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The photo is from the Catharsis photo strip by JB. For some reason the link didn't take...and there is no rhyme or reason for it, other than it's quirky Tuesday morning appeal.

Hey, Alice-
Sedaris is back having kicked his smoking habit. Tickets are still hot!
Patricia

And anyway, (she continued) this is a great working sketch, do you think that the resulting painting would be different/better if it were not so tight?

I don't know, that's the question I think. I spent about a week on this drawing (although it was during Christmas and at my Mom's so I was far from my studio) and spent a fairly short time on the painting itself, a day or two. The problem was, I was getting a bit bored when I got to the painting. I think the final would have been fresher and more expressive if I had left more unfished in the sketch.

What a wonderful painting, and sketch! I think you did a really good job of preserving the spontaneity of the sketch in the finished piece. I love that her wispy hair is drawn really quickly in the sketch, and I see it looks defined and controlled the painting, that's the only major difference I see.
How great are those owls?! Their glowing yellow eyes?! This reminds me of some kind of rescue, I can think of a million stories for it...

A rescue! I love that. Is she rescuing the owls or being rescued by them or are they all being rescued by someone we can't see or are they on the way to rescue someone?

It is a good topic for discussion Eric and I like to see all the points of view that your other readers have. I realize that most of you are illustrators and there is probably a difference there from my way of approaching art.
I try and keep my sketches loose.
If I make a tight sketch, I TRY to keep in mind that the painting should have a mind of its own and not try and copy it bit by bit.
My sketching I do on the canvas before painting is very light with vine charcoal and just the minimum of marks to get stuff lined up where I think I want it. The rest is drawing with paint. I find the tighter my sketch is on the canvas, the tighter I make the painting and it loses the spontaneity.
If I have my issues worked out in a sketch or two, I don't need a tight drawing under my paint.

P.S. I like this piece a lot and am glad you had a chance to do some work just for yourself.

Thanks Frank! I was trained as a "fine artist" majoring in painting ( minoring in art history) and I think I approach things from a fine art stand point. I tend to see a sketch and a painting as different things and put some emphasis on the materiality of the work. I like to be suprised by the final piece and not have it all mapped out. I fell like some part of my imagining happens on the paper.

Really beautiful, Eric!! It´s full of sensibility...

Thanks for your link, I´m going to do the same to visit you!

:)

She and the owls definitely look like a gang of friends...I think they're on their way to rescue another character. But who?

Thanks Ester!

Thanks Ambera! I like how this plot is developing....Do they also solve mysteries?

Love this piece! It really evokes a lot of emotion. . .excellent!

Thanks Sherry!

Hi Eric,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I was looking through yours and although I think they're all wonderful I especially like this one. Beautiful! I actually love the heavily worked sketch. It could stand alone by itself I think. They're both wonderful.

Great stuff!
Ian

Thank you so much Ian! I think our sensibilities are pretty close.