Headshot

I'm starting on a head shot I'll use as a general avatar icon.
'Way back in the day, I took a life drawing class from Sal Casa, Chico State College. Fast forward to the winter issue of Drawing magazine, and an article by Austin Williams about the charcoal figure drawings of Mark Tennant. I'm inclined to drag out my charcoal, newsprint pad, dust off what I can remember from Sal's teachings, and take a crack at doing a self-portrait.
I haven't done figures much recently, mostly landscapes. This one, "Edge of the garden, Estancia Del Mar" is fairly typical of my current work and style. I really like using texture, value and detail to suggest depth, foliage types. I tend to define the space, make it as realistic as possible.
Tennant has a different philosophy. Williams quotes him: "You have to finish in the right place; you don't have to go wall-to-wall with the whole thing," and "All the good art is about real restraint."
I don't buy that all the good art shows restraint, but I can identify with the concept of overworking a piece until all the life is rubbed out of it.
Still working on the kitchen table; trim and painting in the studio start tomorrow.

Back at it

We had a freak snowstorm here, lost power, internet, the works for over a day. Back online this afternoon.
Work on the studio picks up again tomorrow.

Blog the first

Without wandering to far into the weeds, my first attempt at a blog didn't work out too well, being a code-challenged artist with a need to get to the selling-my-art part pronto. But I got a keyboard and I'm not afraid to use it!

So here we go again. I've joined the working world of daily painters, sorta, less rather than more for the last weeks, but I've got images of a stack of small works over yonder at my website, www.woodsarts.com. This one is Upper Crater Meadows, John Muir Trail. Now 'deese is my kinda weeds to get lost in!

Not all are Sierra Nevada high country, some are seasidish, flowerish, wildlifish and any otherish subject that tickled my ishy fancy at the time. I've got boxes, albums, drawers full of travel photos. Likely I have enough for a year of dailies without a repeat. Stay tuned, thanks for taking a look!