When my plein air group at Martinez Waterfront Park last Saturday I really enjoyed the painting process despite getting a late start. Then I tinkered in the studio, never one to leave well enough alone. Above is the final version and below are the steps I took to get there, recorded just for fun. First is the thumbnail sketch/value study:
1. Thumbnail/value study
Then I blocked in the colors using really thin paint at the average color of each of the large shapes and planes or puzzle pieces as I like to think of them. I was pleased to see I did the drawing pretty well, and was able to fit everything on the square panel in about the same proportions as I saw them and as in my thumbnail sketch.
My plein air painting buddy Cathy, invited me over to sketch her wisteria which was blooming in her beautiful, backyard Zen garden.
Cathy is a graphic designer and her wonderful design sense is apparent throughout her home and garden. I loved being in the presence of the quiet empty spaces, balanced with beautifully designed sculptural installations of plantings, ceramics, orchids and bonsais; and Japanese style fences, stones used to simulate streams and landscape features.
With a fountain tinkling, bees visiting the wisteria and hummingbirds sipping from the fuchsia while we sat in the shade sketching, it was a wonderful way to end the day feeling relaxed and at peace.
This morning when I was watering the roses I noticed that the one I sketched yesterday (see below) had opened and was even prettier today. But it was way too hot to sketch outside so I cut the rose and brought it in. Then it was way too hot in the studio too, even with all the blinds closed and the lights off.
Trying to ignore the heat, I put the rose in a vase on the drawing table and shined one small light on it, with no light on my sketchbook and tried to really focus on the drawing instead of just approximating the shapes. It’s amazing how focusing on drawing makes the problems and discomforts of the world just drop away. But when the drawing was done, I couldn’t take the heat anymore and dragged the portable air conditioner into the studio. Ahhh relief.
I tried to be more careful with the washes for the shadows than I was yesterday, to keep the white rose white and let the shadows define the form. I’m happy with the way it turned out.
But yesterday, when I drew Rose version #1 below, I really liked my initial pencil drawing. Then I added watercolor on just the rose and liked that too [shoulda stopped]…but then I painted in the background and felt like I lost the definition of the form [shoulda stopped] …
White Rose Version #1, ink & watercolor 5x5"
…so then I added some lines with my Micron Pigma which just made it worse. At that point there was nothing I could do but close the sketchbook and look forward to the day when I finally learn the lesson of stopping while I was ahead!
Are You a YES or a NO? Ink & watercolor in Moleskine 5x7 wc notebook
What if, when you wanted to buy a car, you had to pick from three models, a YES, a NO, or a MAYBE, depending on which kind of person you were. What if, along with gender, everyone was also designated as a YES or NO, based on their basic approach to life.
I thought of this while I was driving across town with a dear friend (whom I shall call X), and we were talking about things going on in the world and in our lives. I turned to X, explained the YES/NO concept, and said, “I would be a YES and you’d be a NO, right?”
X said, “um…..Maybe,” which is X’s usual answer for many things. So for X, I added the third category, “Maybe.”
X is someone who will never admit to being happy, as if it would be dangerous to do so. When X rates a movie on Netflix, or a transaction on eBay, X never gives the the full 5 stars. These things must be doled out carefully.
I’m just the opposite. I see myself as a person of big enthusiasms and gladly give 5 stars; I’m more likely to say I LOVE something than I like it. I love feeling happy and will gladly tell the world when I am.
Of course all this YESness has not always been to my advantage. There were many times in life when I should have said NO, but didn’t. And maybe I should be more of a MAYBE, more careful, tentative, taking a long time to think things through, rather than jumping right in, throwing caution to the wind. But then I wouldn’t be me.
I wonder if other people see me as a YES. How do you see yourself? Are you a YES, a NO or a Maybe? Do you think your friends and family would agree? Do you think one is better than the other?
Watching the Demo, Ink & watercolor in 8x6" sketchbook
Monday night Randall Sexton did a still life demo at the El Cerrito Art Association meeting. It was my first time attending an ECAA meeting but my second time with Randy, as I’d taken a weekend figure painting workshop with him last summer. He is an excellent painter and a gentle teacher. He was ready to start painting right on time and waited patiently for at least half an hour while the friendly group took care of business matters and announcements.
Randy Sexton demonstrating, Ink & watercolor in 8x6" sketchbook
I’d been struggling with a still life painting that day so the demo came at a perfect time and I left knowing exactly where I’d gone wrong with the painting. Some days, just knowing where I’ve gone wrong is as good as it gets.
(To read my notes from the demo, click the image to enlarge it.)
"Who Am I" according to Snoop Dog #1, Ink & Gouache
Continuing with International Fake Journal Month, and my (fake) search for my identity by listening to lyrics of songs titled “Who Am I.” Today my clues come from Snoop Doggy Dog’s (unlistenable, disgusting) song “Who Am I: What’s My Name.” According to his lyrics:
Now just throw your hands in the xxx air
And wave the xxxs like ya just don’t care.
I step through the fog and I creep through the smog
cuz I’m Snoop Doggy (what?) Doggy (what?) Doggy [Dog].
The Biggest Nuts, Ink & Gouache
Then he says:
“…with the biggest nuts and guess what?
He is I, and I am him, slim with the tilted brim.”
