 |
5x8 Casein Sketch from Pandemic Sketchbooks, Vol.2
|
If you've been following me on Instagram, you'll have been witness to my almost-daily hikes into the little canyon behind my studio. I started these hikes not long after New Mexico “locked down,” back when the pandemic began in the spring. I began a series of sketchbooks, which I'm calling the Pandemic Sketchbooks, with the intent not just of making studies of the canyon but also of clearing my mind. The act of sketching, plus the hike in and out, gives me an hour or so in which I am happily removed from the world, a world that seems so full of politics and anger and fear and disappointment. The canyon wrens and cliff swallows don't care about any of that, and when in their company, neither do I.
This week, I finished Volume 2. If you're not one of my Instagram followers, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from that volume. Many of these were made in gouache, and I've written about that medium before. But most recently, I'm been working in casein. Stephen Quiller turned me on to that. It's very similar to gouache, but unlike gouache, it can't easily be rewetted once dried, so it's not available in pans but only in tubes. I tend to waste more than I like, but over time, I'll fine-tune the amount I need to squeeze out for a sketch. One thing I've discovered is it's best to put out only the colors you need for the start, which for me includes ivory black, raw sienna and Venetian red. I don't even think about putting out the other colors—Naples yellow, rose red, ultramarine blue, Shiva green and titanium white—until much later.
By the way, my 50% Sale is still going on until the end of December. Anything on my web site store is eligible, and I include free shipping to the lower 48 states. For full details: http://www.mchesleyjohnson.com/holidaysale/
 |
5x8 gouache
|
 |
5x8 gouache
|
 |
5x8 gouache
|
 |
5x8 casein
|
 |
5x8 casein
|
 |
5x8 gouache
|
 |
5x8 casein
|
