OK, so what is it? Lack of inspiration is the first and obvious suspect. Fear . . . . hmm, maybe.
It's been an amazing spring and there's inspiration everywhere. But the easel has been empty, the art supplies forlorn and the studio unused. I think I've used every excuse in the book to not paint.
Even after Cathy and I had our desert wildflower adventure I still couldn't do much. I did make a lame attempt at some drawings a week or so ago.
So today was the day. I wasn't allowing myself any excuses. And, strangely enough it was easy to start and the adrenaline started flowing. Lately I've been in love with Sam Hyde Harris. His desert paintings are truly exceptional. One of his favorite subjects is the Smoke Tree. It only grows in desert washes in the Sonoran desert. Since a Sam Smoke Tree hangs above my desk, I figured it was the right subject. I had a reference photo . . and so I began.
It was easy to start. I did my charcoal, hake brush and water routine for an underpainting and worked with a limited palette of 15 pastel sticks. The crazy thing was I worked on a 18x24 board, much larger than usual. But the larger size made me free.
After 3 hours I called it quits although the painting is far from done. The immediate foreground sucks and the distant mountain values are too dark. The tree trunks and branches aren't right. But I did have a victory in that I think I was able to paint a Smoke Tree! And I really worked to make the composition tight.
Plein Air work beckons.
