Drawing

Often the question arises., Do you draw? My paintings are typically of landscapes that are abstracted and seemingly appear like they may be unplanned. That is not the case. All of my pieces are planned with simple division of space on the whole surface. In the instance of painting I do not want to draw too much but just making sure that i have a good composition and that there is going to be movement in the painting.

The whole painting is then "blocked in" with my dark values and then reassessed. I look for patterns and and make sure they are going to link together. Often then the painting is left until the next day when I will push in my lights and tie the painting together. It will then sit on a secondary easel so I can do any final adjustments that i may not have seen right away.

I do try to paint every day. There are some days when packing work to ship out or getting ready for a show that I simply do not have time. I do however have a great need to paint so cannot go too long without picking up my brushes. In those instances I put everything else on hold to ensure painting time.

Every now and then I will do animals or figure to practice my drawing. I especially like the angles and perspectives and think it helps keep me in practice. Buildings are also done with this in mind, although I have not done any for some time. I have a special love of nature and so that becomes my primary inspiration. Birds and wild animals give me great pleasure in observing. Observations of real life are the best to learn from and my photos will be used only as reminders.

Yes., I do draw.