A new look at old ideas

Two ideas have tugged at my attention over the past few years--urban sketching, for one.  I like the look and feel of ink on paper with bits of color here and there. There can be a spacious atmospheric quality to this kind of work when the paint is limited and ink and white space become a medium in itself.

The other idea that keeps calling me is aerial painting. The view from above as in a bird's eye view of land or sea or city is an impersonal looking and quite abstract. There's a kind of knowing what's being seen, and at the same time not quite identifying what's being seen--abstract.

I did a painting in 2017 for an exhibition project offered by Shenandoah Valley Art Center. The challenge was to paint a landmark location in the city of Waynesboro, VA--a town near my home. I chose to paint an aerial view "Bower St. and Hermitage Rd." which I liked. It was well received, and quickly sold to a gentleman geologist. You can see the painting here in my July 2017 post . . .

( Waynesboro Challenge - Landmark: Bower St. & Hermitage Rd.)

So, long story short, I've begun both--weekly urban sketching around town and a series of aerial sketches. Below are images of my first two aerial sketches.

It's never too late to follow up on some of those old ideas you've had and maybe even combine them. Cheers!

Downtown Staunton Sketch #1
9.5" x 9.5" Ink and Watercolor 

Downtown Staunton Sketch #2
9.5" x 9.5" Ink and Watercolor

(click on images for a larger view)

Waynesboro Blue

Waynesboro Blue  7"x9"  Watercolor

Another work resulting from my recent rainy-day outing into Waynesboro, Va. A combination of memory and a photo was enough to complete this image.

I recently joined Co-Art Gallery in Staunton, Virginia, and there is a niche display within the gallery for smaller, unframed works in a browsing file where all member artists contribute paintings and drawings. My watercolors will fit nicely into this niche.

Over my painting career I've not done many watercolors. Generally, watercolors are worked light to dark, whereas oils and pastels are painted differently, and pastels are definitely worked dark to light, so watercolors are a challenge of process. Although I'm more at home in oils and pastels, I welcome the challenge. 

 

Train Alley - Enjoy the Ride

Train Alley - Waynesboro East 5x11 gouache 

No. Commerce Ave, Waynesboro East

I have been promising myself that the next time it rains I will take a drive around east Waynesboro and take a few reference photos to draw from. The rain makes surfaces crisp, clean, and reflective. It rained a good bit Monday and I kept my promise.

The above painting is a rainy-day gouache on Strathmore 500 Bristol—Plate Surface. I used mostly black with minimal additions of blue, violet, and green. In hindsight, I wish I had used more restraint and limited my palette to just black, or maybe a blended raw umber and black. I’ve included the reference photo.

My mantra has always been render less, suggest more, and it’s the goal I work toward. 

I love to look at monotypes. I believe it is because a black and white image offers less absolutes/fewer clues to us viewers who automatically strive to define what it is we are looking at. Over a grayscale painting or drawing, I think our eyes wander just a little longer and our right-brain enjoys the journey—I know mine does.