Geranium Painting Begins

This stage never looks like much. I blocked in my darks and used turpenoid to work it into the paper surface. Tomorrow in class I'll start with the first layer of color. I haven't been doing much art these last two days because I've been doing assignments for class and also some reading. I got Margot's book in the mail yesterday "A Painter's Guide to Design and Composition" by Margot Schulzke. I'm hoping to improve my compositions by taking her classes, and I am very impressed with her - she is a great teacher. I'm also picking subject matter with architectural elements since I am weak in that area, and Margot is very talented there. You can see her work at www.margotschulzke.com

New Drawing

Yesterday and today I worked on the sketch for my next pastel painting. I did a lot of changes in the process. I think I'll settle with this. It may not show up in this sketch, but there is a shadow pattern from the plant and grill on the wall. I was charmed by the geraniums in the window grills when I visited Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, CA. (www.alliedartsguild.org) In fact, the whole place is wonderful. These Spanish Colonial buildings amid beautiful courtyards and gardens were created in 1929 specifically to be an arts guild. The proceeds go to support the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.