color

Guitar model

Life drawing of a model playing his guitar. Pen and ink wash. Greg Betza ©2021

Just Over The Horizon

I look across the river and beyond the mountains often. Not far from the waters edge, just a little further in than normal. Even in the heat of the day the color shifted from cool to warm, from vibrant to muted. And over the hill was another marker of time.—Dominick

A Day Late

If the past year has taught me anything it is that you can’t go back in time and you can’t do what you left undone yesterday. But you can do it today. And you should. —Dominick

New supplies

I received a new set of markers for Father’s Day and spent an hour or so playing around with them. Here is one of the first drawings. Greg Betza ©2021

Over The Hill

As the temperature rises and the summer is finally underway the horizon seems a little warmer each day.—Dominick

Tango

Having to draw the tango for a wine label some years back I came up with this version as well as many fun others. It was a great assignment, lots of room for play. Greg Betza ©2021

Tiny Flowers

Tiny Flowers underneath and around a chopped tree in Central Park. The tiny flowers made me so happy! m hurst

Subtle Tones

Reminded of all that is and all that will be, I cheated time last night once again and looked to the past to fill in the missing weeks. How is a memory different from the actual moment. What comes of going inside the head vs living right in front of you? I’ve been too serious […]

Through the Dense and Colorful

Sometimes I can’t help but see the patterns in the trees, like a dance on the horizon. It has been some time since I watched outside a speeding window, catching a moment that may never be again, marking a note to come back to that minute, that second. It may all change in an instant, […]

Soft Ground

Looking back more than ahead, the Fall never seemed so far away as it does right now. There is a lightness to Spring colors that is elusive, Autumn colors on the other hand hang heavy. As the colors recede at mid season, the subtle notes of what is to come pop through the fallen petals […]

Spring Fall

As the petals of the Spring blooms disappeared for yet another season, my mind turned from start to finish and I was reminded of how all the color is packed in such a short times. I will take the monochromatic days ahead and bathe in the sun, knowing the bookends will complete the story.—Dominick

Sweet and Heady

Tomorrow will come with each turn of the clock. The thread to yesteryear will unwind just a little longer and the days will count on a little higher. And I will be beneath the tree, sitting within its shade, soaking up the sun on the horizon and smelling sweet scents of the falling petals.—Dominick

Warm Ups

This is a page of “warm-up” drawings, about 30 seconds each. Drawing is just like sports that way, it’s good to take a few minutes to shake the rust off, no matter how often you draw. Greg Betza ©2021

Lilac Wine

Hold the seasons where they are just a little longer. The cool Spring wind will soon give way to the warmth of lightning bugs dancing at the close of each day. Until then I will sit below the lilac tree and let the air fill with its sweet scent and shed a tear when the […]

Past pastel study

Here is an older drawing of my wife, in pastel. I love layering the colors, it’s basically like dry painting. Or even more so like collage where you just place colors on top of one another. I always say I need to use pastels more, maybe this time! Greg Betza ©2021

For the Dogs

Truth be told I am posting this and last weeks drawings late. Why? Because I started the drawings and wasn’t happy with them until this afternoon. Tomorrow based on the time stamp above. Until 2 minutes ago I had not seen that Ronnie posted another beautiful cherry blossom yesterday. Spring seems to be on everyones […]

Live sketchbook

I found this old drawing from a concert…those were the days. I hope that world returns as it was, not so much for me, but for those that never really lived it. Greg Betza ©2021

Yellow, Yellow, Yellow

When I was a kid we had a row of forsythia plants outside our back door that kept us hidden from the rest of the world. They must have been quite old as I distinctly remember the dry branches on the bottom as I would crawl around underneath as if I were in a dense […]

Travels Through Space and Time

I tacked up a drawing a year ago to remind myself of all that I missed last year during the initial stages of this pandemic. A “what Spring means to me” kind of note. As with so much of life that was taken for granted until we had whatever remained in our laps on a […]

Still Waiting

With each sign of Spring there seems to be a not so subtle reminder that the seasons, at least in New York, clash a little before one takes the baton from the other. As I watch the daffodils pop up in front of houses up and down the avenue—mildly obsessed with their strength and form—I […]