In Color, Sketching Small and Fast.

Ten by ten inches is as small as I could go in painting size; I had no canvas smaller in the studio. Forty five minutes was all the time I had to paint and finish. My deck repair crew was on their way; they were going to need some guidance. Later I had a master bath to design.

This painted sketch should look familiar, I used a drawing I did of my first and only pathetic looking crocus this spring. The painting came out different from the drawing of course--different mediums, different strokes. Using a small format while the clock was ticking put emphasis on my preferred process: Just do it, don't think, work fast, free up, finish. There was no time to be picayune. With no time for drying, I worked wet into wet. And the little painting came out surprisingly okay: It is colorful, says "Crocus" clearly enough for me and that's GE. On to the next.

Studio Note: I must get some other blues on my palette. Ultramarine, Prussian, something in addition to Cobalt, my absolute favorite--aside from the magnificent navy I get mixing Thalo green/blue with Dioxinine purple.

SO HOW'S THE PENTATYCH GOING?



Okay. But I'm about to invent patterns and prints. Lively is what I'm after.