Autumn Cactus

I went to Brooklyn Botanic Garden today to paint some fall foliage and I painted a cactus instead.

For 2021 year-to-date this is my 50th plein air painting!

(That's not counting all the other stuff I have done, like the church paintings and studio work.)

50 outdoor oil paintings this year so far, wow! I have been busy.

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This painting will not photograph no matter what I do.

So here are 2 versions, the background is better in the first one and the overall color is better in the second one.

I did not realize BBG closes at 3:30, I thought it was 5... and I got kicked out about 15 minutes from the finish so I had to do it at home.  I don't like doing that but it was only the cactus spikes and the stone ground texture. 

I had the ground colors mixed already and just brought paint home, and the spikes were scratched in with my palette knife.

So, minimal.

I really am a purist where plein air is concerned but this painting is telling me to be flexible when needed. I didn't do anything I wouldn't have done outdoors and most especially I didn't allow myself to refine this painting as if it was a studio painting.  So it's ok.

I have to ask my friend Janet about lighting set up for photographing paintings- she just invested in a good setup and even knows how to use it.  I might need an umbrella or something, I dont know...

But she has a house in NJ and I have a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC so there's also a space issue....

Photographing paintings is really difficult.

Jo on Tuesday

Tonight's drawing session was really, really good... Jo modeled for us and she's fantastic.

20 min pose, graphite

40 mins graphite

44

Today I am 44.

I had a wonderful day.  

Dru and I went into Boston and she showed me many nice things, like Quincy Market.

We had official CHOWDA for lunch.  I had an official CHOWDA buff for several hours and basically turned into a Bostonian.

Why choose one when you can have 2??

There are cool buildings and a giraffe and a carousel and a labyrinth.

I did a painting.

It is 8x10 oil.

I would have liked 3 or 3 1/2 hours on this but I did not have that much time so I did it in an hour and a half.

And then there was a prismatic squirrel and the tea party museum and an ominous sinister building and some other stuff.

Dru has an actual dispenser for her white artist tape and if you scratch Emo’s butt in a certain spot he will lick the couch.

Today was a lovely birthday and I am very thankful.

Awesome Creepy Cemetery Trees

I am in Boston visiting Drusilla for the weekend.

The train ride up was really lovely.

I got to Dru’s in the late afternoon, still early enough to go to the lovely wonderful local cemetery and do a painting.

Dru is wonderful; she does not mind that I paint!

There were some really pretty orange trees and I was going to paint them.

But then I turned around and saw these absolutely wonderful creepy gnarly trees and we both decided they are way better than the pretty orange trees.

I rushed this painting, I was really fighting daylight.  

It took a little over an hour.

8x10 oil

Topiary Cats: Fearless

Drawing America is having a contest this month and the prizes are gift cards to Jerry’s.

I want art supply financing!

And I would like for paintings to pay for paintings.

The big prize is a $200 gift card and there is a guest artist judge who decides.

The theme is Fearless.

I did some topiary cats.

9x12 oil