After the experience with Jeff Wirth as part of the Play Coach Story Swap, Stella Arbeláez and I decided it would be nice to do a painting in Langford Park. Stella had her full painting set up in her car and I had my usual sketching supplies. Langford Park and Dickson Azalea Park are right next to one another. The little stream that runs through Azalea Park also runs through Langford Park. Langford park is more open and expansive with some of the oldest trees in Orlando.
Stella and I set up on a sort of peninsula that is between several paved hiking trails. The advantage of this spot was that few people would walk buy as we were working. It offered privacy in the otherwise very public park. While we were painting and sketching, a large group of after school children were being guided on a forced march around Langford. The adult in charge would shout at the top of her lungs, “ Sarah, stop right there! Let everyone catch up!” The fits and starts of the forced march were punctuated with constant commands from the supervising adult. Was my childhood that structured and highly supervised? Dear god I hope not. Rather than enjoying the sights and sounds of nature these kids were being hearded to the point of squeezing away any joy.
Stella set up her easel and was doing a full on painting while I sat in my tiny artist stool and sketched the tree and stream. Stella got to play with magnificent warms and cools in her study , while I cranked out my dark sketch of a beautiful live oak with it’s twisted limbs. The focus of my composition was the horizontal light gap below the gnarly branches. The grass was sun lit on the distance while the live oak was a dark mass casting much of the scene into the shadows.
I got up a few times to see what Stella was up to. I liked the vibrant colors she was playing with. I have been getting frustrated lately at how dirty the colors are that I end up using thanks to of my filthy everyday watercolor palette. It is almost impossible for me to get a clean blue sky without some green getting thrown into the mix. I just purchased 3 tubes of primary colors of gouache yesterday and want to start using them to mix more opaque passages in my sketches.
In this sketch, I wanted to make the hanging Spanish moss more obvious but the areas had already been painted with dark greens. I lightened up the moss with some white colored pencil but gouache would have worked much better. It would also be nice to paint in some light gaps between the bulk of the leaves. I have some of the parts to assemble a compact easel. I just need to settle down long enough to actually screw the parts together.
There is something very reassuring about working beside and artist whose work I respect, knowing that they are experiencing the same doubts, and frustrations while creating. There is a dopamine rush that comes as the many mistakes and corrections start bringing the sketch or painting to life. I get lost in the process and despite the many questions and doubts, I feel good about having gone through the process each time. I need to feel that rush every day. It is an addiction.