Cairns of Personality

A big thank you to everyone who expressed your support and interest in seeing the new painting subjects I am contemplating.  Here are five preliminary watercolor sketches to give you an idea of what I have in mind for this series.

"The Watcher"

I tested my ideas out on sketchbook paper, this is why you are seeing the buckles and ripples of the paper.  The nice heavy watercolor paper that I use for my finished paintings doesn't do this.  For me, working small and testing an idea in my sketchbook takes away some of the anxiety of making mistakes.  Plus, painting landscapes in a small format makes learning about this new subject seem more manageable to me.

"World on a Platter"

All last winter when I was photographing these, I kept wondering about the artist who was creating these outdoor temporary sculptures.  I decided I needed to photograph them because depending on the weather, they could change completely from day to day.

"Front Row Seat"

Two weeks ago, we went out to see the huge waves that arise from the winter storms.  One of the locals we have met a few times before when hiking around the beachfront, noticed me taking pictures of a cairn sculpture with a log balanced carefully on it.  He walked over and took the log off and showed me how he balanced the rock and the log.  I was so excited, I finally knew who the mystery beach artist was!  He was just as surprised to find that his work had been inspiring me. 

"Skyline"

 

I find myself intrigued by the way these figures and forms almost seem to have personalities and stories.  The stories seem to shift depending on what angle I photograph them from and which cairn groups I include in the photo.  I wonder if that is why we humans make monuments, they create a kind of accent to the sky and natural surroundings. Like adding a new spice to a well known dish.  

"Grandmother"

I am fairly pleased with these little sketches.  I kind of wish I had tried them out on good watercolor paper so that they would be finished little pieces of work in their own right.  My plan is to create the final paintings on canvas with oil paints.  I am curious to try simplifying the lines and color blocks even more to see if the painting would still have personality.

What do you think? Do you like the rocks?  Do I "Rock on" or am I "off my rocker?" ;)

>^-^<  Tina

Jeff catching the big waves.