Step into Liquid

Thought this painting was finished until I took some photos of it..Saw some spots that need some work, so back to the easel! As for the foot, I was fooling around with the camera, trying to give it a sense of scale.. will post the finished piece later.


I am having a heck of a time trying to mix the colors I want to finish painting "glassy paddle out" Today I got discouraged and wiped off all the paint I laid over the b&w image..a few day's worth.. Luckily, the image is still there. Maybe when I return from our backpack trip, a week without ocean or paint, just mountains, my eyes will be able to see things differently..

Pastel from the Past

This is for those of you who don't know my past work . Yes, it is pastel.. I actually think it was the very last still life I did before I packed all my pastels away in 2002.. I just sold it and Jesse took a digital photo for my records.. Much easier than the laborious professional film set up I have done in the past..
I have been entertaining the idea of documenting all the old work on a web site.. just for a record more than anything else..
Other news.. I was in the process of ruining "glassy paddle out" by painting layers of color on top of the black and white, until I decided to put it aside before it is completely gone.. ...I may return to it later, sometimes mistakes take unexpected turns.. In the meantime, I started on a larger water b&w.. So much fun...

Take a deep breath

"Glassy paddle out" OK, another experiment... this is the "first" stage. The so-called underpainting..I rather like it in black and white, so I really need to let go of any attachment to the painting and go ahead into the unknown. I plan to apply thin glazes of color (yyyaaaahhhh!!) and see if i can make it come alive.. Because of the water being so glassy/edgy there is less blending, less of the soft edges that I am also attracted to and create a completely different feeling for me...yet another challenge.. I am sitting with the notion that I might completely "ruin" it which is the reason for me posting it before I finish it..
There are many layers of painting on this panel, the same wave in many different forms.. kept trying to "get it right" but never completely did.. color issues again... This reminded me of the great little lefts at Bolinas when the groin sandbar was working (sigh!) ...Anyway, a friend saw it and loved it, so it will now be at her house...
Out of focus photo of the wave above. There is something I am really attracted to about this image..what a contrast to the crisp b&w.. Probably the two sides of my brain jockeying for control... 

More Foam...

Thought I would post a few more of the foam drawings since I haven't posted in a while...I did a series of 14 of these, so will gradually put them up for view.. a few at a time..