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Like so many of us, I really like old, vintage signs… painted metal, neon, great and simple analog shapes. I’ve decided to paint one I’ve driven past several times. It’s just great: green and red text areas, an arrow and a tree shape, big white letters with white neon outlines … cool! A little rough-for-wear these days, but a great sign still.

Here’s my start, my sketch. Like I mentioned before, I seem to need to spend a great deal of time on the sketch. This work will especially need sketch time: trees and background I can wing, but the sign itself … perspective, the sign isn’t a true rectangle, a lot of edges and such … not to mention – any painting is a challenge for me … but it’ll be good time. I like this sign … here we go!

Here’s a departure little painting from couple of months ago, a train in kind-a a Christmas mode…

I enjoy painting/drawing subjects that are mechanical/architectural/structural in nature. I guess it’s because I spent a good deal of time as a draftsman in my early years, took a couple drafting courses, etc.. So physical items come a bit more naturally to me than organic. But along with that comes a responsibility: you can paint a rhododendron without critical notice of the layout … but paint a building façade and perspective with scream at you … it just won’t look good if it’s off. So, it keeps you honest, or humble (I find both).

Anyways, here’s a fun little train …

FYI … this painting for sale in my Watercolor Gallery … 🙂

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Another little painting I did a month or so back, some bare mountains behind Lake Chellan. I played with using contrasting colors in the shadow areas – I like them, kinda snappy, but actually looks a quite like the scene I was painting.

I’m finding I spend much more time on the sketch than I would think. Without a good sketch/layout, I tend to get lost in the painting … and with watercolors, at least with me, to not be on target once the paints come out, it’s a mess. Maybe I’m not to a “wing-it” level, but I need a good layout/plan (sketch) before I get to paint. My confidence grows with a good sketch 🙂

FYI … this painting for sale in my Watercolor Gallery … 🙂

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Here’s a little (about 4.5 x 6.5″ ) watercolor I did a little while back, I’m pretty happy with it (yet knowing I have a good deal of growing to do…). It’s not so much muddy, has a good cleanliness/brightness about it. Not sure if that’s true clean/ bright, or if it’s just not very deep (chromatically)… but yeah, for me, not bad.

FYI … this painting for sale in my Watercolor Gallery … 🙂

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So, the odd, or incomplete, blog title stems from a characteristic of mine: a tendency to move from one media to another … and back again … I see some artists as focused, dedicated oil painters or sculptors, writers or photographers, watercolorists or graphic designers. Me? One day or month I’ll be all-into painting watercolors. The next, I’ve just got to get my camera out and get down into some serious silver gelatin. I dabble a bit, then before I realize it, I’m off to something else. Did I mention I also have a little letterpress? I’d like to write.

Even within media: oil vs watercolor vs mixed … 35mm vs 2 1/4 vs 4×5 vs 8×10 … hand-set lead vs poly …

Gad.

I think I’d think it all just fine, if when I moved into an artistic pursuit that I indeed produced some great images before flipping… but, truth be told, though blessed with some ability to scratch-out some work that is ok … it’s just that … “ok”. My b&w’s are not Ansel Adams prints. My watercolors trend muddy, definitely not Jeffery Hull. I wish I had concentrated more on life drawing when in school.

This all leads me to become very frustrated with myself, this seeming lack of focus. But, hey … it’s only me … and that’s ok. I’ll be content with a blessing of variety and the yearning to improve.

As Steinbeck said, “Whirra, whirra, whirra … ”