6/29, Afternoon Studio

There is work still to be done but time in the studio progresses the long term work to a denser and warmer pictorial space.

Sometimes, to pursue a new idea, the artist must forfeit his deposit on an old idea.  
- Robert Brault

6/28: Sketchbook destination by air *plein*:

Productive morning drawing at the Zoo as I continue to build the visual environmental vocabulary for my large long term drawing -- ready for an afternoon in the studio.

Sketchbook page, Riverbanks Zoo for long term drawing #6, marker, 

watercolor, ink and pen on paper, 9" x 12"

There is no surer method of evading the world than by following art, and no surer method of linking oneself to it than by art.  – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

6/27, The great plein air escape:

Another day, another page in the sketchbook.  Exploring a landscape that has color and elements which can be incorporated in the large, long term drawing I am working on this week.

Sketchbook page, Finaly Park for long term drawing #5, watercolor, ink and pen on paper, 

9" x 12"

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.  - John Updike

6/26, Sketchbook page take two:

Today there is better color, better line, and better space.  Better day.

Sketchbook page, long term drawing #4, graphite, ink and pen on paper, 9" x 12"

Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.  - Issac Bashevis Singer

6/25, Sketchbook study continues to progress long term work:

I am thinking that not everything is meant to be beautiful.  As I look at work from today I am not satisfied with the lines in this sketch as I continue to develop the spatial configuration of the environment surrounding the figures - however, the layering, scale, and color are more effective in this study than in the large, long term work below.

Sketchbook page, long term drawing #3, graphite, ink and pen on paper, 9" x 12"

   Long term drawing sketchbook drawings are based on.  Area of pictorial study is highlighted.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.  
- Scott Adams

6/24, Sketchbook study progresses a long term work:

Time spent inventing and figuring out the forms, colors, and spaces surrounding the figures in a large long term drawing.  The progression is pointing toward a solution of a unifying blue light  throughout the space and forms and the incorporation of landscape elements from my daily plein air sketchbook.

    Skectchbook page, long term drawing #2, watercolor and pen on paper, 9" x 12" 

     Skectchbook page, long term drawing #1, watercolor and pen on paper, 9" x 12" 

    Long term drawing sketchbook drawings are based on.  Area of pictorial study is highlighted.

Visual design is often the polar opposite of engineering:  trading hard edges for subjective decisions based on gut feelings and personal experiences.  It is messy, unpredictable, and notoriously hard to measure.  The apparently erratic behavior of artists drives engineers bananas.  The decisions seem arbitrary and risk everything with no guaranteed benefit.  

- Scott Stevenson

6/21, Long Term Works in Progress

This is what my studio looks like today, 6/21/2013.  Every thing is a long term work and in progress. Some works and their details are featured below.

6/19-20, Sketchbook: Finlay Park

6/20/13, Sketchbook:  Forth Finlay Park

Watercolor and pen on paper, 9" x 12."

6/20/13, Sketchbook:  Third Finlay Park

Watercolor and pen on paper, 9" x 12."

6/19/13, Sketchbook:  Second Finlay Park

Watercolor and pen on paper, 9" x 12."