Drawings & Paintings In-Progress

In preparation for my show starting June 15, 2012 at Dubsea in Seattle I have been working diligently on an entirely new set of drawings and paintings. I thought I’d share some of the in-progress work.

First are a few of my very basic sketches which I do to help me remember ideas. These will be fleshed out on 11×14 or 18×24 pieces of paper soon.

I’ve also decided to do a series of small gouache paintings after finishing the painting Arizona. Here are the boards with their basic sketches on them.

And finally, an 18″x24″ drawing that is about halfway done.

In-progress Drawings

I realized the other day that I was sharing drawings on this blog for sometime that I was still working on. I have a lot of drawings that are technically in progress so here is a sampling of my small, 6″ x 8″ drawings which are in-progress. If you see one which you would like to have when it’s completed please contact me.

Their Colorful Feathers Hold Us Together

Their Colorful Feathers Hold Us Together, 18" x 24"

Their Colorful Feathers Hold Us Together, detail

Their Colorful Feathers Hold Us Together, detail

18″ x 24″
ink & gouache on paper

This drawing is somewhere between a commission and a drawing that I came up with. A client of mine came in and wanted to see my new work and work in progress. I showed her everything I had going at that moment. Now mind you, I don’t sketch or draw things out in pencil to start with. So my “sketches” are more like notes to myself so can remember my initial idea.

This drawing originally was pulled from a rather ominous dream. I wanted to remember it so on the 18″ x 24″ paper I drew the face of the figure and 2 birds. When my client saw this drawing that was all that was there. I told her my initial idea and then she threw out a few ideas. From this collaboration came this drawing. The title is pulled from a song by one of my favorite bands, Miniature Tigers.

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Also, yesterday one of my blog posts was featured on Ecopressed.com! Welcome to anyone who has discovered my blog through this great collection of eco blog writing!

Drawing in Patagonia, Arizona

I have arrived and begun to settle in to my new home, Patagonia, Arizona. I’ve even started drawing! It has been quite a chunk of time where I couldn’t manage any drawing. I have yet to get a large drawing book out here so am focusing on some smaller pieces for now. I’m hoping to do some more gouache pieces on the small Stonehenge notebook and some more standard black and whites on the bristol board.

The landscape here is amazing but so different than anywhere I’ve ever been before. I’m very curious to see how the settings for my drawings change as I continue to get to know the area.

I’ll be sure to post some pieces as soon as I’ve finished some!

Painting

I never thought I’d put this painting on-line. I finished it ages ago and was really unhappy with it when it was completed. My husband and a few friends liked it but it always irked me. Well, until a few days ago and now suddenly it is my favorite. Go figure.

I’ve also been looking at this painting of mine:

This is one of my most recent paintings. I really like the palettes in both of these paintings. I think that is my problem with paintings. I get kind of lost in the color but the colors in these two seem very tight to me.

I’ve been so into drawing that I have taken a very large step away from painting. I still feel the urge to play with color minus such a strong attachment to the line so I am working on a little (8″ x 8″) piece. I’m using gouache instead of oil, this allows me to move more fluidly from drawing to painting. I use acrylic gouache so it allows for nice layering. It dries so fast though.

So here is the little piece I am struggling through:

We’ll see if anything comes of it.

What I am working on

Working away. I posted some of these drawings a few weeks ago at earlier stages. The small square piece is a gouache painting on board. The small rectangular piece below is another color gouache on cotton paper. I’m enjoying having pieces that are black & white all the way through crazy bright color.

I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with the gouache at this point. I’ve been blending my own colors finally, you can see my little palette and my tiny jars. I also bought an even finer brush, the finest I’ve ever worked with. I think the little square painting will be a bit rough when it is finished but I feel like I’m learning a lot while working on it. I enjoy using the gouache on this hard surface as opposed to the paper much more. I like the paper for spot color but think the full color is much better on the board.

I’m very excited to be painting again in some form. I miss oil painting but just don’t feel that is where I’m at right now. I cringe a bit knowing that this work will be seen more in the light “illustration” rather than fine art but I like it and that is really what matters.

In-progress work

The pile of drawings I’m currently working on. I’m started to feel limited by the 11.5″ x 14″ sized paper. I have a lot of ideas but I think they need bigger paper. I’ve been trying to finish up the old book before I buy a larger size. I remember when I moved up to the 11.5″ x 14″ from the 9″ x 11″, it felt so vast and scary! Now it feels so hard to fit everything in.

You can also see my new sketchbook in the middle. I really love this book, the sheets are big enough for my sketches and notes to remind me what my vague sketches meant but it is small enough that I don’t mind carrying it around in my purse.

Trying to draw…

…but being thwarted by the kitty.

Painting

I’ve started working on a painting again. It has been sometime since I’ve painted. This usually means that the last painting I was working on is getting painted over. This process drives my husband a bit batty for many reasons. It also stumps him, how do I know where to paint with so many layers of outlines?

I’ve found this one amusing. There is actually 3 layers of paintings here. At one point there were windows visible from 2 that would show the painting that came before. There is still a bit of this happening.

This is just the way I work I guess. Above is the last painting I completed in process. I liked how the figure from the original painting looked like she is coming to destroy the figures in the new painting.

Right, so being fascinated by this is pretty dorky I suppose. Kind of like when someone comes in and tells you your paint palette is so interesting you should frame it.

Experimenting with Color

I finished two drawings yesterday and both are the first of the big drawings to get color. I’m going easy with the color in the large drawings so far.

This is the first of the two, “Goose & Pigeon”. I used a very small patch of color in this but I really like it. This drawing has been a long process. I had the initial idea while sitting in Battery Park sometime over the summer watching pigeons sit in a tree. I did a small sketch for what I thought would be a painting. I tried the painting, it’s a half finished carcass is lying on my living room floor now. I did three separate drawings before I settled on this composition. It was a terribly long process but I’m happy with the outcome.

Here is a look at some of the preliminary attempts at “Goose & Pigeon”.

The second drawing I finished was actually for a contest but I had the deadline wrong in my head. Oh well, it gave me a chance to play around with color some more.