Small still life - editing

A waste of time?

Less time, looser handling.

Fade out around focal point

Better sketching with Marc Tarot Holmes!

This is a great book by Marc Taro Holmes!! I am developing a sketch protocol I call HICSLAS so I can capture more quickly.

Urban Sketching is frustrating me because I expect better results in less time and keep getting foiled. It feels like I’m slow to get started with a sense of overwhelm, and the final result could benefit from a tighter structure underneath but looser handling in ink and paint. That being said, this one was quite successful!

This started straight from ink with no sketch.

 It seems a little weird, but in the bathroom I realized instead of magazines I need a sketch pad! All the little bottles, and a ten minute break from other interactions, is tailor-made for sketchbook target practice. 

Third try much improved!

First Try- placement errors '

HICS LAS - acronym means - 1. Horizon or eye-level  2. Interest. Where these intersect is like Thomas Schaller’s first two lines in any sketch.  3. Compare height width limits for page placement.  4.Silhouette, draw an envelope lightly outlining overall shape.  4. Large to small shapes in order of completion

5. Angle Check, where two points are chosen and the angle set between shows mistakes in proportion (THIS COULD BE THE MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE FOR ME! I KNOW TO SIGHT ANGLES, BUT DIDN’T USE THEM FOR SPOT-CHECKING PROPORTION!!  6. Scribble, Shadow. The imprecision of the HB pencil scribble works well if the proportion and placement are

Valentine Alley

The third version of this scene is painted with pinks and lilacs, so, mixtures of red and blue with white gouache. The light demands a sunny yellow however, so the compliment of purple is there too. The shapes are pretty much resolved now, but the background tree is omitted, to show off the leaning poles and power lines against a more complicated sky.

Painted Alley Cropped

 

Photo reference and casein underpainting

Same alley different composition, and another day. Another cropped edit of the same photo shows the person in the distance more plainly. This colour scheme veered away from the warm sunlit tones to a cooler yellow complimented by cold blue darks. I don’t like when my paintings become fussy. Maybe that’s why I’m working so small. If it all gets boiled down to abstract essentials like the distribution of value and temperature, the whole thing works together more. I’m attempting to indicate direction of brush stroke also, with an intention to work larger. When I photograph it and look at it later, seeing it differently, I hope to sort out what this is- abstraction, colourfield, illustration (oh,no! Not that!) romantic nostalgia, atmospheric realism, or just clumsy paint handling:)

Painted Alley

Cropping, Notan, Focal Point and Palette

 Recently I watched a short video by Mitchell Albala about creating Notan studies for landscapes, and it got me thinking, could that help me simplify overwhelming detail in sketching? Could it jumpstart a better composition for a painting? 

The iPad is a great tool for cropping a photo and layering a Notan in was doable. 

When drawing from the photo I was defining shapes of shadow and light- a better approach than defining edges as lines- (no wonder that gets overwhelming) and shapes are relatively easier to draw. Less tension around placement and proportion.

Gouache is a way to make colour decisions and make 5x7 inch thumbnail paintings. I see this painting much larger in oil or acrylic. Scale would make the end of the alley visible- as it is a focal point, after all.

Pictures of Japan

Anyone who appreciates minimalist architecture would enjoy Japanese Cities. My photos were sometimes just of streets scenes when some aspect caught my eye within the linear flow of the street and buildings. Harajuku- Takeshita Dori street is a popular Tokyo neighborhood that caters to a vibrant youth culture. The curved building is interesting. I think the second floor was for rent!

Harajuku Takeshita Dori

I seldom finish. Partly because I fall in love with it, but I don’t want it ruined, and partly because I’m already dissatisfied and as long as it’s in the drawing board I’ve got skin in the game! Not so wonderful is the accumulating graveyard of un-failed paintings in my studio.

Harajuku Takeshita Dori

Winter walks

 The less traffic route to King St and Liberty has modern townhouses and condos by the tracks. Looking south there is a great view of the old carpet factory buildings. The more modern builds make it seem more  exotic than before. It’s cold in Feb so phone photos let me think about it as a possible subject and work up value sketches and composition- on iPad in this instance.