Ladies in Waiting

"Lady in Waiting"--four drafts
8X10"
Pen, ink, and watercolor

My husband and I went out to a little shopping area near our town recently. It is a beautiful place that is full of inspiration for paintings and drawings. We didn't realize, however, that a huge festival taking place there during the very weekend we decided to go.

The place was packed, and there were so many people milling about that I couldn't even find a spot to sit and sketch. As we were walking around, though, a woman sitting on a bench caught my eye. She had a parasol and the way she was seated created an interesting shape in my mind. So when I got home, I drew a pen-and-ink sketch of what I could remember. Then I added a tree and added some decoration to her parasol. I wanted to add some watercolor, but I wasn't sure which colors to use.

Thank goodness for the marvels of modern technology. I made some copies of the sketch onto recycled paper, so I could experiment with some color combinations before I made the final painting. Above are the four ideas I came up with--it was so much fun! #1 was actually the last one I painted, but I think it comes from another painting idea of mine. #3 was interesting and left me with a lot of green paint, so I splashed the extra paint onto #2. I was going to come back and add more to #2, but I liked the minimalist effect of the color. #4 came from just trying something different. I have my favorites, and I think I know what I'm going to do now. But it might be interesting to see if anyone else has an opinion first.

Alligators, Crocodiles, Caimans

"Charlie"
8X10"
Watercolor

This is the time that I wish Steve Irwin, the crazy crocodile hunter guy, was still around. I know that I've heard explanations before on the difference between alligators, crocodiles, and caimans, but I can't remember a darn thing. I can tell you that I got the idea for this painting after I watched an interesting program on a particular species of cayman. The question of whether what I painted accurately depicts a caiman or not will have to be debated by reptilian experts. I just happened to like the scene of an alligator/crocodile/caiman floating along in the water with his eyes and snout just peeking out above the surface.

I decided to title the painting "Charlie" after a story that my husband told me. He had mentioned hearing about some kids that were swimming in some kind of pond or waterway in Florida. An adult saw that there was an alligator in the water and started yelling at the kids to get out. The kids seemed unconcerned with the giant reptile. Their casual response to the frantic adult? "Oh, that's Charlie. He's here all the time."

This Charlie has been with me for a few weeks now. I've been painting him slowly and carefully, letting the paint dry between the various layers. I'm usually not so patient in my painting, but Charlie helped me to see the benefits in it. Below, you can see Charlie in his early stage as a pen-and-ink sketch:

Sleeping Dog

"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie #1"
16X20"
Acrylic

Abstract art hasn't really been my thing, but there's one kind of abstract sketch that I keep using. I call him "Sleeping Dog", and he was inspired by a former roommate's Labrador retriever.

In one of my drawing classes, the teacher had us draw with a piece of charcoal taped to the end of a 3 ft. stick. I guess this is a common tool to help students learn perspective, but I noticed that it also helped to create some interesting drawings. Not only did we have to draw in class, but we were encouraged to draw at home. The subject matter could be anything you found lying around the house.

During one of my drawing sessions in the living room, the dog came in, plopped down on the couch, and promptly began napping. Caught up in the creative moment, I decided to sketch him with the stick. I liked how the shape turned out, and after the drawing class ended, I decided to do the painting pictured at the top here. Since my roommate had moved into another apartment by this time, I gave the painting to her as a housewarming gift.

But that wasn't the end of Sleeping Dog. He resurfaced last year when I decided to participate in a patriotic-themed show. I altered the drawing slightly, and you can view him below in his transformed state. I'm sure he will reappear in many other forms, as the inspiration strikes.


"Sleeping Dog Does America"
24X12"
Acrylic on Masonite

Revisitng Old Friends

Untitled
9X12"
Pastel

I took a rather long hiatus from visual art to pursue my musical interests. When I started to get back into visual art again, I decided to take a pastel class at the local art museum. It was a little scary at first--I had never worked with pastels before, and I hadn't been in an art class since 7th grade. I wasn't sure what to expect.

The teacher was excellent, and the students were friendly. I got over my fears fairly quickly and really enjoyed the class. The painting featured in this picture comes from one of the assignments we were given. We had to make a black-and-white copy of a picture we liked, and then we had to recreate the picture using color. I found a picture from the movie Sense and Sensibility, and I wanted to paint it for a friend of mine whose favorite actress was featured in the scene. I didn't get the resemblance that I wanted, but I was still very happy with how the picture turned out.

There was an older woman living in my apartment building at the time. I would try to visit with her whenever I could. She enjoyed looking at my art work, and she would always tell me that someday I was going to be a famous artist in New York City. What artist doesn't want to hear those kind of predictions being made about themselves? I may not be famous yet or in New York City, but I think of this time in my life--and the neighbor lady--very fondly. I ended up giving this painting to her, since she was such a fan. I really loved learning about pastels in the class, and I still enjoy the medium very much.

Scowling Owls

"Unamused"
8X10"
Pen, ink, & colored pencil

A colleague sent me some pictures of an owl awhile back, hoping to inspire me to paint it. The owl had built a nest in a drainage area near her husband's place of work. It was seen and photographed regularly, and I believe that it was even being fed tamales, which it apparently liked.

One of the pictures did inspire me, mainly because of the expression on the owl's face. For some reason, owls always appear to be scowling. Is it because they're nocturnal and don't appreciate being disturbed by us daytime creatures? Maybe this one is upset because she's not getting enough tamales. I don't know. I just decided to do a quick pen & ink sketch of this one to capture the expression. Make of it what you will.

My Hopper Quest Continues...

8X10"
Pencil sketch

I've been reading a lot about Edward Hopper, hoping to glean something from his paintings, processes, and life experiences that I can use in my own work. I was particularly impressed by a statement of his in which he talked about art revealing something of the internal life of the artist. I also was amazed by a magazine article that showed several of Hopper's preliminary sketches for one of his paintings. What he started out with and what he ended up with were significantly different.

So I took all this in and decided to try a little different approach to my next painting. I thought about what was going on in my life and how I could represent that in a painting. I decided that I wanted to paint something that would convey the fragile nature of hope and faith. Drawing this scene was a very meditative experience, and I found myself losing track of time and place. Now that I've completed this sketch, I'm going to do two more with this same theme/subject before I start on the actual painting. I'm excited and a little nervous to see what happens.

A Hopper Obsession

"Waiting"
16X20"
Oil on canvas

This is not a recent painting. I think I painted it sometime last year...or maybe the year before. I can't remember. I decided to post it here, because it represents my latest obsession: I want to paint like Edward Hopper. Why, you might ask, am I so interested in painting like Edward Hopper? There are a couple of reasons.

First of all, I love the man's use of light. He loved to paint sunlight, and he did it very well. Whether the light was part of an outdoor scene or streaming indoors through a window, Edward Hopper captured the dramatic effects of sunlight, or any other type of light for that matter. The lighting in my painting here is not nearly as dramatic as Mr. Hopper's, but for my artistic journey it does represent a big step in the direction I wish to go. Hopefully future paintings will show further progress.

The other reason I love Mr. Hopper's work is that he is able to say so much with so little. My favorite paintings of his are rather simple subjects, solitary figures in very ordinary settings, and yet each of these seems to have an entire novel behind it. I wonder if any writer has ever been inspired to write a book based on one of Mr. Hopper's paintings? Perhaps I should put down the paint brush for awhile and take up the pen?

At any rate, if you have not seen any of Edward Hopper's paintings, I suggest you check out the online exhibit from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. You can view the paintings and get a rare glimpse of the artist's sketchbook. I think I'll go take a look at it again right now...