getting inspiration….

"a glow in the shade" 12"x16" pastel on Uart 500

I have been feeling very uninspired this last week or so. Maybe I needed a break. Maybe it is from trying to paint and draw everyday. I mean… how do you find that much inspiration? I need to feel a connection to what I paint, it has to come from my heart. So I went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. We are in full bloom here in GA and the trees are turning green. Of course the pollen is so thick , that if you suffer from allergies it is hard to be outside. Any way, I just brought my camera along with me to the garden. I didn't want to feel pressured to paint, I just wanted to enjoy my surroundings and took a lot of photos. When I got home I went through the photos and picked a few that I really liked. I remember walking through this patch of bright green euphorbia walking through the shade, it really caught my attention. I took the time to think out the painting.

I converted the photo to black and white so I could really see the values and did a notan to block in the simple shapes. There is a lot going on in the photo and it's easy to get caught up in all the detail.

 

I decided to do an oil stain with alizarin crimson. There was so much green in the painting and the toned paper would help the green work. I worked on the painting all day (off and on), taking my time. Stepping back a lot and really looking at the painting as I progressed. I'm feeling better about my slump.

a word about sketchbooks

from my sketchbook

I have always kept some type of sketchbook. I still have the one I started when I was in college 40 years ago! I think of them more as art journals, because it shows a progression of my growth as an artist.  This year I was inspired by an artist, Gail Sibley, to keep a daily sketch book. She had kept a daily sketchbook with black pen drawings. I was so inspired by her drawings and looked forward to her postings on FB.  I decided to make the commitment myself this year.  So far I have to say , I have missed a few days, and try to make up with 2 drawings the next day. I chose to use black pen or an HB pencil to start, but I may add some other mediums as I move along.

These are some drawings from January. Sometimes I  would just draw things I saw around me and sometimes from my own reference photos that I might use later for a painting. I was uncomfortable at first, because some of the drawings were not great, but I knew that I would grow from this exercise.

January and February drawings

 and here almost up to current.

This is one of my favorite drawings. I have started a collection of vintage purple bottles. I really want to paint them, but glass is hard to paint! Drawing first…… then hopefully a painting will follow

January and February paintings

4"x6" watercolor

I have made a commitment to myself to paint and draw everyday. So I have been busy and hence no time for blogging. I won"t include my daily sketching in this blog , but I thought you might like to see my paintings from January and February. I missed a few days…. but I am still continuing to push myself to spend 4-5 hrs each day in my studio.

January paintings

more January paintings.

I ended up having to crop into squares to fit the paintings into this grid, but I think you still get the gist of the painting.

February paintings

 Oh…. they are all in pastel except the cow in the entry.

8"x10" pastel  on Uart 500 "daffodils"

I'll end February with this one, as we are almost into the spring here in Georgia!