Southern Fruit

This is another painting from Charleston, South Carolina. This was the view from my hotel room. When I first arrived, I did a small 5 by 7 watercolor sketch of this view. This paint was completed this year. The steeple is the church where the killings occured. The statute is probably a confederate soldier or "hero". I really need to visit this place again. Somuch subject matter.

Last Haul Noyo Harbor

About three years ago we were hanging out right at dusk near Noyo harbor. I was concentrating on photographing people fishing and the boats coming in for the night. What struck me most about this image was the lone fisherman on the top near the light and the red lobster traps in the back of the vessel.

Tide Pool Buddies

When I can, I want to get to California. The place inspires me and I get to see Pamela. A few years ago, we were out and about on the Point Reyes National Seashore and I was busy sketching people. I was working on 8 by 6 pieces of Khadi watercolor paper. I liked how their bodies reflected in the tide pools. I used quick gesture work to get the overall form down and added watercolor later. I moved a few years ago. I threw away about a third of what I was hoarding and did a lot of reorganizing. I found an old sketchbook with value studies from 2007. Yesterday I did a small pastel from one of those studies. I was amazed at how much of the actual scene came flooding back into my mind.

In 2007 I spent the weekend in Fulton, Texas painting and sketching with a painting group. This pastel put me back in that place by the water watching the shrimpers coming in and going out. The birds of course were feeding.

Lake Surface

This is a little sketch on Khadi paper from my trip to the Eastern Sierras. The water was amazingly clear. I'm going to do more studies of the water surface from some of the photos that I took. My strategy when out painting, is to capture as many drawings in ink as time allows. I later add color from memory or photos. I added sky color to the snow to make it look less like white cut outs.

Sierras Car Sketch

This years birthday trip was to the Eastern Sierras. We spent three days in the town of Lee Vining, California. The town has a population of about 450 people. Mono Lake is located there and tourism is a big part of the town's income. In order to get there we had to go through Yosemite National Park. The landscape in and around the park was jaw dropping. I had three sketchbooks and loose sheets of Khadi watercolor paper to work with. I did some sketching while Pam drove (thank you Pam). This image is from my new Etchr sketchbook. I chose the hot press version because of the ease of sketching in pen. I was inspired by the different trees and the character of the rock formations.

South Congress Brunch

A few weeks ago Pam and I explored the South Congress (SoCo) area in Austin. With growth, this area has improved but also managed to retain some of its funkiness. The people watching was rich with variety. I took the time to do a few on site sketches on loose Khadi paper. Pam is used to me sketching but, I try to work quickly so as to not bore her. I liked the people so that is the point of this little sketch people appreciation.