Hippocampus

 This first photo is after 2 hours and 15 minutes

I put in two more hours to finish.

Done from a photo for the October 12 weekend Drawing Event.  Acrylic on stretched Canvas 8 x10 inches. Living on a peninsula between the Sea of Cortes and the Pacific Ocean, sea life is very much a part of life here.  Some years ago in Magdalena Bay on the Pacific side of the peninsula, I was lucky enough to see a  live seahorse. 

Pacific Sea Nettle

Colored pencil on dark blue Colorfix paper.  Around the edge of the painting you can see the paper color.
I used Prismacolors.  On the dome of the jelly where I wanted a smooth, shiny, blended surface, I used a stiff brush to blend the colors together. The painting is 6x6 inches. I took the photo at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. I am fascinated by these beautiful, monsters of the deep.

It has been a very long time since I really enjoyed doing a painting.  But this was fun, quick and a bit abstract.....making  all of my many practice paintings worth it. 

Three Hour Colored Pencil Sketch... The Fawn

The Fawn is Prismcolors on coffee colored Mi-tientes paper 6 x 7 1/2 inches.  It was done from a photo for the October 6, Wetcanvas Drawing Event.  It is a practice piece done simply for the enjoyment of making art. There are so many reasons not to produce work. I am not in the mood,  I am not engaged by the photo, there is just too much detail, it won't be a masterpiece, I don't like how it looks as I begin, it isn't perfect, my measurements are off........and on and on.  I am sure if you are reading this blog, you have experienced these thoughts.
But, this summer I visited the studio of  Joaquin Clausell (1866-1935). He is a Mexican Impressionist. His studio is located in Mexico City, in a wonderful old building, now the City Museum.  He used his walls to practice upon.  There are no canvases in his studio now.  There are just four walls painted from floor to ceiling with small works. It appears that he used these walls for practice areas.....to work out problems, to think about composition, or to simply to play at the end of a day.  It is a breathtaking, enchanting glimpse into the mind of a practicing artist. This was certainly not meant to be a display of his finest works, but it shows us much more, his problems, his sometimes not so perfect solutions, and some amazingly fresh masterpieces. This all came about through PRACTICE.
So, if you ever get a chance to visit his studio, please do, you will not be disappointed


So here is my practice piece after 2 hours.

 

And after 3 hours.