Trip stamps.

During my trip to Madrid, I mostly visited family. But I took a notebook and a watercolor box almost everywhere. So in between shops, friends and museums I took a few breaks to sit and sketch what was in front of me. Here are some of my favorites. All in watercolor.

Plaza Carlos Cambronero , Madrid

El Rio Manzanares.

Plaza de España

Catedral de Salamnca

Fuente de Apolo, Paseo del Prado

Plaza de los Chisperos.

Plaza de Olavide.

Plaza Cánovas del Castillo.

Another Large Scale. Studies for "Fafners Death"

I have decided to approach large scale again after my ho-hum previous experience . This time, I know that I need to spend more time preparing the preliminary drawings and studies. So here are some samples of these studies. Including alternative posing and composition. I'll post my progress as I go on the actual piece.

The most "finished" study, of course, is the 12x6 little oil I add at the bottom. The idea is to picture how a large 48"x24" painting would look like before starting to fling paint around.

New notebook. yay!

Two sketches from an unusual spot in Pasadena. Memorial park I think it's called. The Park has a definite East Coast penchant but what attracted me there initially were the blooming trees. They are spectacular. You can see a small one in one of these watercolors. This is one of those rare occasions where I miss the masking fluid. It would work so well with the bloomig trees and little specks of light in the counter-light.

Winter in Los Angeles.

Winter in Los Angeles is the best time to paint outdoors. There are blooms from late January on, the weather is mild, the skies spectacular.

Malibu.

A sketch made in Malibu this weekend.