California Coast Sketch

This is another try using grays ,,, workshop #24 Richard Robinson using photo #2 from his references of the California coast.  I am calling this a oil sketch rather than a painting. I did this at my weekly workshop using just a B&W reference print.... Small format 21 x 28 and not as free as I would like... oil on 400 grm  sketch pad.

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Felt it needed tweaking and debated whether to go back with oils or oil crayons... oil crayons won out.... 

Don't think it made much of an improvement!!!

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Working with Grays Reference Photo 4

My first workshop from Richard Robinson  #24... Still trying to get a decent and not muddy painting... I realize I have much to learn using wet on wet.. Will be doing some studies uses warm and cool grays on 400 grm cartridge paper, this time I coated it with 2 coats of acrylic paint... think I put too much texture.... size A4  28 x 21.....
First attempt  with tonal colors...

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 Next painted and then scrubbed away with wet cleaners

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New strategy.... going to do some more drawing and premix the colors

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Final stage... not happy with it.. still too fragmented...too small a format for so much information... still getting bogged down with details not important... 

Fushia flower from WDE on Wet canvas

Seems its been a long and hot summer.... workshop vacation for two months.... hard to get motivated... no excuses ... with the  beginning of  September and maybe some relief from the heat I am trying to get back into the swing,,, and develop a little more creative discipline... Recently I bought a workshop #24 on pre-mixing grays by Richard Robinson. I love working with grays but my first attempt was really not a success... got too carried away and it was just too muddy and fragmented.... I did do  a wde challenge  hosted by Connie done also using grays.... done on 400 gram cartridge paper ,next time I will coat the paper with either gesso or acrylic paint.... it also was quite dull so did a bit of  oil pastels and blended it with some medium. Size 19 x 19 cm 

Did a tight crop to the Fushia Flower  

 First try  Click to enlarge

 With added oil pastel 

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Doing another landscape from the references that I got with the workshop.... next post... still disappointed  but not giving in!!!