Wave Study

 I got home from painting Gapstow Bridge just in time to clean up and set up for art session with my Rad Reuters Friends!

We usually meet on Thursdays but Leah had a special guest teacher this evening who was doing a wave in pastel.

I didn't want to use the class reference, so I used my own.  If I'm going to be using expensive materials and put the time in I'm going to do an original studio painting. Which means using my own reference.
The ref is from Far Rockaway this past July

11x14 pastel on Uart 240.

This was a heck of a speed painting, I did it in just under 2 hours.
Here are the progress shots.

Honestly, it's all the plein airing that enables me to knock something like this out in such a short time.
And it was a challenge finishing in time.

Here are the progress shots:

Gapstow Bridge in the Snow

 We have snow so I have to go out and paint.

3ish hours.
A few times during the early/middle stages of this painting I thought it was a complete bust, but I didn't consider failing an option so I pressed on, and overall I'm happy with it.

My new winter gear upgrades are working out very well.

I didn't even have to wear gloves for the first 2 hours.

8x10 oil on linen panel
The colors aren't coming through too well in the photo, but that is true of all paintings.

Some pretty Central Park pictures:

Snow, yay

We finally got some snow!

Madeline in Charcoal

Madeline in charcoal.

I messed up this drawing because I had the face/eyes PERFECT but I finished before time was up and kept messing with it.

And I ruined it.... oh well.

Central Park Bikers

Today I went out to paint, it was so lovely outside.
I was going to go to The Ramble but...when entering the park at w72nd St... I looked to my right and saw the bike lane scene and that was it.

I do not think I met my own wishes/expectations, but I am ok with that because this was a VERY difficult and complex scene.  Often I see more than I am able to paint.  I can see it, but I can't quite get the translation to paint... YET.

The subtle colors and atmospheric perspective were really difficult in this one. 

I might paint this same spot again in 5 years.

When it comes to plein air, I am always really gentle on myself because it is an acknowledgement of how difficult this is to do. Honestly, 95% of the reason I do plein air in the first place is because it is stupid-difficult. Which forces me to grow.

Seriously, you have to be crazy to do it, and even crazier to do it smack in the middle of NYC.

I have never painted people riding on bicycles before.

Now I have and I will do even better next time.

Also, I like going home on the subway in my paint-coat.

I have an old fall coat and now I paint in it, and it has paint all over it.

I like being all paint-y.

8x10 oil on (oil primed) linen panel

2 hours 15 mins

Pleasant Valley Sunset

This was my last 5x7 oil primed linen panel.

2 hours with the Reuters group.

New Tree

I got a new little tree this year... just didn't feel like bothering with the big one.
The cats like it and it has a remote control that changes the light colors.

Proverbial Wall, Hit & Splat

I mentioned I'm taking the Will Weston class.
I'm also behind in the homework.

This is causing me extreme stress to the point where last night I had a bad dream about it and woke up panicked in the middle of the night.

I think either I'm in over my head (maybe? I'm not sure, I could probably do it with focus and energy and many hours... I DID have a great idea...) or I'm just too fatigued mentally to take on the project.

And the other thing is that I'm not a digital artist, intentionally. Not for lack of the right software, either.
Hardware is a different story but easy to get if I wanted to.  And I think at this point the work really is best done digitally.

I was on Discord with Cas all day today chatting, she was doing homework for her class and I was freaking out over mine.

I even replaced my 9 year old Wacom Bamboo tablet (I know where the tablet AND the cord AND the pen are!!) because it is so old Windows 10 can't recognize it. 

So I started working in Photoshop and...... I was so miserable.  I could work in Procreate on the ipad but I don't have the Apple Pencil I have been so on the fence about getting, precisely because I'm not a digital artist...... and also Daya ALWAYS has the ipad unless I need it for a meeting.

So I freaked out and cried.
And decided I should not be doing something that is making me so miserable. It is time to stop doing the homework and switch to observation mode. Because I am learning a lot in the class, and it's material I have never had any exposure to before. And it is important to go into uncharted waters and get exposure to things that are beyond reach/ability.

