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New Palette

| dodington

I missed posting last week but did finish a 16 x 20 inch painting I will show you soon.

Today I wanted to share with you my purchase of a new palette! This may not seem like a big deal, it IS just a 10 inch slab of unfinished wood… BUT this is only my second palette ever. EVER. Other than the big glass table-top I used in university. I was a bit reluctant to give up my trusty old palette, but my aversion to spending hours scraping it clean got the best of me and I decided to move on. heh.

So here is proof of new palette in front of new big canvas (don’t I look amused?):

New Palette
New Palette

And here is the very first stages of a new painting with my new palette. Oh so fresh!

Quilted Lake IN PROGRESS
Quilted Lake in progress

I’m back! And I have a new friend…

| dodington

Okay people. It’s been over a month since my last post and I sincerely do apologize. Life has been busy, life has been full, life has been beautiful.

Here are some excuses:

1) I moved to a new home and set up a new studio and am as pleased as pie in the new, well-lit space.
2) I adopted a kitten I found on the road dying in the hot desert sun. Her name is Dragon and she is very distracting with her cuteness. See?

sleeping kitten
Dragon snoozes

Despite these big life events I have been painting and crafting up a storm. So sit tight and enjoy the more frequent posts for the rest of the summer!

Here is an oil painting I finished last month for my brother-in-law’s wedding. It depicts the countryside north of Bakewell, England where we all took a hike this past year. Monumental memories I tell ya.

oil painting of england, bakewell countryside
Hiking North of Bakewell

Girls raised by wolves eh?

| dodington

Today’s art attack was inspired by reading the beginning chapter of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell – author of Swamplandia.

Here is an excerpt:
“…with mosquito-blackened sills; a tin roof that hums with the memory of rain. I love it here. Whenever the wind gusts in off the river, the sky rains leaves and feathers. During mating season, the bedroom window rattles with the ardor of birds.
Now the thunder makes the window glass ripple like wax paper. Summer rain is still the most comforting sound that I know… In the distance, an alligator bellows…”

arial photo of art desk
In the studio
mixed media drawing of cabin in jungle
Deep in the Forest, mixed media, 10 x 11"

A big project

| dodington

There has been a painting germinating in my mind for a few weeks now that I finally began to tackle. Here are some examples of my thought process as I try to solidify my idea and my composition. If I’m lucky I can finish the painting tomorrow and post it. The canvas is 24 x 48 inches and will be the largest work in my upcoming October show. (For more details about that stay tuned!)

sketchbook thumbnails of landscape painting
idea development for large landscape, sketchbook
sketchbook thumbnails of large landscape painting
more thumbnails, sketchbook

Sketchbook Sunday

| dodington

Here is a smudgy, fun, mess of a sketch from my sketchbook. It was drawn with a quill pen so you can see spots where I was scratching away to shade an area, or where the ink pooled suddenly. There are lots of surprises when working  with a dip pen and ink so I have a lot to learn and play with!

ink drawing of prickly pear cactus
Prickly Pear, ink in sketchbook

Inky Sketchbook Sunday

| dodington

This is the sort of vegetation that seems to be thriving in my backyard without very much water at all. Very beautiful very large and very pokey if you walk to close.

I’m falling in love with ink really quickly so you can expect to see many more drawings like this in the future:

ink painting of busy in green
Bush, ink on paper, sketchbook (5 x 7)

Sketchbook Saturday!

| dodington

Here is a sketch I did the other morning on campus. I didn’t have time to capture the doves cooing maniacally and poking about the puddles so just imagine them in there!

ink and watercolour drawing of trees on ENMU campus
Trees and Puddles, ink and watercolour on paper, 5 x 7"