I’ve been exploring a new way to sketch, synthesizing many different approaches and methods using a variety of media in a large 12″x18″ format. I will be demonstrating this new direction at Art Walk Fest, at the Gunnison Arts Center, this Friday, September 7th from 5:00-8:00 PM.
In my never-ending quest to become more and more loose, I am sketching directly with watercolor or pastel, then developing form and structure from the loose shapes I set on paper. In studying the sketches of the Masters, one can see places where the artist is searching for “the line;” the place where the contour line makes the shape correct. Then by adding value, the form can emerge.
For me, these exercises are like a scientist performing experiments, getting results, and acting on the data sets. I will use this experience to begin painting in oils. I want my oils to be loose and direct, not layered and classical, with a build up of glazes.
Join me in Gunnison Friday night. My sketches from this past week will be available for $50 each.
I began the week using white gouache with watercolor, sketching with my brush directly on the watercolor pad. Later, I progressed to sketching with pastel, and adding watercolor or watercolor & gouache washes over the pastel contour lines. In my most recent composition, I have made an underpainting of pastel. I plan to add the watercolor washes on Friday. Come out to see the results of this experiment. For now, I’ve been painting horses. On Friday, I plan to also sketch a few flowers, as time allows.
Beginning Friday during Art Walk and continuing through the month of September, I will offer all my matted bin work at 50% off. These works are
backed with foam core and ready for your frame. This is a great opportunity to become a collector of my artwork. I look forward to seeing you this Friday evening. Besides Art in Action, a full range of Art Walk activities are offered, including a free concert featuring Niceness.
I will be pleased to visit with you, answer questions, and share what I am working on. As Gunnison locals know, I am a frequent instructor at the Center, along with exhibiting my watercolors and mixed media work through the Shop at the GAC and GAC exhibitions, including the recent Colorado Watercolor Society juried “A Splash of Colorado,” and the GAC January staff/instructor show, where I showed my travel sketches and paintings. I spent the winter in the Central Highlands of Mexico, painting the beautiful Baroque cities of Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo, Querétaro, and San Luis Potosí, and the charming village of Ajijí, Jalisco.
