"Essence" Nude Sketch of a Very Pale Model

7" x 9", "Essence" on "Sand" Canson Paper,

SOLD

This sketch was done in a technique called

"Peinture a l'essence" that was commonly used

by Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. I think I may

have mentioned this previously a few months

back. To do this, you have to soak the oil out of

the paint on blotters or paper towels overnight.

Then, you transfer the paint to a paletter, and

use it, without adding any medium (this is very

important), but just diluting with solvent ("essence")

means "solvent" in French). This enables you to paint

right on any paper, without preparing it with a ground,

such as gesso, rabbit skin glue, or shellac.

The effect is a very mat one, and sometimes people

think these paintings are pastels. Toulouse-Lautrec's

famouse paintings on cardboard in the National

Gallery were all done this way. And, while they are

more than one hundred years old, there is still no

oil stain around the images.

I am going to be teaching a workshop in this soon.

Thanks for visiting today.

Founders Beach, Isla Morada

6" x 8", Gouache on Canson WC Paper NFS

This is a VERY loose interpretation of a beach I snorkeled

off of in the Keys. I saw some amazing Parrot Fish there

(they're the ones that have the beaks and eat the coral that

gets processed by their digestive systems into sand...what goes

around comes around.....very literally in this case). The photo

I posted before I went away was of a Princess Parrot Fish - one

of my all-time favorite fish to see. I did notice, though, that these

fish were very skittish and kept running away from me, while in

the Caribbean they are really laid back, and let you follow them

around for an hour. They come in many different colors - bright

orange, red and green, and the turquoise of the Queen and Princess.

Thanks for visiting today. I think by Monday I'll have this out of

my system.

Pink and Yellow Cloud off of Key West

5" x 5", Gouache on Strathmore Bristol,

This cloud plus the silhouette of all the trees really

caught my eye. I really want to do this in oil, I think

I could do it justice in that medium. This is just a sketch

but I had fun doing it.

Back View Sketch of Seated Model in Drypoint

3 1/2" x 5", Drypoint Etching Bid Here

I didn't have much time to work today, so

I drew and printed this sketch from a photo

that I had taken of my favorite model, Sharon,

a few years ago.

I used a zinc plate, so there was some nice

plate tone, and I was pleased with the line

quality and suggestion of darkness in the

background.

Thanks for visiting today.

Gestural Figure Study in Red and White Conte on Blue Paper

Red & White Conte on Blue Paper,

11" x 14" , NFS

I really enjoyed working from this model.

She is so statuesque. Gesture drawing is

so much fun, and good for you too! So many

students are afraid to let go and try it - they

don't realize how much it can improve your

drawing.......

Storm Off the Keys

Gouache on Canson WC Paper, 4 1/2" x 7" Bid Here

I just got back for the Florida Keys on Saturday. We spent two days

dealing with a hurricane, which was at times exciting, at other times

disappointing. But it also yielded mind-gripping images such as

the one above, which I did from memory completely, so of course

it isn't as fantastic as it was in real life.

I was five miles out off the coast of Key Largo, snorkeling from an

excursion boat. We had all just finished and returned to the boat,

when a storm pulled up really very fast. It literally started raining

as the last person climbed up the ladder into the boat. But as we

made our way back to shore (we had been at the John Pennecamp

Natural Park, which is the only great barrier reef in the United States),

and moved away from the storm, there was this amazing limpid green

water backed by a threatening black sky. There was no blue, or visible

clouds. I just stuck those in there for artistic effect.

Thanks for visiting today.

I WILL BE IN THIS WORLD FOR AWHILE........

GOOD BYE.....BE BACK HERE ABOUT THE 25TH!

Gouche Fantasy of Summer in the Shenandoah

7 1/4" x 4 3/4", Gouache on Plate Bristol Paper, Bid Here

I have always loved the Shenandoah mountains. To me they are a

magical place. I spent a lot of time there many years ago. My memories

of them are some of my most cherished. I go back to them time and

time again.

There is almost nothing as beautiful as a line of several

mountains (not depicted here), moving away from you in the distance,

getting fainter and fainter, and bluer and bluer, until you can't be certain

if you really see it or not - it almost looks transparent.

This is sort of a made-up picture. I had a small photograph. But it

was quite different from this. I also like working in gouache, for reasons

I have given previously.

This may be my last post for quite a while. I am leaving on Thursday

for vacation. I will be back on the 22nd, but as I'll be teaching on the 23rd,

and the 24th is Sunday, I doubt there will be anything here until at least

the 25th -- that is unless I can squeeze in a painting tomorrow, or the next

day with all the other things I have to do. I am taking a laptop with me, so

will not be completely out of reach.

Thanks for stopping by.

Page of Small Gouache Landscape Sketches

Canson WC Sketchbook Page, 9" x 12", sketches

in varying sizes NFS

I'm going to be teaching a Gouache workshop

in about three weeks, so I thought I should just

get back in the swing of things as far as gouache

is concerned. These sketches were all done in

a Canson watercolor sketchbook, which is one

of my favorite things to work in. If the pictures

don't get too large the paper doesn't really

wrinkle too much.

I like to use gouache as a combination of

watercolor and the way it is supposed to be

used, as an opaque medium. I love the various

contrasts that can be gotten in that way. It is

also fun to squeegee down a layer of Aquapasto

first, and see what effects that has on your work.

I will also work sometimes on Canson papers, which

have such nice colors, if I feel like working on a

colored background.

The mountains are the Blue Ridge; the river is

the Potomac (two blocks from where I live); the

trees and sky are a park down the way from me.

I really love painting with this stuff. It is relaxing.

Gouache Sketch after a Pontormo Fresco

7 1/4" x 9 1/2", Gouache on Canson WC

Notebook Paper

I have always loved this image - and certain

other things by Pontormo.

He was a really strange person. He lived in

a room that had no door, but only a window

to the outside, from which he entered and

left by a ladder. He kept a diary of everything

that he ate. He didn't like people, so he didn't

generally use models. If you look closely

his altarpieces, you will see that each person

is the same one, whether they are female, or

male, they all have the same face.

But I've always found this to be a particularly

delicate, almost celestial image. I just did a

quick sketch of it in gouache - some day I think

I'll do a longer study of it in oil.

Thanks for visiting today.

Tribute to my most esteemed model, Sharon

These are three of the many pieces of artwork

I have done over the past fifteen years with

Sharon as my subject. She has been a never-

ending inspiration, and I just thought she

deserved a little bit of a tribute. The painting

on the top is not for sale, unless someone is willing

to pay me about $8000.00 for it (seriously).

The second piece is just some 2-3 minute gesture

poses on newsprint, and isn't in saleable condition.

The drawing above is in pencil on white sketch-weight

drawing paper. I did it as a portrait demonstration

exactly ten years ago. No one else has eyelids like

that. Her father was from Ireland, and I think it shows

in her soulful face. Thank you, Sharon.

Ancient Greek Venus Fragment

Pastel and Chacoal Pencil on White Drawing

Paper, 8" x 10 1/2" ( w/1" margins), Purchase Here

I love this image, even though it is very high

key and the color is very subtle. I feel that it

highlights the line work that way. Line is very

powerful - something that I am always encouraging

my students to understand. Trying to master

line is a big part of learning to draw fluently.

Thanks for visiting today, and have a nice

weekend.