Driving and Painting, and Driving, and Drawing

During the past couple of months I've participated in several plein air events. This means I've put a lot of miles on my van. I've also painted some decent work, sold some, and won an award. All good.

Besides the finished plein air pieces at the shows, I also have over a dozen new unfinished pieces now sitting in my studio space. These are paintings started en plein air which needed more time to bring to a good conclusion. Looking at them now, I think several can be finished up in the studio. We'll see. Plein air work is a challenge in itself, and finishing a piece off-site can be even more difficult.

I'm also working on an interesting figurative commission, which is presenting some unique challenges. The client originally wanted a charcoal figure drawing for her bathroom. I advised her that works on paper, which need to be matted and framed under glass, would not fare well in a humid bathroom environment. Think rippled paper and mold under the glass in a few months.

She then considered a giclée reproduction on canvas of one of my figurative pieces, but the size she wants is much larger than the art would reproduce well. Finally, I came up with a plan for an original drawing on a surface suitable for a humid bathroom environment with an applied protective coating. So I've been experimenting with the drawing surface and coatings.

And another challenge is coming up right after the weekend when it will be time for our monthly Challenge! I hope you'll check back here on Monday to see what the group creates this time.