PREPARING FOR MALLORCA - Black and White

EATING ORANGES IN THE GARDEN, ALCAZAR, SEVILLE, SPAIN

 IN ESTELA, NORTHERN SPAIN

 ALONG THE GUADLAQUIVIR RIVER IN SEVILLE

 AT THE ALCAZAR, SEVILLE

TWO VIEWS OF CADIZ

At my workshop at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, we paint the first day in black and white.

It's a good way to acclimate and become acquainted with a new environment. I thought of this when we were planning a ten day trip to the south of Spain in 2012. I knew we would be tourists wanting to see the sights and not have a lot of time for painting so I packed a tube of black watercolor, a couple of brushes and a small block of paper. I enjoyed painting the man in the garden, perhaps we can get someone who is not painting to sit and read a book, pose for us.

In addition to capturing the new scene in front of you, drawing, with brush or pencil, is a way to make marks and patterns that can create a new language that says something about the landscape.

Google images of Van Gogh's drawings with a reed pen and ink.

More about this in my next post.