It's been a while since I have done some figure sketching. I decided to work with gouache and watercolor for these quick 20 min poses. I selected bristol 3 ply plate finish sheets as my 'ground'. This was enjoyable as some of the pigement washes can really retain an expressive quality that can otherwise be muted with cold press papers. Transparent washes of watcolor (Holbeini + M.Graham brands) were added to slightly model the forms. A structural mixture of gouache brown and regular watercolor brown was the frame work in laying out the painting, from thin to thick then back to thin washes.

This is a small 5x7 invented composition on hot press watercolor paper with a transparent watercolor wash base followed with opaque gouache on top. I was thinking about how the Dutch painters in the 17th century would invent Italian landscapes from their studios in Holland. I am exploring here a romantic landscape, perhaps in Spain or early California before the giant oaks dissapeared. When you look at Ruisdael you never see sawed off limbs from standing tress but rather pure forms with twisted, broken branches in various states of decay. All very interesting areas to get lost into. In addition, I find the lone figure or small groupings in the landscape classical and timeless.