Boulder Creek Sketch

My latest outdoor work was this sketch of Boulder Creek, with the morning sun shining through the canopy of trees and warm up the water and some of the rocks. With the colder weather and shorter days and a busy schedule the opportunities to paint outdoors have not been that many.

This was done with watercolor sticks and watercolor pencils, and a size 10 synthetic travel brush.

Article on Daniel Smiths Watercolor Sticks

I wrote a short article for the November issue of the Collage, the Colorado Watercolor Society newsletter, describing my recent experiences painting with Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Sticks (available from www.DanielSmith.com).

My last post already featured one of the sketches I made solely with sticks. They are an interesting new tool, I have only begun to incorporate them in my work. I really enjoyed the quality of the pigment and how well it dilutes for painting.

The sticks are also very versatile for use. The image above is a detail of a study done on hot press watercolor paper using a variety of techniques: Drawing with the sticks onto dry paper, diluting the stick marks in other areas, painting with diluted stick pigment, drawing with wet watercolor sticks, applying the sticks to wet paper, and shaving dust of the sticks onto wet paper.

In a future post, I will include more information and images of work with watercolor sticks. The link to the Colorado Watercolor Society and to the article are available on the side bar.

Have a Game Plan...

Performances, events and games are a really good opportunity for sketching people, as subjects are engrossed in the activity and retain their "poses" for a long time. This is another page of my Aquabee sketchbook where I tried to quickly capture this man's serious and attentive expression, and the quality of the reflected light. This was painted with pigment picked up with the brush from watercolor sticks.

I also included below the pencil sketch I started with, it's pretty indicative of how much drawing I do in a sketch before moving to color. The goal is to quickly map main shapes and mark the essential highlights and deep shadows. Once that pencil outline is in place, even if the subject moves somewhat or the light changes, it is still possible to achieve the initial goal in the study--that's what I call following the game plan.

Miguel Lucas Turns One!

Just a year ago I was telling you my son was born, and now he is already running around the house... Miguel Lucas had his first birthday last weekend. He's a healthy, happy boy, we could not be prouder parents... Here's to many happy returns!

Trying a New Sketchbook

A page from my sketchbook, showing a sunset view of a back alley in Boulder, captured with a quick sketch in watercolor.

I have experimented with a lot of different papers and surfaces for my paintings, but had stuck with the same sketchbooks for quite a while. I have been using Moleskine sketchbooks, for their great format and sturdy cover, even though it is a bit of work to overcome the paper's resistance to watercolor. There is a watercolor version of it, but I don't really like the landscape format. I also use Arches 6x10 spiral pads, but it has the opposite problem, it is great for watercolor studies and small paintings, but does not work well for simply sketching.

This time around I am giving the Aquabee Super Deluxe 6x9 sketchbook a try. It contains 60 sheets of 93 lb neutral white paper, very slightly textured. It is a little bulkier to carry than what I've grown used to, but the spiral allows for more freedom during use--I don't have to hold it or clip it open. I included a photo above, and you can see it took watercolor well and ended up only a little buckled, even when I used wet washes--as opposed to my old Canson sketchbook pages that buckled severely and acquired a crackly sound when they dried. I have only filled out a couple of pages in this new book, but am enjoying it so far.

Demonstration This Saturday!

This Saturday, October 2nd, I and other artists represented in the Rocky Mountain National Exhibit will be doing demonstrations of our techniques, from 11am to 2pm, at the Foothills Art Center in Golden.

I plan to do a complete painting on Yupo, of another urban scene, in a style similar to the piece in the exhibit, to give people a good sense of the methods and materials used, the thinking process, etc.

This will be an informal event, the public is encouraged to ask questions and participate. The artists will be in front of their exhibit paintings, doing the demos at the same time, giving the public the opportunity to choose whom to watch. It will be a fun experience, and it is totally free. By the way, admission is free all day to the exhibition as well.

Longmont Studio Tour

This is a photo of my exhibit space at Longmont Studio Tour this weekend, taken during one of the few quiet moments when I was not involved in conversations with visitors. My display was hosted by Creative Framing on Main Street Longmont. I brought in my paintings, unfinished pieces, some of my equipment and samples of materials.

It was a great opportunity to interact directly with customers, visitors and other artists, in an environment which, unlike a solo exhibit, was not meant to be simply a consistent selection of pieces on show, but a broad display of work, materials and methods. People of all ages viewed the pieces, asked questions, were happy at the opportunity to handle some of the materials and were frank with their opinions. Painting is often solitary work, so it is great to be able to connect to the public in such collaborative way and learn what is working and what is not. I had very interesting discussions and obtained valuable feedback. I am definitely encouraged to paint more, share more information and plan future exhibits.

A big thank you to all who visited. I hope to see you again in future events!