A Study of a New York Street Scene in Six Views

For water color home work,  I ended up practicing painting a scene from a photograph 6 times.  Each time learning something different.  My goal was to be less literal and more abstract with my watercolors.  See what transpired.

First try at the scene try to capture a complex image and get the lighting but abstracting form. I overworked the darks with too many passes and it looked messy.

Second try on cheap paper.  Quality of the water color was really bad on the inexpensive paper. 

A little better paper and I tried to focus in to reduce the amount of information.  Still too busy. Some things I liked but not completely happy.

I liked the base of this one  but the upper portion I wasn't as happy with.

This one I did after talking to Tom Hoffman about my previous passes.  This was done in about 30 minutes got the major shapes and the feeling of the activity of the street without being literal. 

One more try at home.  Got a little more fussy but not bad. 

Sketches from Sunday's Sketchcrawl at Seattle Chinese Garden

It has been a view years since sketching at the Seattle Chinese Garden.  So it is interesting to see the progress that has been made.  It looks to be slow, not much change in building form but more areas have been planted.  I was hoping the pond would be in but the large pond by the main building is still a rock bed.  It was however a glorious day and we did enjoy sketching the gardens of the completed sections.

USk Symposium in Singapore

Today is the last day to get an early bird discount to attend the USk Symposium in Singapore.  Are you going?  I will be there and teaching a workshop.  Check it out I guarantee it will be an astounding experience you will never forget.  I totally enjoyed the Symposium in Barcelona a couple of years ago.  Now I look forward to being at the Symposium this year.

Easter Supper on Vashon Island

Yesterday we shared supper with dear friends who live on Vashon Island.  It was a beautiful day with blue skies... it really felt like springtime and it was warm enough to eat outside and enjoy the wonderful weather.  Did this sketch while I was there.