In the Courtyard 15x11 ins. watercolor Donna Dickson
Manana Nueva 14x18 oil Tom DicksonSOLD
Calle San Francisco 16x20 ins. oil, Tom Dickson
Another sampling of what the two of us have been doing lately. I've been working in the studio a lot lately and doing a lot of experimenting. I keep going off on tangents ( something I haven't been doing a lot in recent years ) and have much unfinished work piling up against the studio walls. I'm happy with the ones I've actually finished though and the two of mine above are examples. "Manana Nueva" was started in the Jardin a week ago and fussed over 'till yesterday. Calle San Francisco was a studio painting all the way. I get more and more interested in clouds as time goes by and am finally feeling that I'm getting somewhat "in touch" with the subtlety of them................ but like in the song they're tricky devils - you can look at them from both sides "up and down and still somehow" you don't really know 'em at all. They have in fact, been one of the biggest challenges of my painting career. They can be a great asset to the atmosphere of a picture, or, if done poorly they can suck the life out of an otherwise decent painting. I can remember doing the odd sky where the treatment of the clouds would have been more suited to bags of cement ................... some painters avoid the problem by just not "going there" but I think they are missing an element with a lot of potential if they don't.
Donna's summer students have been returning in the last few weeks, so she's been busy with them but still managing to get some painting time on her own in. She's done a few interiors lately that have been very nicely handled and the one of hers above "In the Coutyard"is a prime example. Things at the gallery continue to be pretty slow as tourism is way down. People have been scared off of Mexico by the swine flue, Mexican drug wars, kidnappings -in short, a lot of bad, largely undeserved press. The Great Depression #2 doesn't help much on top of it all of course. ............... we're keeping our fingers crossed ............
Another sampling of what the two of us have been doing lately. I've been working in the studio a lot lately and doing a lot of experimenting. I keep going off on tangents ( something I haven't been doing a lot in recent years ) and have much unfinished work piling up against the studio walls. I'm happy with the ones I've actually finished though and the two of mine above are examples. "Manana Nueva" was started in the Jardin a week ago and fussed over 'till yesterday. Calle San Francisco was a studio painting all the way. I get more and more interested in clouds as time goes by and am finally feeling that I'm getting somewhat "in touch" with the subtlety of them................ but like in the song they're tricky devils - you can look at them from both sides "up and down and still somehow" you don't really know 'em at all. They have in fact, been one of the biggest challenges of my painting career. They can be a great asset to the atmosphere of a picture, or, if done poorly they can suck the life out of an otherwise decent painting. I can remember doing the odd sky where the treatment of the clouds would have been more suited to bags of cement ................... some painters avoid the problem by just not "going there" but I think they are missing an element with a lot of potential if they don't.
Donna's summer students have been returning in the last few weeks, so she's been busy with them but still managing to get some painting time on her own in. She's done a few interiors lately that have been very nicely handled and the one of hers above "In the Coutyard"is a prime example. Things at the gallery continue to be pretty slow as tourism is way down. People have been scared off of Mexico by the swine flue, Mexican drug wars, kidnappings -in short, a lot of bad, largely undeserved press. The Great Depression #2 doesn't help much on top of it all of course. ............... we're keeping our fingers crossed ............
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI have stood in the bookstores and watched people pick up my book, San Miguel de Allende: A Place in the Heart, before they touch anything else. Your painting on the cover gives it both serenity and charm.
ReplyDeleteJohn Scherber