Before I crumpled today’s experiment I drew a free form with charcoal and painted within the confines of the lines. There were features of my brother Mike (autistic, low functioning and nonverbal), but not as pronounced as in my previous posts (see Imaginary Brother – New Ideas, So Simple, and Yet…, Imaginary Hug, with Feeling, Tri-Clopean Portrait, and Self-Portrait with […]
It’s been pretty dry out here in California. The fig tree in the back yard seems to be wilting. It has been doing so all summer. Usually, the onset of autumn begins one or two yellow leaf among the lush green leaves. Today the fig tree looked like yesterday’s limp salad. I began this study […]
I started today’s abstract with random daubs of blue watercolor. After it dried, I used lemon yellow and cadmium red light, also at random. I used charcoal to outline some of the borders of the watercolor shapes. I tried to avoid constructing any recognizable forms even though the contours suggested certain features of a head. I […]
Had a scare today. While I was at work when I got a call that our loved one’s (C’s) status had changed. She is in hospice care at home. When I got there, C’s breathing was very shallow. She wasn’t moving and did not respond beyond some slurred words, when questioned. Just yesterday was having a […]
I continue with my portrait series of my brother Mike, below. (Mike is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal.) See yesterday’s post (Evolution of a Portrait Series) for the process I underwent to arrive at today’s watercolor/charcoal sketch. Mike often held his hand to his ear. He held his hand in a position in which his pinky jutted […]
Mike, my older brother, is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. The last visit with brother Mike was in 2013 (see The Visit, Note – this post may contain triggers as I was very distraught when I wrote it; no disrespect was intended.) Below is one of the last photos I took of Mike: This is a […]
Today’s experiment began as a doodle. I dragged the nearly weightless stick of charcoal across the rough watercolor paper. I used a paper stump to drag the dark outlines of the doodle into the loops. I love that this process produces shading and the appearance of three dimensionality. I hate the sound and feel of the […]
Here is my abstract based on the sketch I posted yesterday. This abstract is a combination of flat surfaces (in red) and charcoal-shaded areas that appear to be three dimensional. I shaded some of the areas with blue, a color that landscape painters use to indicate recession into the distance. They often use reds or other […]
Today’s experiment: I remember how difficult it used to be for me to estimate proportions in my drawings of faces and figures. It is still not my forte. On a whim, I wanted to see how I would fare with a sketch today. Sketch subject – my Jaguar Begin digression: Before I describe today’s sketch I […]
Today’s experiment: I have many photographs of parking lots. I take them when my wife is shopping. I used to bring my sketch book. I have many sketches of parking lots. I proved yesterday that I could re-create a photograph as a watercolor composition, faithfully in many ways. Yesterday’s post was in response to the […]
