Portrait Of An Actress

It's been thirty+ years since I've been a professional portrait painter, and haven't looked back.  That is, until a friend recently asked me to do her portrait for a one-woman performance series next year, an image that may be printed on posters advertising her show.  This is a mixture of her face and that of her character, the great Lillian Carter.  At any rate, it was a pleasure to create it, an interesting challenge, and I'm enjoying the result. 

I chose Stonehenge Kraft paper, watercolor base, and conte crayon sticks for the project.

The Castle Garden, A Year Later

It was almost like skipping off to visit a familiar old friend again, that's how energized I was by the thought of snuggling back into one of my favorite gardens. I accompanied Jim again to Port Townsend for his twice-monthly allergy shots last week, and left him at the clinic for Manresa Castle garden across the street. It felt much like the garden gave a sigh as I wandered in and found a stone-topped table under the trees.  It was the opposite side of the garden from last year's sketch I'd done in August, viewing the fountain from the other end.  

It was a sloppy beginning, hard to capture the curves of the pathway with a pen. Tough to gauge how prominently the tree trunks would figure into my composition.  Maybe I could do some pruning?  On paper, of course. What will I leave out, and what will I showcase?  And how do I get the wet colors to run smoothly, when the dry breeze was determined to dry them instantly.

Just as I began inking in the fountain in the center, a large raven landed in it, with much fanfare.  It glanced around from side to side before stepping delicately into the water and indulging in an incredibly messy bath.  I've never seen a raven bathe before.  Much less water conservation than a finch!  It was sopping wet in no time (as were the nearby plants), and hopped out, flapping off into a tree. The whole affair was wonderfully entertaining, and no one witnessed it but me. 

"After" Bear

...Otherwise known as "Hibernation Entourage".  As always with these Pigment Spill exercises, I have to keep simplicity in mind, with a measure of restraint and leaving a great deal to the viewer's imagination.  After all, that's where the fun begins.  As my husband says, "That almost looks like a....".

And even with restraint in mind, still, I can't help but think I'd like to have a go at it in Procreate on my iPad.  See what I can do with this digitally.

Good night, Bear.  

Before Bear

Betcha can't see the bear in there!  Thought I'd scan and post it before I begin working on it.  

Quantum Marketplace

I've been struggling with this sketch for a couple days.  The pigment spill exercise is from a Mother's Day visit with my daughter, where we sat outside on the lawn and worked our respective creativity.  She did her magic with silver, and I distractedly dribbled paint on wet paper.  Somehow the colors didn't work as well as I would've liked (perhaps they dried too quickly in the warm air), but that disappointment only gives me permission to play freely with it, then.  After all, it's already messed up, isn't it?  

I had a couple photos from a few years ago, when Jim and I visited Seattle for the day.  We'd wandered around the Pike Place Market and I took a couple shots of a fruit vendor offering slices of perhaps mango to passersby (not sure, I didn't take one).  I've been itching to use the figure in some sketch, so the sumptuous fruit displays made a great perspective lead-in, focusing on him.  I thought I'd just weave the scene around and in between the pigment blooms, eventually creating a Twilight Zone-ish bleed-through between realities.  Though the sketch is busier and more visually confusing than I prefer, I love the way it looks like reality rips and boils away amongst the seemingly normal marketplace activity.  Especially the dissolving of the fruit table on the lower right.

Curbside Horticulture, 5th Avenue

The colors and vibrancy of vegetation this Spring is eye-popping.  How could anyone not be out sketching, painting or photographing? I accompanied Jim to his physical therapy appointment for his vertigo problem, at the clinic in town.  Sitting in the waiting room, I had a clear view out the big windows, my little watercolor palette, a water brush and a little square of watercolor paper nearby in my kit.  They practically crawled out and shoved themselves into my hands.  

Next Winter, along about January, I'll pull this out and remember the glow of sun through the tulips and new leaves.  Purple shadows spilling across pavement.

A Little Devotional Humor

Digging through a dusty old box with brochures and old photos from the '90s, I pulled out this snapshot that Neil, my previous husband, had done of three clay monk sculptures I had finished painting.  They were drying outside, getting ready to be shipped to my fave gallery (Trios in Solana Beach, CA), nearly twenty years ago.  I still love the way they seemed to be sharing a quiet joke between them.  I wonder where all those sweet little dudes are now.  Sometimes I really miss them.