluble graphite to see if the two could cooperate in the same drawing. Conclusion: that’s up to the artist! It was about 8 A.M… the sun barely shone through the thick mist this early Spring morning. The surrounding forest was grey, and the brilliant pink blossoms of the Redbud bush pushed through it all, with patches of green grass starting to grow in the field.

Moon Over Myrtle finished

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006


 

Moon Over Myrtle - morning moon over Crepe Myrtle tree, Lewisville, Texas 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper
Moon Over Myrtle, morning moon over Crepe Myrtle tree, Lewisville, Texas, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper with 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.
This is another oil pastel drawing that went through a few transformations while posting on a popular interactive artist’s website, wetcanvas.com. It was noted after posting this stage that the sky looked more like water, so I played around with ideas that might make it look less so using computer alterations first, a new tool for me, then altering the drawing itself.

Moon Over Myrtle, stages

Sunday, September 24th, 2006


 
Moon Over Myrtle, detail

Work in progress online with other artist’s comment exchanges.. While trying to change the look of water where sky was intended, at one point it looked like there was a shark shape, so with the computer I added it for fun. Continually scraping away areas then rebuilding and trying ways to give it more depth, then for some reason Cezanne came to mind so I looked him up to learn more about life and work. I learned more about Cubist ideas by applying them than reading about them years ago.

 
Moon Over Myrtle, stages

Galahs in Traffic, version 1

Wednesday, April 12th, 2006


 
Flock of Galahs, first stop
Galahs in Traffic, version 1 – this drawing started out to be a portrait of the Norfolk Island Pines growing in this coastal area of South Australia. Many of the oil pastel pieces in the Paper Places series have a first stage at the end of a day or two worth of work where it could be called finished, then after studying for a few days, months or even years, if it’s not dynamic enough it may need to be changed.
This is an area unlike any other, where flocks of Galahs flew directly into the traffic on the main highway leading to the Kangaroo Island ferry. Dead Galahs lay along the side of the road for miles. After two days of work and recalling the horrifying feelings of seeing all those dead birds, it’s clear that the drawing as it is in the stage above, is stagnant and kind of ordinary even though it could be called finished. The style needs reworking because of the subject matter and what takes place there every day.

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