Back to the Table

I finished the tomato - signed it on the vinegar bottle. Did a few small adjustments to the salt & pepper. Next week I'll varnish it. And in a couple of days I'll paint the sides with a dark gray color I plan to mix.
Spent the rest of the day working on the Met. All over it, but notably the glass, a few more layers on the pasta, the table edge, a reworking of the salt and pepper, the fork got an upgrade, as did the knife and bread, and the chairs. Actually the only things I didn't touch were George Washington and the sketchbook. In a few days I'll tackle the lettering on the museum map.

It was so good to devote a day to the brush. I did check my email periodically and fax an invoice. But this was a sweet, sweet day.
Tomorrow I'll work on the new Venice drawing. After I check it carefully I'll probably spend the whole day mixing my start-up colors.

focus and time

After weeks of focusing on the business of writing and adjusting the proportion of time allotted to writing vs painting, followed by a bout of bronchitis, I am at last free to paint. Today I began in a small way working on the fine details of the Lamott Tomato, the salt and the balsamic.
I have three works still on easel that needs looking after - the Priests Laundry , one of the first cloud paintings and the Met. And I just finished the drawing of the Venetian Laundry. All drawn and no color put together yet. So much pleasure in anticipation.

Tomorrow I paint. And the next day and the next.

A few breaks to visit the roses, to a riot of bloom. Also on the calendar- a visit to the theater, a friend's engagement party.

sea sand sky

Another layer on the reflection in the saturated sand, and the haze on the horizon, the lowest line of clouds in the distance. Deepened another layer of blues over the sky - radiant violet really helped here.

motion and stillness

Added another layer to the clouds and sky, and worked on the surface of the water. I loved adding the sky's broken reflection, bouncing off each angle of the surface of the waves.

The reflection off the saturated sand is still crude, but I don't doubt I can get it where I want it to be. Pondering the inclusion of more cloud in the upper right corner. I may just add some semi transluscent wisps.
I am drawn to the opposites - the crisp precision of the foam at the edge of the tide, the blurred melting refection on the sand, the stillness of the earth, the restlessness of the water. The invisible wind pushing the great towers of cloud.

Here's a closer look at the waves.

Isle of Palm

Here's the beginning. I painted the sea yesterday and the sky today. Trying to figure out the best way to render the there/not there edges of clouds. It's from a photo I took on the Isle of Palm last spring. What I loved was the way the sky reflected in the saturated sand.

I'm working on this using three reference photos. I love that it shows three of the four elements - earth, air, water - and the fourth, fire, is implied by the light.

It's only the first layer, but I think it's going to break the cloud jinx.