Apunte

I've been looking at Sorolla's apunte's lately. That's the word used in a book I have for his small, quick oil sketches he made on sight. The english translation is simply note. And that's what they are, quick notes of a scene. I'll put some up on a later post, but not here with mine!

This is a quick apunte I did in downtown Phoenix. The Westward Ho, Fillmore and Central.

Late Afternoon Sun

A view of Phoenix on a winter day, late afternoon.
Focused on simplifying shapes and values.

6 x 8, oil on card board

Not Alla Prima

As much as I love alla prima painting, there is a richness and depth that can be had with working and reworking over a painting. This one is an example of that. I did a lot of glazing, scraping  and over painting.

It's not finished, I've been working on it off and on for a few months.

Gouache

Just South of Downtown Phoenix in the old warehouse district. A little gouache study.

I may have mentioned before, I have a love hate relationship with gouache. I enjoy it's opacity and the unexpected accidents that happen. And I love the matte satin finish. It can be a little tricky though because it changes value so much as it dries.

PM…not AM

For a few years now, I have been teaching a painting class where we go into the city and paint on location. It's always been a very fun class. And it's always been in the morning. This February I will be teaching it again, however, it will be in the afternoon. I thought I knew downtown Phoenix pretty well but this has forced me to find new places. More accurately, it has helped me to see old places in a new way. That's what happened with this painting. I've seen this church a hundred times before but never this way. I did this last Saturday afternoon looking west on Monroe. I think it is one of the locations we'll go to.

Not Another Bungalow!

Yes, another bungalow. This on's on Portland in Phoenix. I've taken my city Painting class here a number of times to paint. I had to paint this house a few times before I was satisfied with the color but I finally got it. 

Paintings at SFA

Beginning this week, I have 11 new paintings showing at Scottsdale Fine Art. Most of them are small pieces done on location, including some of the bungalow paintings I have previously posted on this site. There is one larger painting, an 18 x 24 of Gordon's Grocery Store. Come by and take a look if you get a chance. They will be up until 15 Mar.

Another Corner Building.

This is another older building, it is across the street from Gordon's. It was once a dull brown color but then was painted this bright yellow a few years ago. Good move for me as it gave me something more interesting to paint. The rich color of the stucco is enhanced by the warm light reflecting up into it. One of the things I like about painting in the city is the mundane manmade objects that become really interesting elements to paint. Anything, once you throw a light on it, is interesting to paint. In this case, the post, the traffic light and the one-way arrow all become interesting elements and create a fun companion to the palm tree.

Quick Pastel Sketch

This is a view of the Westward Ho from 2nd Avenue in downtown Phoenix. It is quick demo done for my City Painting class.

Gordon's Market

When I first moved here to Arizona, I began roaming around town searching for places to paint. It seemed a little harder to find what I wanted than it was in LA where I moved from. But then I came across Gordon's. It was a little neighborhood grocery store on Roosevelt and Third Avenue. It has long since been remodeled and turned into some kind of school. This little study, 6x8, was done from a Kodachrome (may you rest in peace) slide I took 30 years ago.

Here is another painting I did a few years ago.

Backlighting = Shapes

A small study based on a photo in Phoenix. As I've mentioned before, backlighting often provides strong / dark light patterns and shapes to work with.

To Paint…or not…

This is an older apartment building that has intrigued me for years. It is nothing fancy, just a solid building from…the 40's? I've often thought about painting it but never quite got the final click in my head that there was something worth spending a few hours on. Last week I went into Phoenix to paint, after driving around for over an hour, I decided to give this place a shot. I think there are some possibilities here I want to further explore. 8x10 on canvas mounted to board.

Central Phoenix

A little (6x6) painting looking south on Central Ave in Phoenix.

Fast food

This KFC gave me a chance to work with some interesting shapes and thick paint. Painted this past Monday morning, 6x8.

Circles Records and Tapes

One of the cooler buildings in downtown Phoenix is Circles Records and Tapes. It was originally a Studebaker showroom, built back in the forties. Inside the round glass front was a turntable floor that would go round and round with cars on it, showing them off to the passing public. A good example of streamline deco design, of which there is not much in the valley. Sometime in the seventies, it became a record store. Unfortunately, with the changes in the music industry, Circles finally closed in 2010. The building is still there but is threatened by the fact that the owners have not registered it as an historic building. You can read more about it at Modern Phoenix. This is a small color sketch I did from a photo I took a couple years ago.

Urban Bungalow

Another plein aire bungalow.

Phoenix Bungalow

Here's another quick painting for my city class. This is one of the wonderful houses around 7th Avenue, a little north of the freeway.