Thursday night and almost there with box #1

Here is the week. I've been focused on my outdoor studio and didn't do so well with my blog entries. 

Will try to write. I did receive another $1.00 contribution from an admirer. 

Friday

I finished the first side and have #2 about half way there. Getting into the routine. I bought knee pads that keep my knees good. I had some problems on Thursday with the wind. Something got in my eye and I had to stop and go to CVS to get contact solution to wash it out. But yesterday was easy. 

Wednesday at Wilshire and Normandie

I got the box all primed yesterday and then the wind started blowing. This morning was perfect and I got pretty far before class at 2.

This is a really nice neighborhood. People are very friendly and interested. Some people even thanked me for painting the box white.

Day one at the corner of Wilshire and Normandie

This is all ready for priming in the am, then perhaps at least an under painting by the end of the day. It's really good to be outdoors. No one really talked to me except the people who work in the parking lot at the Line Hotel. It was really cute. They called over to tell me they were going home 

Plein air Sunday

It's a perfect day!

I

I went to Nova color and did some damage.  

All eight studies are done and approved. Tomorrow I'll start prepping! I am nervous - issues with getting the supplies on site and parking and just getting used to my new outdoor studio. I hope it takes just a week for each one. Will naturally depend on the weather but I hope the designs go up easily too. 

7

not finished but it's coming

6 and counting

What a week! A ton of students in the studio over the week end. Figure drawing is really shaping up as a class and in the afternoon I now have the help of David Watson who graduated from Mountserrat College in Massachusetts and has a bunch of experience in the contemporary art world. The best was that when faced with an impromptu lesson in two point perspective, he jumped in and did a fantastic job. 

and on top of that Nickelodeon wants to set a reality TV episode in the studio and I called the business school at Pepperdine to pitch the studio as a case study and tomorrow they are both interviewing me.......

But I have the utility boxes pending and have to reach the number eight with really good ideas. Here is #6.

Studies

Here are four studies for the next box . They need just a few touches.

And here's one I did today and will finish tomorrow- then get to work on the 6th.

The Picadelli Apartments at Wilshire and Normandie .

In progress

Progress on the Utility Boxes

In the last two weeks I have been hanging around the neighborhood at Wilshire and Normandie getting a feel for paintings that reflect the neighborhood. I have four studies almost completed and ideas for two more. I have to get eight solid paintings in total

 The painting below is just getting started. I will do the building but have the orange underpainting in place to be a light source inside of the building.

. I think I will have them by the end of the week. Here's what I have so far.

Utility boxes

I'm getting a start tonight on the studies for the 2 boxes at Wilshire and Normandie. 

Addendum

This is Teresa Sun's painting. Great lamp post in addition to a real background and foreground. Good Work!

Photos from Plein Air Sunday

Yesterday was the last Sunday of the month and we met on the grounds of LACMA to get in some fantastic painting. The weather was perfect and it was a relaxing and successful afternoon. I'm amazed at the work. Somehow I missed getting a photo of Teresa's painting but I'll add it when I see her on Tuesday.

Shana

A really beautiful painting in acrylic.

 Aishwarya

The building in the background is excellent in this as the grass in the foreground.

Denise

Great treatment of light and shadow in the foreground and good treatment of buildings in the background.

Elizabeth

I love this painting! Simple, great color and fluent.

Me

Getting ready for Plein Air Sunday

I did this quick demo in preparation for out next Sunday painting session. We talked about the principles of atmospheric perspective. The first rule is that contrast in value diminishes as things recede in the distance. So here I just painted three palm trees  that are lighter as they go back against the white background. Just the change in value makes it seem like the tree on the right is in back of the other two.

Another technique with trees is to pay attention to the negative space and a good technique is to paint the positive space like I did above, then come in and paint the trees again by looking at the negative space. This breaks up the tendency to do cartoon or repetitive trees from your head rather than from observation. SOmetimes you have to go back and forth from positive to negative to ge a tree that captures the actual gesture of what you are looking at.

Saturday Night at fresh stART

I participated in the fresh stART event last night at the Santa Monica Airport  and sold 8 paintings!!!!

It was a wonderful event and I'm not the only one to see lots of red dots next to my work. There was a big crowd of people who were buying art .

But I want to be a little serious about how important it is for artists to be able to find collectors who appreciated and collect their work. It really breathes life into the studio. I'm grateful.

And for all the plain air painters from Sunday,,,, I sold my little painting. I will post the pieces that were sold this afternoon.