Waiting For a Friend

There were two major opportunities in this little scenario that gave me pause.

The first....a black-lit situation.  These have always made me uncomfortable, as I am a value painter who relishes the shifts of light over the terrain of the human face.  With the light coming from behind, the value play, while atmospheric, is so limited.  In these cases, it seems to me, the silhouette, the profile becomes more important...harder edges result.  So....this case allowed for some practice in this situation.  I find it less interesting, but still enjoyable.

The second....waiting.  I have heard it said that real life is what happens when one is waiting for something more exciting to come along.  This young woman, intent on her phone, was seemingly waiting for cues from "the somewhere else" to amuse and entertain her.  Being a person who immensely enjoys the free play of my own mind, I find this alternative both alien and unsatisfactory.  Being alone provides me with so much pleasure!  People with cell phones are never alone...how sad?

Too Complicated

I have dozens of sketchbooks.  And, since our current sense of time and scheduling has been seriously challenged, I have found myself meandering through these small journals that have taken me on many journeys throughout the years.  They are diaries to me.  And....I have found that my freshest and most appealing observations have been found on these small pages.  They have seen me through vacations with family and friends, through the births of grandchildren and to emergency and waiting rooms at various hospitals. The sketches are often unfinished and imperfect, yet somehow hit the mark.

This is one of my favorites:  an 87 year old woman in the waiting room of a knee surgeon who kept saying to her companion (over and over again):  ..."and that's another example of how things are too complicated these days".
The year:  2012.

She had no idea.

Bowl of Cherries

Bowl of Cherries   watercolor   10 x 14

was an "in search of" painting for me.  The previous two works were experimental, with an attempt at channeling the processes of two of my hero watercolorists.  Both were on the minus side of satisfactory...perfectly presentable, but not me.  While I did manage to stretch my boundaries, and to understand other ways of interpretation, I longed to be in my own skin.  Just as in life, it seems to take only a short road trip to appreciate the comforts of home.

The set up was lit.  The subject drawn and mostly understood.  All of the qualities that I most value seemed to come together.  The background was originally a watery beautifully-painted blue.  But as I am also an oil painter, and because I highly value the richness of dark values, another wash was added....and I was happy as a clam.  Imperfect edges.  Lost and found qualities.  The subtle description of the woven cloth. Drippy paint.

I was happy to be home.

Hopeful

Hopeful   watercolor/pencil   16 x 10.5

Each Spring we anticipate the arrival of bluebirds who fill our box with a nest and small blue eggs.  They face many hazards:  late Spring freezing, parasites and house wren assassins who pierce their tiny eggs.  It becomes a real-life drama in our own back yard.  Will they fledge?  We are always HOPEFUL.