Santa Barbara County

I disappeared from Morning Practice yesterday—but not from the studio. Yesterday’s morning work stayed private. I was working out ideas for my next paintings. But this morning I came back to Tar Pits Park in Carpinteria—for the third time.

I’ve drawn this same view three times now. Each time I saw it a little differently. I changed the balance of the darks, opened up areas, simplified others, and tried to understand what was actually pulling me into the scene.

Now that I put all three together, there are things I like in each one.

Maybe that’s why I keep doing these. Morning Practice isn’t really about making the perfect drawing. It’s about looking—and then looking again.

Which one pulls you in?

Morning Practice — Carpinteria Bluffs, Day Two

I did the same Morning Practice two days in a row. Yesterday, I felt like I lost the surf, so this morning I went back to the same scene. I wanted to see what would happen if I brought the light of the surf back and lightened one of the cliffs.

And now that I see the two drawings together…there are things I like better in each one. Which, I suppose, is exactly what these Morning Practices are for. Not necessarily finding the “right” answer, but looking again.

Hmmm…maybe tomorrow I’ll try combining the two.