Palm Tree, Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Los Angeles
This was my first attempt to watercolor a palm tree. I only had 20 minutes to do it as I sat by the pool at the Sheraton Gateway in Los Angeles in the early evening, just before the sun disappeared behind the fence. I was using what I call my “ugly brush”–a modified flat brush that I had carved up with an X-acto knife to create a ragged wall of bristles.
Thanks for reading.
Tags: Americana, drybrush, field painting, French Impressionism, plein air, watercolor
Recollections 54 The Art of David Tripp 
January 23, 2011 at 5:23 am |
Your quick sketch is great! We used to vacation at Gulf Shores, Alabama a lot and I loved doing watercolor sketches of palm trees. Yours is more deep and powerful. I was always going more light and movement.
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January 23, 2011 at 8:26 am |
Thanks so much! After this first attempt, I went the next day down to the beach. Instead of working on palms again, I instead tried some storefront facades. I guess I was being conservative, falling back on what I know. Very unsatisfying. Just as the light was fading, and I was still waiting for the sketch to dry, I dashed out some quick palm studies and found the experience very gratifying. I wonder why I’m so slow to take to this–experimenting and pushing frontiers, instead of trying to perfect something that I’ve gotten rather “settled” into. Hopefully today I can get another crack at it, once I’ve finished with meetings.
David M. Tripp http://www.recollections54.com https://davidtripp.wordpress.com/ http://david-davidodyssey.blogspot.com/
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