meldrum art
Yesterday, I made a real mess of a large painting. It was going so well, the initial drawing and the placement of cobalt blue for a brilliant cloudy sky… then I added some grey to give body to the clouds. I ruined it.
So today it’s practice time. I am painting on the back side of an old watercolour. It’s a good tip not to throw out your expensive watercolour paper until you have used both sides.
Click the image below for a larger version
I met my life drawing friends at the weekend. We spent the afternoon drawing each other in the basement of an apartment block which was fun, we did this because the life drawing season after the Christmas break hasn’t got going just yet. I starts this week though.
My sketchbook is about A5 in size.
This was a first for me, I’d never sketched a transsexual model before. It was a challenge, part female – part male. I’m happy for the model, that she was proud and wanted to pose in front of strangers. It was a difficult session.
Rosa again. I struggled to find form, to be inspired. That’s the way it goes.
Back at work does not have to be a negative thing for my art productivity. Yesterday I was asked by my boss if I could do a caricature of an employee who is leaving this Friday. I accepted the challenge but by lunchtime today I was regretting saying yes. I battled on trying to create a caricature, it wasn’t easy as I only had one picture as reference, a smiling one. The person in question is more know for his scowl than his smile so I had to use a bit of imagination.
(A bad photo of the artwork unfortunately.)
There is a beautiful shaded street in the center of Palma de Mallorca. I saw two street buskers playing really soft and harmonically. I started drawing them, the light was wonderful. Unfortunately they moved on after a few minutes and I was left trying to remember the lighting on their clothes etc.
The second watercolour was a quick one. I decided that I really need to loosen up. Not be so fixed on details. Why is it so hard to do this? I was happy with the result, I wish I could be so relaxed all the time.
Rush hour in the Stockholm archipelago
69 x 49 cm on Arches rough 300g
I still find it difficult working on a larger scale than before. The surface dries so quickly as my brush races down the paper, so easy to leave unwanted faults, not enough pigment in my palette or brushes that are too small. Still, I want to master large watercolours so the only thing I can do is try, try and try again again. I hate to admit it but I think the preliminary sketch is better than the final painting.
This Stockholm ferry I painted plein air at Nybroplan, where many of the boats stop to drop off and pick up passengers.