Hi Reader,

James Gurney is an artist I've followed for many years. James is generous with painting information. He's highly skilled, a bit quirky, and includes some fun elements in his videos, such as ending with accordion music played by his son.

In this video, James paints a street in Ireland using watercolor, gouache, and pen. It's interesting to see his setup too. I also noticed that even though the video is about 7 minutes, he mentions the small sketch took him over 2 hours. Good to know that even a very experienced painter can take their time with a small painting.

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I've just started reading Rick Rubin's book, The Creative Way: A Way of Being. Here's an excerpt from page 77.

We tend to think that what we're making is the most important thing in our lives and that it's going to define us for all eternity. Consider moving forward with the more accurate point of view that it's a small work, a beginning. The mission is to complete the project so you can move on to the next. That next one is a stepping-stone to the following work. And so it continues in productive rhythm for the entirety of your creative life.

I like that idea. Our creative projects are simply stepping stones in the rhythm of our life. I'll have more about this book in two weeks. (I've switched to a bi-monthly-ish newsletter schedule to ensure I have interesting topics to share.)

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Can you believe March is almost here? Are you enjoying some signs of spring??

We've had some unusual spring weather at the Oregon Coast in the form of snow. It's melted now but having a legitimate snow day was fun!

One final note - if you're interested in participating in the OneWeek100People sketch challenge, this year's dates are March 6-10. It could be an excellent motivator to sketch some figures. One hundred sketches seem daunting, but even ten are better than none. Here is more info https://www.lizsteel.com/oneweek100people2023/​

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Take care,

Vinita

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For the Painter Newsletter | Issue # 70: Feb 26, 2023 | Vinita Pappas