Sun & Rain

I went out painting one morning and all of a sudden it became overcast. I usually like the sunlight to give me form and good light and shadow, but I decided to carry on. I set up and painted an old church in Mesa. Actually, 2 churches. Part of what attracted me was the relationship between the 2 steeples.

It started to rain so it became a rather quick painting. Even so, in the short time I painted, I became intrigued with painting the subtle changes of temperature and hue within the different shapes. Changes in hue and intensity while keeping the same value is always a beautiful thing.

But then I came back later in the week and set up on a beautiful crisp morning. Kind of a Monet state of mind.

Santa Monica Pier

About 25 years ago, I took a trip back to my hometown on the west side of LA and took a bunch of pictures. I pulled them out awhile ago and have been doing some studies and sketches. Here are two that I've done of the carousel on the Santa Monica Pier.

This is the carousel that was used in the Redford/Newman movie, “The Sting”.

Scottsdale Paint Out

As mentioned, last Saturday I participated in the first annual Scottsdale Paint Out. Turned out to be a beautiful day and a lot of fun. My painting had quite a few bidders on it. Unfortunately, I neglected to get a picture of it before I gave it to the buyer.

(photo courtesy of Julia Patterson)

Sketchbook

I had to go in to AiPX the other day. Rather than drive, I rode the light rail so I could draw. Here are some of the results. It is fascinating how much more you see of people and things when you are drawing. I was only able to record a fraction of what I saw. I’m reminded of the Delacroix quote, “Any artist who cannot sketch a man falling from a fourth story window before he hits the ground is not worth his salt as an artist.” Drawing people in public demonstrates the truth of that statement, People move so much that if you don’t get it down fast, you probably won’t get it. Unless their sleeping. That’s my crutch. I do find that doing these drawings forces me to look faster, more completely and develop my visual memory.

2 Little Paintings

This Saturday I will be participating in Fall for the Arts, an arts festival in Scottsdale. I will be painting out on Main Street (it will be blocked off from traffic) with a number of other artists. Then, in the evening, I will be doing a demo at the Scottsdale Artist School for the Beaux Arts celebration. Since I don't want to mess up, I decided to try a couple dry runs.

I will be doing something like this for the Fall for the Arts. (I scouted out the site on Main Street but couldn't find anything that inspired me) so I decided to do a painting of an old restaurant we used to go to when I was a kid in LA called Philippe's. Go there sometime and get a double dip pork french dip sandwich. Be careful of their mustard, it's very good but real hot.

I added the old car because this place always reminds me of the forties.
People from my painting class will recognize this; a preliminary study done in 4 values.

For the Beaux Arts, I'm going to do a still life along this line. It will be done from life.

So, if you get a chance, come by and see me painting this Saturday out on Main Street along with quite a few other artists. We'll be painting from 10 to 12 after which the paintings will be auctioned off.

Lost In Toledo

A few years ago, on a trip to Spain, my wife and I stayed in Toledo one night. After arriving there my wife was tired and took a little nap, I went out and explored the town. I found the view of El Greco’s painting along with a thousand other remarkable views of toledo. Dusk came and I thought I had better get back to the hotel. After 20 minutes of walking I started recognizing streets that i knew were on the opposite end of town from the hotel. I was completely turned around and lost. I thought, “what a joy, to be lost in the streets of Toledo!”

Here is a gouache study I did based on that episode.