4 PM: my mentee, k., came to the studio this morning to continue work on his landscape. the first thing we did was a kind of test. since he plays cello, i played 2 versions of bach’s cello suite #1 ; one played by pablo casals, the other played by yo yo ma. within seconds of playing the casals version, he identfied the cellist, and then did the same with the yo yo ma version.
he brought a small, exquisite watercolor he had made of his cat. this is not just a good watercolor bya 13 year old; this is a masterful, moving work of art, regardless of the age of the artist.
he then proceeded to get back to work on the sky-scape he’s been working on over the last 3-4 visits. i was in the mood to start a small gouache painting on paper of k. painting. i’m considering making a slightly larger oil on linen based upon this study in gouache. there was a time, when i lived and painted in greece, that the human figure played a major role in my work. somehow, during our 25 years in crestone, i haven’t made any figure paintings at all. so this study in gouache is an important event. will it lead to more? quite possibly. it’s something i do well, and i’m in the mood. the trick would be to get the right subjects to make time to come and sit for 2-3 sessions. i have a few candidates in mind, so we’ll see.
he then proceeded to get back to work on the sky-scape he’s been working on over the last 3-4 visits. i was in the mood to start a small gouache painting on paper of k. painting. i’m considering making a slightly larger oil on linen based upon this study in gouache. there was a time, when i lived and painted in greece, that the human figure played a major role in my work. somehow, during our 25 years in crestone, i haven’t made any figure paintings at all. so this study in gouache is an important event. will it lead to more? quite possibly. it’s something i do well, and i’m in the mood. the trick would be to get the right subjects to make time to come and sit for 2-3 sessions. i have a few candidates in mind, so we’ll see.