Plein Air!

I have once again started Plein Air painting, which is the first time I've posted any on this blog. I forgot how much I missed it!

In fact, it had been so long since I last touched my oil paints, that I did not have a tube of white. Or a tube of Burnt Umber. Or a tube of ultramarine blue. So the first painting was done that first day I went out, as a very spur of the moment thing, tossing all of the little tubes of oil paint I had into my easle, whereupon I discovered my lack of these three important pigments. But since I was there, and it was a beautiful day, I thought I would give it a try anyways.

I went back yesterday and did the second piece, after having carefully gone back through my supply of paints to select my colors with more prejudice. Did I mention that I've never painted white water rapids before? (The previous day totally doesn't count) And I've never done rocks from anything more than a photograph? This painting challenged me. Which is a good thing. But man, it was hard.

Long time no post!

So I heard about the Waterhouse Exhibit in Montreal (ending this Sunday!) via James Gurney's blogpost where he was arrested (not really) at the Canadian border.

So I went over to the website, saw how awesome the show appeared, hoodwinked Marika McCoola* into taking me up there, and away we went!

First stop in Montreal: A crepe shop! There was a mushroom and bechemel sauce crepe and a banana and chocolate crepe. They were good.


Then: The big day. Waterhouse! It was pretty amazing. These two come from Ulysses and the Sirens and one of the Lady of Shalott Paintings.


How can I not have gone to see the Waterhouse exhibit and not drawn this one? I'm still working on resolving it, because by this time I was sick of shading everything so carefully. So I did something different. Marika has a pretty fantastic version over on her blog.



One of Waterhouse's earlier works, the Saint of Eulalie. She did something, so the Romans tortured her with hot pokers and sticks on fire. As she died, a white dove emerged from her mouth, and God sent down snow to put out the fire and sooth her burnt skin. Frankly, I would have preferred not dying, but being immortalized in a Waterhouse painting is pretty cool too.

I'll come back and clean up these sketches a little more (aka, getting rid of the black eraser crap), but I am tired, and this blog needed updating badly.

*And by hoodwink, what I really mean is I said something along the lines of "Hey, Marika, I'm going to Montreal! I'm stopping at your house on the way! Wanna join me in this venture?"

Zombies!

An image I owe a friend that I'm finally starting to work on. Digital sketch, more to come.

Silly Postcard

A silly postcard for my brother, and also a quick attempt at acrylics.

Another sketch!

I was trying to do a realistic portrait from imagination, and then just drew my hand instead. Unfinished thanks to horrible hand cramping and some lovely thunderstorms that utterly destroyed my light.

Sketches!

Sorry folks, I know I should be putting finished stuff up here, but it seems I am only capable of taking something halfway and then abandoning it. Who knew I needed deadlines so badly?

My return!

I feel like, having graduated, all that jazz, I should be updating with more than a sketch of my cat. Alas, this is all the people who read my blog shall recieve. All two of you.

more wips!

The last one I'm painting with oils, and now I'm rethinking I may have to repaint the other two.  The oils are so lovely on top of sculpy.  We'll see how it works out on top of acrylic.

Horror Lady

Another Work in Progress piece.  Doing those polka dots on her dress is going to be fun.

Maybe finished?

I don't know yet.  The top one is going to kill my printer, I'll probably have to lighten it up to get it to print right.  Setting these aside to go back to working on the sculptures.