These are some of the studies I did in the studio during the last few months. These are presented in no particular order, date-wise.
I used a mixture of flour, water, food coloring and a little rubbing alcohol inside the jar to mimic paint, without destroying it. The perspective on the bell is a bit wonky and skewed. I suppose I should fix it...
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| 10 x 8" Brass Bell and Ball Jar study |
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| 14 x 11" Floral Study |
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| 10 x 9" Floral Sketch |
"Laundry Day" is roughly 15 x 12", but I always intended to crop it down to about 12 x 9" or so, if I decide I like it. I definitely have to fix the ellipse that makes up the top of the sprinkler.
The antique iron belonged to my wife Leslie's grandmother, and the water sprinkler thing in the bottle was from my mom.
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| Laundry Day |
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| 10 x 8" Jar of Almonds |
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| 14 x 11" Study of Glass Jar and Bottles |
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| 9 x 12" Bottle Tops |
This was my baby cup, given to me by my eldest sister when I was born. Like me, it is old and tarnished.
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| 8 x 10" Silver Cup Sketch |
An oil study of my mother's meat grinder. It was one of the things she brought with her when she emigrated from Austria in 1957. Two other things were a brother and sister of mine.
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| 7.5 x 14" Standard Werk Nr.5 |
A quick sketch of some flowers on my back deck.
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| 8 x 10" Flower Pots |
Next, I have some 9 x 12" Field Sketches.
I painted this bridge in La Grange, Texas. I will now pause while you make your own ZZ Top joke.
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| 8 November, 2014 La Grange, Texas |
I found this spot across from the Amtrak station, and down the street from the Consulate General of Mexico in downtown Austin. I had to avoid a lot of land mines while I was painting. I wish people would clean up after their dogs.
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| 19 January, 2015 Baylor Street, Austin TX |
This is from St Valentine's Day, 2015. I went out to Pedernales Falls State Park, and decided to get some practice painting rocks. The grass ended up looking too chalky for my taste. Too much white paint, and not enough yellow.
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| 14 February, 2015 Rocks at Pedernales Falls State Park |
Finally, some recent Sketchbook pages. These are done in casein or watercolor in an 8.5" x 5.25" Strathmore watercolor sketchbook. I am really enjoying using casein, because it is opaque, and I am able to completely obliterate a bad start to a watercolor painting.
I either use water brushes, or a combination of nice Winsor & Newton sable brushes and cheap taklon (nylon) brushes that I got at a Big Lots store.