I listened to samples of Snoop’s catalog on Amazon while I was sketching and decided that he has an awful potty mouth, doesn’t make sense and therefore must discard his clues. Clearly, despite his claims, I am neither the one with the biggest nuts nor a dog. But I loved throwing my hands in the air and waving ’em like I just don’t care.
Today was International Sketchcrawl 22. Martha had a morning event to attend so instead of joining the San Francisco group we met at 2:00 and sketched around the Colusa Circle in Kensington/El Cerrito. The sketch above is of my favorite grocery store, Colusa Market. Their produce is always fresh and delicious.
After a visit to pet the bunnies at Rabbit Ears, a pet store specializing in rabbits, and taking a peek into the Kensington Circus Pub (which was closed but would have been fun to sketch in) we took a hike through the nearby Sunset View Cemetery. I’ve painted there before and love the hilltop bay views and peaceful surroundings.
Sunset Cemetery, ink & watercolor
The fog rolled in and what had been a hot day turned chilly. Martha was cold and my butt fell asleep from sitting on a cement block so we headed back down to our cars. It was after 5:00 and time to say good bye. Not an all-day sketchcrawl this time but a good afternoon with excellent company on a beautiful day.
Officially they’re known as Ground Squirrels but they look more like rats wearing moth-eaten squirrel costumes. After trying to sketch them during a hike around Albany Bulb, a spit of land projecting into the SF Bay in Albany, I can say they have cute little ears and seem to be curious and playful. Their biggest selling point is that they make good snacks for the owls and other birds of prey that hunt in the area.
I’ve written about Albany Bulb before, so won’t go into details about this wonderful place where people make art from found objects washed up from the Bay or from the land’s original use as a dump. New art is created and people add to or decorate pieces already there.
One of the regular artists who create there is writer, artist, civil rights lawyer, Osha Neumann (below, building a new sculpture).
Osha Neumann at Albany Bulb, at work on new sculpture
I asked him if he documents his work and he said no, but that other people sometimes take photos. I told him I thought that his work was true art, because it was made just for the pleasure of the creating, with no concern about marketing, sales, fame or glory. He just gets out there and creates. I asked what the man he was constructing was meant to be doing and he asked what I thought. It wasn’t until I saw my photo that I realized he was holding a fishing pole (duh!).
My favorite new piece was the artist below, although Osha said that someone else added the palette and pampas grass “paintbrush,” they weren’t part of his original sculpture.
Artist at the Albany Bulb
When I saw the dog below I asked Osha where the arches with the dog atop them were that I remembered from a previous trip. He said that structure blew down over the winter and was gone.
Dog sculpture at Albany Bulb
My hiking companion, 10 year old Mariah had a great time playing in the fort someone built, complete with a spiral staircase. Next time we go there we’re going to bring supplies to make our own art.
Who Am I, Sepia Micron Pigma Ink & Gouache, 5.5x7.5"
This is the beginning of my contribution to International Fake Journal Month (read on for more about this). To participate, I’m filling a journal this month as a woman who doesn’t know who she is and is trying to find out. (Maybe she’ll learn how she lost her memory too.) I started by Googling “Who Am I” and clicked the first link, a YouTube video by Casting Crowns which inspired the rose and waves besides my pondering self.
Then I checked iTunes and found more than 100 songs named “Who Am I.” I shall play detective, listening to each song, reading the lyrics looking for clues to who “I” am. I’m looking forward to Snoop Dogg’s “Who Am I” day. As I write and draw what I learn, I’ll fill the journal and by the end of the month may have discovered my true identity.
International Fake Journal Month
Roz Stendahl of Roz Wound Up and The International Fake Journal Month blogs is one of my favorite artist bloggers. This month she introduced a quirky and wonderful concept: The Fake Journal. The idea is to create a journal for a month, where you take on a new persona, and fill that journal with the writings and sketches of that person as he or she evolves. To learn more about Fake Journal Month and Roz..
The weather has been so glorious the past few days it’s hard to be indoors, especially when cold April showers are predicted for the rest of the week. I decided to combine a walk with doing errands and calling my mom, so I tossed my sketching kit in my bag, grabbed my iPhone and headed out the door.
Three blocks from home I spotted these fuchsias. I remembered how my sister and I used to pretend these flowers were little ballerinas and dance them around our San Diego backyard. But I couldn’t remember what they were called. Since I had my mom on the phone, I asked her, “What are those little pink flowers called that look like ballet dancers?”
My mother is 86 years old and we’d just been having a fruitless conversation about Digital TV vs HD TV and LCD vs LED (and this with someone whose VCR has been blinking 12:00 for years). She said she had no idea what flower I was talking about but began describing random flowers that might qualify.
Meanwhile, I’d finished my ink drawing, set up my watercolors on the ground, and started painting. As I was writing a note in my sketchbook I remembered they were called fuchsias, like the color.
I changed the subject, packed up, and started walking again. We continued our conversation until I reached the market and it was time for her to watch General Hospital.
Botanical Sketching in the 1500s
Fuchsias were named for Leonhart Fuchs, born in 1501, a doctor who studied plants for their medicinal uses and wrote De Historia Stirpium comentarii insignes(or Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants) (because all medicine was herbal back then). The original book, in excellent condition, is in the University of Missouri library and available for viewing. There are digital images of the book and its illustrations on their website or clicking the image below.
Jana Bouc, Artist 
