Portrait w/charcoal, watercolor and graphite

kometes

Ink and watercolor on foam board/c. 9.5" x 8.75"

Webster's says that the Greek word for comet is kometes, comets of course those sparkling sky travelers with a tail that precedes them or so I've come to understand.  Hard to imagine the object essentially moving into or toward what appears to the eye as "exhaust", if you will.  Certainly it is the flare/flair of light that attracts the attention and the cone shaped light like the product of combustion for those with feet on the ground.
So my lines curve and shoot about from my hand; my hand directs the brush as if the movement were the "product" of my mind.  In fact, sometimes it feels like I, me, my mind, is simply the observer and I am chasing the process and seeing the result while it forms as I rush into it. 
The lines or rays flowing from her eye, like the brilliant waves of light from a comet, herald her arrival.

Work in progress

20" x 36"

Watercolor on foam board.  About to revisit and I'll post the work going forward.

Bold color

c. 20" x 24"/oil on canvas

Not too subtle.  Bright.  Loud.  Bold.  She appeals to me!

2013/First Post

So, this is a watercolor I did about four years ago.  I worked from a charcoal drawing I'd done about three or four years prior to this rendering.  It's a favorite of mine and many family members; it suggests or reminds us of a particularly challenging and stressful period during which medical treatments, hospitals, and hope saturated our lives.  That hope and treatment brought rewards and viewing this image rekindles a place of strength, warmth, optimism and successfully pushes worry to the side while it's delicacy acknowledges that we are all frail when living in time.
Although I've been silent here for just about a month I've spent time working on several larger pieces.  I've not neglected the art but have not done much of a job recording my activities.  That will change in the days to come!  I have lots of work to present and will, I hope, have lots to say about it, too.
Oh, and the image above is one I'm hoping will displayed in a local figurative show which opens shortly.

Productive November

Well, this month of November has been a very productive month on so many levels.  Just got a new job (working for an accounting firm), had a wonderful family Thanksgiving celebration and have made lots of art, lots of pictures and drawings.  Not going to rank anything, just pleased all around.

Oil on canvas
18" x 24"
Near Davenport Farm

Pastel on paper
18" x 24"

My limited posting here in the month of November (also had a birthday!) just means I've had myself involved in multiple activities and my neglect in posting shouldn't suggest that I haven't been busy in the studio......so, I'll present anyone who stumbles upon these pages or has remained curious about them with some new images and perhaps a comment or two now and then.

I have lots to show for the next several weeks.

Newer drawing

18" x 24"
Charcoal and pastel on paper

The colors I like

Water color, charcoal, gouache; 14" x24"; detail.

Work in Progress

For me, a massive oil.  I keep looking and wondering if I can do it.  36" x 48"; maybe a half-dozen times to the canvas, including almost eight hours yesterday....and I'm absolutely unsure of where I am headed with it.  So far, not too frustrating.  Not sure about it but I'm "listening" and for the most part enjoying the search for balance and tempo.

Fairly fast ink figures

 

 

If I remember correctly, these were three to five minute sketches; done in 5" x 5" sketchbook.

Some work from Sunday

Graphite, watercolor and gouache. Both pieces are about 5" x 8" and done on mat board. Quick studies with color added after the initial "outlines" were made. Personal preference for the yellow background; something about the attitude (real or imagined) depicted.

These pastel images remind me of how much I enjoy using the medium. I like that it can almost encourage, even demand spontaneity. When working with a brush, as in oil, watercolor and acrylic, I find it much more difficult to let the medium take the lead, to let the medium tell me where to go next. Maybe that is a learned skill; I 'm sure it is but I get a bit impatient with the brushed on materials! Maybe less so with watercolor.