Sketch for “Bold Face” (Wednesday, 6 July 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, Ballpoint pen on scrap paper, 3 x 3.

I couldn’t paint or post last night – had to go out as part of our search for a new sunset, i.e., another place for us to live (long story!) – so my painting started life as a ballpoint sketch on part of the back of a bank receipt, roughly 3 by 3 inches. The cryptic notations – flat blue, wh[ite] cirrus, g[ray]-blue, etc. – help me bring back the moment. Scanner picked up crumpled folds and some ink from the other side but I’m pretty sure you can’t make out the fabulous balance ...