Art Review 2023

Tue Dec 26, 2023

Art, drawing, watercolor, paint, hobby, creative

I had a soft goal of learning how to do some sketching and water color painting this year. I filled the small book I got last Christmas so I thought this would be a good time to share some of my favorites.

Coats and other items hanging on a rack

My first real attempt at painting mid January. This is our coat rack and various other hangable things. It had tons of folds and overlapping textures. I might have been wiser to start with a simpler subject.

Tall buildings against a bright blue sky

A work trip took me to Detroit. The first day had brilliant blue skies, so I took a stab at some architectural sketching. Unfortunately, the pen bled when I added some color. Oh well.

A curving live oak branch with Spanish moss draped over the top.

This might be my favorite. In April, we took a trip to Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia. The live oak trees canopy a huge portion of the island and give so much texture and character to the island. We will definitely go back.

An envelope sketch of a chicken coop

This shows that not trying for something in particular can lead to the best result. My wife and I were discussing our chicken coop and I managed this little sketch during our talk on the back of an envelope.

Vignettes of cows in a pasture.

My brother-in-law's cow pasture is next to our house and during the summer I enjoy just watching them wander around. This pushed me to capture general shapes quickly while they ate their way past the house one evening.

A cardinal standing on an evergreen branch

This is a sketch from a photo of a winter cardinal that I did as practice before painting a small ornament for our tree. I like the character that came out.

This has definitely been a journey. I have many other failed and janky paintings in my book that will stay private to me and my family. I'm looking forward to learning more this coming year.

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