But I put so much pressure on myself and I hate feeling like a failure. I hate not being able to see it through. I never give up on art homework unless it is some weird 3D assignment I could not care less about.

And there's the money part, this was not a cheap class and I want to suck everything out of it that I can.

There are some really, really good people in that class and pretty much everyone is working digital and... they are really good.  Which makes me sink even further into my Well of Artist Despair. It is intimidating. But that's not the reason I hit my wall, which is an important point.

I wrote Will a note, I think my background is different than the rest of the class and I'm switching to observation mode.  Maybe without the homework pressure I can enjoy the last two weeks.

Snow Deer

A quick 2 hour painting

5x7 oil

From Leah's Reuters session, I just used her reference which is a strange angle with the legs, and I did remove the tree right above the head.

It's just practice.

My palette. :)
I used my Vasari Caput Mortuum. (it tints purple!)

Found in Imagination

 Carey and I finished a series.

The concept is one "found object" placed in an imaginary background.

I got to pull out my iridescent and interference paints.

All the paintings are 5x7 oil on oil-primed linen panels.

Quail Egg

Autumn

2020 Self Portrait

Puffer World

Ode to PG50

Ritz

Palette Piles in Perspective

The Lookout

Painters Tape

Earth Stone

Here are my objects, with Pebbles.

Not pictured: The Ritz bc I ate it.

The palette paper is more of a composite, so that's also not pictured.
And the quail egg is a different egg.

City Walk

I'm going nuts.

Crazy.

Mad.

Insane.
I. Need. To. Get. Out.

It has been a few weeks since i went painting and I wasn't up for it today, either.  I just wanted to get outside and move.

So I went for a walk.

I started at 59th and Lexington, then moved east downtown on 5th.
There was no plan except "downtown".

********

At the intersection of 44th and 5th ave, I saw the most coordinated thing.....maybe (because I have gone crazy as mentioned above) it isn't a big deal but I was so seriously impressed......

A man was riding on a bicycle going east on 44th street.

Delivery guy.

Busy intersection.

Cars.

People.

City stuff.

As he was coming into the intersection he reached behind and pulled out a cup, coffee cup, disposable with lid.... and as he crossed in the middle of the intersection in perfect balance riding that bike and he took a long drink of his coffee.

Then he reached behind and put it back in whatever was holding it.

Completely smooth and natural.

I guess if you can ride a bike one-handed that's no big deal but.... I could never be that coordinated.

So I think it was very impressive.

And it looked cool.

*******

I continued downtown and ended up in the village.

Washington Square Park.

Andrew the pianist was out with his piano. (@andrewtheartist on insta)

Singing.

People dancing.

The old guy in the picture uses a walker to get around and he put it aside to dance.

I have seen Andrew out before, he's always out playing.

Even in the subway.

I have absolutely no clue how he lugs that piano around but he does, and he's really, really good.

Excellent singer, too.

He spreads joy and he knows it and he loves it.

I felt some of that today and I really needed it.

I should go paint in Washington Square Park.

*******

Here is a sign for an independent film (I think) that is trying to get viewers on West Broadway and Spring St.

I have no idea what it is a bout, probably a garbage no-budget independent thing but their logo is pretty fantastic.

I looked the film up, here is the link.

Canal Street is still garbage.

I kept going downtown and ended up at the World Trade Center Memorial.

Normally I don't go down there because it makes me really sad.

I missed maybe being a name on those fountains by about a half hour.

But I went and did not feel sad today.

It really was a gorgeous day.

Here is the memorial... it is 2 fountains and all the names are engraved on the sides.

I thought maybe a family member put this rose on this name, but no...

The memorial staff does it for everyone's birthday.

There were 2 birthdays today.

Then it was time to go home.

The Broadway Nassau station (which was always part of Fulton St but just had a different name) was renamed to Fulton St as part of all the construction that happened there.

Apparently the MTA did it without approval from the historic society.... it was not an approved name change.  I bet a few people were pretty mad about it.

It IS less confusing to call the whole station by the same name but I think they should still pay some homage to the old Broadway-Nassau name because of the history.

Old pic I did not take.

***********

My whole walk was 7.2 miles and I feel like I still need to move more.... I came home but was not especially tired out.