jacobs pillow 8, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
7:15 PM: today i made one more jacobs pillow watercolor/gouache: jacobs pillow 8. the more i explore photos of jacobs pillows dancers over time, the more visually interesting i find many of them. some, like the one that inspired jacobs pillow 8, riveting.
at work on jacobs pillow 8
jacobs pillow 7, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
1:14 PM: today i created the seventh in my jacobs pillow series of watercolor/gouaches. she is in the midst of a dance move, much like yesterday’s jacobs pillow 6, but with more color and a blue background. i had thought i would stop at six, but i just can’t stop!
these are the 7 jacobs pillow themed watercolor/collages i’ve completed thus far. all are 15x7”
i made some tweaks to jacobs pillow 4 this afternoon. i felt that the green surrounding the dancing figure on the left was too much, so i painted over it with white.
BELOW: jacobs pillow *4 before and after my tweaks today
jacobs pillow *6, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper, on day one
3:08 PM: today i started jacobs pillow *6, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper. to be continued tomorrow.
5 jacobs pillow dancers in performances over the years, all11x15”, watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
2:42 PM: these are the 5 completed watercolor/gouach paintings of dancers in jacobs pillow performances over the years. more to come.
jacobs pillow *5, 11x15”, watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
1:51 PM: so this mnorning i created the fifth in my jacobs pilow series. it’s the same dimensions as the other four, but it’s a vertical composition. i neglected to make note of the year and which dance company this is, but, as with the other four, it is inspired by one of the many photos of jacobs pillow dance performances over the years.
jacobs pillow *4, 11x15”, watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper, at 3pm
2:48 PM: i worked all day on this one. as you can see, i took out the figure in the middle , in addition to all the other changes and additions. i think it may be resolved; we’ll see tomorrow morning.
jacobs pillow *4, 11x15”, watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
9:21 AM:yesterday i began work on jacobs pillow *4. i’ll complete it today and possibly start #5. the weather continues to be sunny and unseasonably warm, with a forecast high of 49F. This unseasonable weather is forecast to continue till xmas, when we may see rain or snow. the normal high trmperature for today is 32 F, which puts us 17 degrees above.
jacobs pillow *3, 11x15” watercolor & gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
2:14 PM: today i made a third jacobs pillow watercolor/gouache. i didn’t include the tan artchitectural details that are in the other two, which i’m glad i did; i love the airiness of this one, where the dancers almost seem like they’re in flight.
jacobs pillow 2* 11x15”, watercolor & gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
2:40 PM: today i made the second in my jacobs pillow series of gouache/watercolors. the interior of the jacobs pillow is the same as in yesterday’s jacobs pillow 1, but the dancing figure is different, and there’s a cello player to her right. there will likely be 4 more.
jacobs pilllow 1, 11x15” watercolor & gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper
1:42 PM: every summer in in my teen years i spent two magical months as a camper at birchwoods, near huntington, massachusetts. every summer, we’d take a trip to jacobs pillow, where we saw extraordinary performances while sitting on the huge lawn. in 1955, for example, when i was 15, this was what we saw:
Merce Cunningham's first appearance with his new company (performing "Banjo" & "Septet"), and the U.S. debut of the Royal Danish Ballet, alongside performances by ballet stars like Alicia Alonso & Erik Bruhn, all under the direction of founder Ted Shawn, solidifying its role as a major U.S. dance hub featuring both modern innovation and classic ballet.
today, i have started a new series of 11x15” watercolor/gouaches on arches extra fine watercolor paper, inspired by my memories of jacobs pillow . they are inspired by photos i found online, since the ones i took at the time are long gone.
musician & runner, day 3 as she looked after taking out the grays this afternoon
5:18 PM: we both agreed that the grays i introduced earlier today weren’t working. so this afternoon, while the paint was still wet, i scrubbed them out with paint thinner. it’s looking way better now.
musician & runner, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked moments ago at 1:30pm
1:30 PM: i made some major changes to musicians & runner today, and i have to sit with it to determine whether or not they work.
musicians & runner, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked this afternoon
3:43 pm: today i took musicians & runner to the next stage. did i do too much?
