Winter Sketch

With winter quickly approaching, and in eager anticipation of the holidays, I decided to do a pen and ink and marker sketch of an idea that I have had in my head for a while.  I love that late afternoon light in the fall, just before the sun goes down, when the tops of trees and buildings are bathed in an orange glow, and the base of the building is in a blue or purple shadow.

I wanted to incorporate that into a sketch of a fantasy couple greeting people as they arrive at heir home, a stone tower, to join with them in a winter feast.

Here is the black and white sketch:

Here is the colored version:

I may want to do this as a series showing the interior of the tower hall with the festivities in full swing.

Finishing Up Some Paintings

I have a short attention span. I get very excited about many things, but unless I have a hard deadline or I am getting paid for it, I generally lose interest sometime after the idea has been worked out in a sketch. It is because of this personality flaw that I have several paintings that have sat started, but not finished for 3 or 4 years. That's right, years. Recently I decided I was going to make a concerted effort to actually finish some of these projects. I work as a graphic designer, but i have been setting aside one day (or at least one afternoon) a week, to go to my studio and chip away at the paintings bit by bit. Here they are in order of attack:

 1. Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne

This is more of a painting exercise than a full-blown piece. I have always been a fan of the 1979 PBS adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's  novel, especially the two leads John Heard and Meg Foster.
I decided to do a portrait of them as they appear in the forest. I did a post about another Scarlet-Letter inspired piece back in May( http://georgecouragecreative.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-scarlet-letter.html) This picture might look familiar if you read that post. It is basically a rendering of a still from the movie. One down.

2. Ghost in a graveyard

 Several years ago, my wife had an appointment in Newburyport, MA. I was on my own for an hour or so, and since it was a pleasant early fall evening, and I didn't have any money to go shopping at the local bookstore, I went exploring in a nearby Victoeian-era graveyard. I was the only living person there, and as the sun began to set, I imagined what a great setting it would be for seeing a ghost. I took several photos and began a painting.  Cut to...last week when i finally finished it. Two down.

3. Hammond Castle

This is another piece that has been in the works for several years. A panoramic view of Hammond Castle in Gloucester, MA This one is not quite complete, but I'm chipping away at it. Two to go.

4. Henry Hudson and the Mermaid

This is the oldest painting in the bunch. I probably started it in 2008. The painting of the ship's rigging has proved daunting. Also, originally I had wanted to include a quote from Henry Hudson's log that described the mermaid. Still plugging away on this one too.
One to go.