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Thursday, July 12, 2018

NOTES FROM MY SKETCHBOOK

quick sketch of a wall in the barn

more barn utensils

some quickie outlines for a background idea I did not use

One of my good neighbours loves sketching and art. I was over at her place, the two of us in her garden, absolutely lost in the moment of creating.



more garden sketches

Bruno's hind end - trying to get more accuracy and life to a  painting I'm doing for a friend. His horse is sadly long gone, so all I have are photos, and they really do not give me the information I need, so Bruno is the substitute model.





Lots of horse bums, and a distant tree done when he was moving too much to get a decent sketch. 

curly-leafed willow that lives in the pond

more finished drawing that I was going to use to do some dogwood 

more bums

another willow - I'd love to find a way to get that scintillating appearance of leaves in sunlight - I think it involves spattering


a somewhat gnarly-looking birch study for the painting class

I try to get an hour's sketching a day. I generally find it more relaxing than painting. Working with Bruno is interesting - I let him loose on the back lawn, and sit down on the grass nearby [hoping he doesn't seriously spook and forget I am there and run over me!] Maggie usually comes over to sit with me, keeping a sharp eye on Bruno - she has a healthy respect for his size.

Finally ... finally ... I think my attitude toward painting is taking a good turn. I have tried for years to paint what people want, and have become thoroughly disillusioned with the commercial end of art.  I am happiest and create my best work when I paint what I want. So I will be doing commissions for friends, doing other works experimenting with techniques, colour, format, etc.  And I will continue teaching and drawing.

Thank you for visiting!

4 comments:

  1. So lovely to see all your sketches! I am happy your attitude towards painting is changing for the better, it sounds good! And sitting in that field sketching sounds like absolute bliss!

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  2. Love looking at sketch books. I seldom sketch and find the material people choose to sketch, fascinating.

    I gave up being a professional jobbing artist because I never ever got to paint/draw what I wanted to. It's OK selling your originals for thousands - if your famous, but in the real world most of us live off commissions.

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  3. Sketching is such a great practice that I realize I should be doing...I have good intentions...I bought a sketch pad a few years back!!!! Lol. These are all wonderful...my favorites are of Bruno!!! You work beautifully with horses and hope to see more paintings in the future of them.

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  4. very handy having Bruno to sketch from :)

    its great seeing other people's sketches and how they work :)

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