Giving Thanks
Month: November 2019
Thanksgiving Pumpkin
Getting in the mood for Thanksgiving, with its colors and fruits.
Wisdom from Plato
An important quote.
Tulips, Two Media
The difference between watercolor and acrylics (or oil, which is similar to acrylics but dries more slowly and isn’t water soluble) are shown by these two paintings. Note the difference in transparency vs. opacity and delicacy vs. richness. In watercolor white is the white of the paper, because it’s transparent you can’t paint a light on top of a dark, and it’s hard to correct mistakes. Whereas in acrylics you can paint white on top of black and repaint endlessly. I’ve been painting watercolor for 20 years, but just started acrylics six months ago, and I love them both. Which do you prefer?
Brooklyn Brownstones
This is the Brooklyn brownstone where our granddaughter Maggie, now 1 1/2, spent her first year. If you look closely you can see Maggie, our daughter-in-law Eva and son Andrew in the second floor window. Because there was so much detail, I used watercolor pencils as well as watercolor paint.
House portraits make great Christmas gifts. If you would like to commission one, please let me know soon. Information is here.
15-Minute Portrait
Painting faces is intimidating, because it’s so easy to get “the most carefully studied 22-square inches in the universe” wrong. Since I took a portrait workshop in September, it has been easier. The Newton Watercolor Society hires models every other Friday morning, who sit for a series of short poses. This is my result today of one of the 15 minute poses. I see some mistakes, but believe me, 15 minutes goes by quickly.
Striking Portrait
This is the first facial portrait I’ve done without a teacher. Because we know the human face so well, it’s challenging, but also rewarding when you produce a reasonable likeness.
Ramen Noodle Shop
In New York last weekend, we had delicious bowls of soup at a ramen noodle shop. It was fun to eat and sketch. When you compare the sketch with the photo, you can see I took a lot of liberties, especially with the signs and walls, which were mostly neutrals. I paint because I love color.
