Pond Painting 1

I am probably going to break one of my rules with this painting because I want to go back and clean up some areas. Part of me says stay with the energy that I got on site. The other is wanting to tame it a bit. I will keep you posted. This is the painting that I did in direct sunlight over at the gardens. My shirt was drenched with sweat when I stopped.

Poppies on Masa

Lately I am at a loss with respect to confidence in my work. I have been painting a lot and should be posting daily. But, I start looking at the work and I feel like it isn't worthy of posting. I guess I'm going through something. The surface is Masa coated with gesso. The flowers were poppies from the botanical garden here in Austin. I worked from a sketch done on site.

2 Poppies

To get the textured surface I wet the Masa paper first and balled it up. I then spread it out to dry. Once dry I added Gesso to both sides to solidify the texture. I chose to use the long format because a Facebook friend mentioned that the original plein air sketch reminded him of Oriental paintings. I need to get back to the garden before it gets too hot here.

Welcome Spring

Pam and I were visiting the botanical gardens last Sunday. This is one of the last paintings I was able to get in before we had to leave. I was actually sitting in the parking lot and had to move a couple of times to let cars pass. I used one of my Strathmore Artist tiles and a variety of pastel brands.

This is a sketch I did while waiting in court. I called it "Impatiently Waiting". I don't think that anyone in court patiently waits.

First Garden Shadows

I painted this image first. I posted the second study before this one. I like both for different reasons. I love painting on a dark surface in pastels. The scene is from the Fort Bragg Botanical Gardens which is a wonderful place. I haven't done any plein air work there yet but I fully intend to.

This is a color study from one of my tan toned sketch books. I used Copic markers for the value study and watercolors to play.

Maroon Bush

This small painting was inspired by a photo I took at the Fort Bragg, California botanical gardens a few years ago. My goal was to render the image in an abstract manner. I painted on the artist tiles recently introduced by Strathmore. It can be yours for 45.00 unframed.

Garden Shadows

A little painting inspired by the botanical garden in Fort Bragg. A truly beautiful place along a beautiful coastline. I like working in the 6 by 6 format on the Strathmore Artist Tiles. I need to spend less time with them but whatever.

More Branches

I can really drill down my scene in the landscape vision wise. What really drew my attention was the lack of branches. Refocus time.

3252012 Botanical Garden 1

Today I went to paint in the botanical gardens here in Austin. The flowers were in bloom and almost at their peak. I sat and painted by the iris beds in the shade.
A few people came by to watch and take their own photographs of the irises. Pam took a few shots of me painting in the gardens, hope to post some of them soon.

The first sketch completed during my outing on Town Lake this past weekend. I have a policy that I don't touch them after I leave. I really had to resist further clarifying the larger tree. I do like the water.

Pond Reflections 2

I worked from a plein air study to get this one. No photos just the sketch and my memory. I plan to go back to this little pond in the botanical gardens here in Austin as soon as we get out of this drought. We are getting rain every week and that helps a lot.

Botanical Garden Path 2

I used the plein air sketch completed on site for this one. I skipped the photo and just used the study. Working from sketches completed onsite is far better than working from a photo. Its easier to recall the scenery, light, sounds etc.

Botanical Pond Reflections

I really need to spend more time painting water reflections. I was sitting on the edge of the pond in an uncomfortable position while painting this one. As a result this one isn't as rich as the scene was. Note to self get comfortable before I settle on a scene to paint.

Botanical Garden Path

On Monday Pam and I went over to the Austin Botanical Gardens for me to paint and for her to explore the gardens and nap. This was my second painting made during the outing. The koi pond and waterfall were closed due to stage two water restrictions. It made me sad. The light was beautiful on this path that leads down to the dinosaur garden.

Garden 2

Another painting from the garden.