Monday, January 26, 2009

Some Watercolor studies

"Smoky Mountains"
Watercolor 4" x 6"

"Beach Study"
Watercolor 4" x 6"

"Arts Council Study"
Watercolor 4" x 6"
This study was done quickly on a cold day. The perspective lines are off, and there are some other problems, but I wanted a study of one section of this historical house that houses the county's Arts Council and Gallery. This will serve as a study for a larger piece. I will use this and studies from different angles to come up with a composition for a large painting.
My pocket watercolor kit has been put to good use. I have been keeping it in the car to ensure I get some sketching time in daily in case I miss my nightly studio time due to other circumstances. The house sketch was done from life, the other two from memory as I couldn't get out on my lunch break. These are loose and not wonderful, but I am an oil and acrylic painter usually. I am enjoying sketching in watercolor though, and may develop some larger work in watercolor.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Daily sketching kit and some Winter Snow!

We had about 4 inches on snow on Tuesday and temperatures never got out of the twenties, which is unusual for North Carolina, even in winter. Usually after low temps, it gets at least above freezing!

I spoke in my previous post about finding time to sketch daily, when I am rushed. I keep this pocket watercolor kit in my car with a small block of WC paper and a bottle of water. It is so simple - just open the box wet the WC pans and mix on the lid with the tiny brush which fits in the box! I am normally an oil and acrylic painter, but my gear for that is larger and takes longer to set up. With this pocket kit, I can sketch quickly on my lunch break to ensure that I get some painting time in, in case I miss my studio time at night.
These little paintings end up being mostly studies for oil and acrylic works, but they are fresh and stand on their own as a nice little watercolor. I will post some of these studies tomorrow. I may even sell these in the miniature/sketches section of my website for a reduced price after I use them for my larger paintings.



Here is our daughter Sophia on our front porch after playing in the snow. She was not happy when it was time to come inside!



Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Back to painting after artist's block.

Well, I have been absent from the blog for awhile, and one of my goals this year is to be more frequent in my posting. When I started the blog a few years ago, I was better about posting regularly, but since the birth of my daughter, who will be two in March, life has been so crazy and busy - BUT WELL WORTH IT!

I am back to painting regularly, I just have gotten slack in posting new work and comments to the blog here.
I did have a lull in December, where I would start a painting, and just wipe it down, or go out to paint on location and just pack it up. I think all artists go through this sometimes. I have millions of ideas for paintings in my head all the time, but I was just going through a period where I didn't feel inspired to paint, which is rare for me. I think it was the busy Christmas season coupled with the fact that I am balancing my career as an artist with my full time job and my family responsibilities. It can be difficult to move ahead in your painting when your painting schedule has been moved to late at night and you are tired. But I want to progress in my painting to move towards my goal of painting full-time, so being flexible in my painting schedule is necessary. Could I start my studio time earlier in the evening? Yes, but then I would miss out on the little time that I have in the evenings with my wife and daughter. I would rather spend quality time with them, and paint after they are in bed.
Anyway, I have found a way to get some daily sketching time in that doesn't take much time at all. I will share that and some studies in the next post.