Plateau take two.

Chisel pen + m. Graham wash in Holbein multi drawing book. About 10
minutes of work while Y was showering. Need to perfect the stealth
painting for when bunny comes.

Small studies of mountain aerial.

More Sandias.

Another try, this time on 300# Kilimanjaro paper with my full WN palette + a small study done later on a 140# watercolor strathmore visual journal page. The full version was done with an under-drawing traced from a digitally generalized image. Still needs work.

Sketch of Sandia Mountains from an aerial photo

 
I've been painting from a book of aerial images: "Over the Mountains , an aerial view of geology" by Michael Collier. The photos are beautiful but quite complex, and a challenge to paint from since the perspective (from the air) can be difficult to replicate correctly. But I keep trying.

This sketch was done without any pencil drawing. Just wet paint on dry paper. I feel more and more drawn to this approach as I like the spontaneity of it. I'm impatient and paint quickly, and first sketching out a pencil outline makes the process feel less fluid .  Despite the fact that it usually leads to better painting if I have a good pencil under-drawing I'm more drawn to just painting without it as it seems more instinctive. I am sketching almost daily to improve my drawing skills and maybe getting better at this will make it more enticing to draw in some initial sketch. Obviously value sketches are beneficial and I agree with my teacher that you can't paint it well if you can't draw it, but I'm hoping to eventually be able to paint "it" well without the line work, but to perhaps have  a separate drawing done beforehand as a guide.

I finally used up the last of the terrible Utrecht watercolor paper with this painting. I'm using a very limited M.Graham palette  supplemented with a bright green mixed from DaVinci PY3 Hansa light and WN PG36 phtalo green to try and replicate American Journey's Skip's green.

I'll try this piece again in a more deliberate way in my Kilimanjaro 300 pd paint book. I also just received 5 Saunders Waterford Fat Pads from the UK which I can't wait to try. But first I need to finish the Kili paper.

Lubber run paintout with Steve Fleming

Not so good

In Capitol Reef NP

Fuzzy nature

An evening's work

Came home with a strong urge to play drums and to paint. So I did. I had bought a cheap block of paper from Utrech on my way home so I could just practice with little regard for wastage. Big mistake. Cheap paper is cheap. I had tried this Utrech French made paper last year but had forgotten how bad it was. Not a pleasant experience. Anyways, this piece inspired from some fresh peonies given to me by a colleague was done on this paper. I used up 4 sheets tonight and want to throw the rest of the block out. I'll likely end up practicing my brush strokes on it guilt free.

I also started working with the Utah images. I'm going to call these two "warm up" sketches. I did grab some Arches CP for these however.

3 more mtns.

3 More

Mountains & Figures

Been painting less than I was over the winter. Moved to the burbs and new studio space is in a basement and a lot less convenient. Y is always hanging out upstairs so in the interest of spending more time with her I have to move the paints upstairs whenver I want to paint which is a bit of a PITA. The light is a whole lot better there but it's not my space so I feel less comfortable and it's less encouraging to work.

I did  take a figure painting workshop with Steve Fleming in early April that has inspired me to paint figures more. I've been working from an Anthropologie catalog that came to the house and from some Selkirk photos taken  in 2006 and 2009. Also from some amazing John Scurlock photos of the Cascades.

I got many good images from my backpacking trip into Grand Gulch a few weeks ago that I'm looking forward to interpreting when I get the courage. I did not do as much sketching as I had planned or hoped to do. The first night was snowy and cold and the other evenings more comfortable but I was either exhausted or it was too late when we stopped. Focused on photography:

More mountain attempts

Mountain

Bear Skull Mtn. Pasayten Wilderness from John Scurlock photo

Kilimanjaro Natural White 300# CP

Various

Two studies of Croda Rossa D'Ampezzo (Dolomites) from a book photograph

Kilimanjaro 300# Natural White

Croda Rossa D'Ampezzo (Dolomites)

Strathmore Visual Journal 140# (I'm really not enjoying painting on this paper at all)

 winter sky study Arches 140#CP

 winter trees arches 140# CP

random mountain study 

Strathmore Visual Journal140#

 Altiplano from a photograph I took in Jan 2008

Arches CP 300#

 Croda Rossa D'Ampezzo (Dolomites)

Strathmore Visual Journal 140# 

Imaginary mountains in the style of David Bellamy 

who's book Painting Wild Landscapes in WC I recently acquired

Strathmore Visual Journal 140#