From My Drawing Table

Here are a couple more paintings done around my home.  One is the view out the window next to my drawing table and the other is some of the cluttered mess on my drawing table itself.  The view is 20x24 done in acrylic and the mess is 12x16 done in oil.  

Still Life

Here's a little painting I did at home last night.  I had planned on going out to paint by the river, but I had to work later and was loosing daylight (the time change has made things a little tougher on my outdoor painting lately).  So, my plans thwarted, I came home and painted this still life instead.  I haven't done too many still lifes, I suppose I tend to over think them, but with this one I just painted what I saw on our kitchen table.  It's 11x14 acrylic on canvas.

A Couple More Paintings

Here are a couple of paintings that I did this week.  The top one is another painting from Stough Canyon (same as my last post) and the bottom one was done looking out the window of my house.  They were both done in acrylic and are 16 x 20 and 20 x 24.

I've been preparing canvases and panels lately by adding a couple of coats of gesso; brushing one coat perpendicular to the other.  The brush strokes mimic the texture of the canvas but sort of obscure it a bit more, which I'm kind of liking. The absorbency of the gesso also gives the acrylics more of a matte appearance and less of that plastic-y look which I'm not too big a fan of.  Anyway, it's been fun sort of customizing the supports a little bit.  I think I might even start stretching my own canvases soon.

Places

Here are a couple of paintings I did this week of some places that are important to me.  The top one is 16x20 done in acrylic, I painted it on site near the start of one of my favorite hikes.  The bottom one is 20x24 done in alkyd.  I painted this in my living room one evening and during the process my son picked up the truck to play with it multiple times.

Recent Paintings

These are a couple of paintings I did this week.  They are both done from life of scenes around my home.  They are both done in acrylic and relatively small (the palm tree is 14x18 and the couch is 11x14).

Tucson

Well I just got back from a short trip to Tucson to visit family.  I had an opportunity while there to get out and do a little sketching.  The sketch above is about 4 x 6 watercolor and gauche and the two paintings below are both 8 x 10 done in oil.

Getting Outside

These are some sketches I've done in the last week or so.  It's been pretty clear lately, (though rather hot) which has made for some good (though less than comfortable) sketching conditions .  These are all done close to home near the L.A. River, and the local foothills.

Griffith Park Sketches

These are a couple sketches I did this week near Griffith Park.  I did a couple of other ones too, but they came out pretty bad.

The Verdugos

This is a quick little painting I did tonight.  It's based on a photo I took on a hike a little while back.

Feeling Kind of Sketchy

I got up early this morning and went to the hills to do a little sketching.  It was good to see the morning light and smell the earth and sage and sumac.  I really need to do this sort of thing more often.