Three Quickies

Lisa is a very kind and wise woman. On a Sunday replete with chores to be done, she sweetly suggested I spend the day painting. She said it twice. It was a bright early August day, and the weatherman was predicting five more like it to follow. With my comics stuff pretty much up to deadline, if I started something promising, I’d have the likelihood of several more days in which to finish it.

I drove to Hebron, KY where one of our sons lives with his family. A road near his house leads to a playground. I’ve walked the road with grandkids many times, and often thought that it offered some nifty silhouettes, worth building a composition around. Arriving at the destination late morning, I chose one such:

It was the four trees rising out of bushes on the hilltop that interested me. I thought they had a nice rhythm. Above is how the picture looked after an hour or so.

Another intriguing silhouette was nearby. All I had to do was rotate my easel, and myself.

I don’t know what particularly interested me here. The one tree arising out of a grove of trees, I guess. The rub-in took a bit longer.

After I packed up, my son Clint suggested I drive south on Rt. 20 in search of motifs. There were several interesting ones, including the skeleton of an old barn. I filed it all away for future use, and headed toward home. There was something else that might be suitable.

This fountain, at nearby Ault Park, seemed like an interesting way to stretch myself. A nasty complicated motif. I had an 8x10” panel, and maybe 45 minutes before the light would change irreparably.

One should not hesitate to try complex subjects. It’s a gorgeous scene. If I can get my comics work done in time tomorrow, I think I’ll return to this spot, only four miles from home, with a larger canvas.

So here’s yesterday’s first motif after today’s editing. I think I like it.

And here’s yesterday’s second motif, after a little more work.

You don’t repaint a sketchy picture in order to turn its brushstrokes into precisely rendered objects, such as tree trunks, foliage and clumps of grass. Rather, you repaint it in order to make better brushstrokes.