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Italy is an inspiration
Just back from a two week trip to Italy and what an inspiration! Wonderful art everywhere. We were in Venice, Florence, Siena, Rome and Sorrento. Good food, great weather, friendly people and the art is spectacular.
Took a lot of pictures, but I didn’t have a lot of time to paint. Just two quick sketches, both of Venice.
Venice I 8 x 4.5 $350
Venice II 8 x 4.5 $350
As soon as I get my 2,000+ photos organized (another week or so?), I’ll be creating more “Italy” paintings.
A creative model
David was a very creative model at the Art Students League. In addition to the unexpected poses, he draped fabric around his head, created a shawl, a skirt. Every pose was something unexpected.
So I decided to take advantage of his creativity to do something different myself. For three 5-minute poses and the subsequent 10-minute pose I simply sketched in light brown (raw sienna) watercolor the basics of the 4 poses on one piece of watercolor paper. One on top of the other. Occasionally turning the paper around. With no attempt to make something coherent. Hence the title: David x 4.
Then I used the last two 20-minute poses to pick out shapes and develop the painting further. What fun!
David x 4, 12 x 15, $800
Even I now have trouble picking out the four different poses, although here and there I see his knee, his head and back, the stool on which he was sitting, the pattern in one of the fabrics. What do you see?
Mostly I remember how creative he was and how creative he helped me be.
Ruth Hurd | BLOG 