I’m in the midst of a fabulous four-day conference in Los Angeles. I’m training for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program which will be coming to my high school in 2012. After the conclusion to today’s sessions, I took the trolley from the Sheraton Gateway Hotel near the LAX airport to Manhattan Beach, with about an hour of sun left. After struggling with a row of storefronts, I decided to abandon the architectural sketches and see if I could generate something with a row of palm trees along the boulevard.
I was thinking of the principles of painting expounded by the 6th-century Chinese historian Xie He. I’m not sure that I’m translating his ideas correctly, but from #1 and #3 I have come up with this idea of trying to capture the essence, of the subject under scrutiny. I only had about ten minutes of daylight left when I began these two watercolor sketches, but I think by working quickly I was able to get more quality onto the page than I did with my first palm tree attempt yesterday at poolside. Hopefully tomorrow I can give it one more try before returning to Texas. The attempt I found very rewarding, the sun was pleasant, and the breeze coming off the Pacific was scintillating, to say the least.
Thanks for reading.
Tags: Chinese brushwork, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, ocean, Pacific, palm fronds, palm trees, watercolor palms, watercolor sketch
February 24, 2015 at 6:05 pm |
I would love to use one of you palm tree images on my business cards, with your permission, in exchange for credit to you on cards and links to your blog/website on my website. I am a stained glass artist, company will be called majestic palms studio. Please let me know if you permit.
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February 24, 2015 at 6:18 pm |
I am very honored, Donna, thank you. Please keep me updated as you proceed with this. I would treasure having one of your cards.
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August 30, 2016 at 1:02 pm |
I love this image David, and I would love to have it framed for my wall. Is there any way that I could pay you for a copy of this piece that I could print?
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August 30, 2016 at 1:18 pm |
I could make an 8 x 10″ print to put in a white mat and an 11 x 14″ frame. I would sell that gladly for $35 and I’d pay the shipping cost. If you agree, I’ll mat it and put it in a plastic sleeve.
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