Dawn Glow

The sky was washed in with a mixture of Antwerp blue and alizarin crimson.

As the paper was starting to dry I brushed in the distant trees using a mixture od French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and the under paint for the foreground.

With a lightly darker mixture of the background tree colours I added in the closer tree line with more detailed trees.

Dawn Glow is an original 4-3/4" x 10-3/4” framed watercolour.

I would like to thank you returning collector Ms. Kerry Delany-Dennison of Whitby, Ontario on her purchase of this painting.

Now I have to go and take down the Figuratively Speaking show at KAGS.

Syrup Time 1

This is an ideal year for making maple syrup.

We have had a long and cold spring with a few days of warmth and then the temperatures plummeting again at night and often snow during the day.

This is a typical scene out in Warsaw at the maple bush this time of the year. With a team of horses used to gather the maple sap and bring it back to the sugar shack where it is boiled down into maple syrup.

Syrup Time I is an original 6" x 6-1/2” framed pen & ink drawing available for $145.00.

Inviting Path - A Work in Progress

I went over to Heather's to paint today.

I really couldn't get into painting so I worked a little on the maple tree on this piece. I added more colour to the leaves and more details to the branches and tree bark on the trunk.

I think I would like to put an older farmhouse with a porch in the background and will post this painting at a later date once more is completed.

Golden Light

This is an original 7" x 10-3/4” framed watercolour.

This painting was done using a limited palette of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and raw sienna.

The sky is painted using only pure raw sienna and pure burnt sienna, allowing the paint to mix together on the wet paper. Some areas of white were left to suggest wispy clouds.

The water was a mixture of raw sienna and burnt sienna put down with horizontal strokes and then French ultramarine blue was added to the mixture to indicate some movement on the water.

This mixture was darkened slightly and the distant shoreline trees were painted, keeping them soft and without a lot of detail.

While the paper was still a little damp a darker mixture of background trees was used to indicate the closer trees still keeping the edges fairly soft. As the paper had dried a little more an even darker mixture was put into the trees to create some interest.

Now I have to go to the Executive meeting today at KAGS.

Thank you to new collector Mrs. Carol Forsythe of Bridgenorth, Ontario on adding this painting to her art collection.

Burleigh Falls 4-5

These are two more value sketches of Burleigh Falls.

Either one could be worked up into a painting which would clearly show what the Falls are like with the rushing water pouring over the rocks.














Burleigh Falls 4 SOLD

I will probably do both of them a little later in the year, probably during the summer.

The pictures shown here are all 9" x 12” original conte drawings and are available matted and shrink wrapped for $40.00 each.














Burleigh Falls 5 SOLD

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork. I hope you will return often.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Tom Young

I have posted the biography of another member of the Buckhorn Artists' Group, Tom Young to the blog as well as an example of his artwork.

OSWOA - Cloudy Sky 1 and 4

Clouds are ever changing and I never tire of watching them as they race across the sky.

Cloud types are usually grouped into low, middle or high clouds, referring to the altitudes at which they occur. Low clouds are generally below about 6,500' (1,981.2m). Middle clouds range from 6,500'-20,000'(1,981.2m-6,096m). High clouds range from 20,000' to over 40,000' (6,096m-12,192m+) in altitude.

Cloudy Sky 1

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here are original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $40.00 each and sold unframed.

Cloudy Sky 4

ACEO - Winter Scene 1-2

Today I am at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio painting with the Outdoor Painters' Group.

I thought I may as well paint snow scenes today since there is still plenty of snow on the ground, even though we are into spring.

Winter Scene 1

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here are all original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Winter Scene 2

Autumn Afternoon

Autumn Afternoon is an original 9-1/4" x 11-1/4” framed watercolour.

There is something very tranquil about an autumn afternoon on the lake when everything is still and quiet. No breeze to cause ripples to disturb the reflections on the lake.

Thank you to new collector Mr. John Martin of Epsom Surrey, Great Britain on his purchase of this painting.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork.

Pink Flowers - A Work in Progress

Today I painted with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painters.

This was an interesting exercise, we made mono print paintings.

A piece of watercolour paper was soaked in water and while it was soaking we dropped colour on a piece of glass. In this case I used French ultramarine blue, raw sienna and alizarin crimson.

The paper was removed from the water and placed on the sheet of glass and using a rolling pin or brayer the colour was transferred to the paper.

When the paper was lifted from the glass to me it looked like flower blossoms.

I made a green of French ultramarine blue and raw sienna and started picking out some leaves. Most of the background of this painting will be done in the negative.

I will have to spend some time looking at this painting before I go any further to decide what I would like to do with it.

I will post it again at a later date after I have completed more work on it.

Softly and Silently

This is an original 10-3/4" x 13-3/4” framed watercolour painting.

It is the first day of spring and the lakes are still covered in a mantle of snow and there are more snow flurries in the forecast.

I know spring weather will eventually arrive as the red winged blackbirds and grackles are here so I had better go out and fill up my bird feeders again.

Thank you to new collector Mrs. Shirley Trussler of Peterborough, Ontario on adding this painting to her art collection.

Sparkling Water

This is an original 9" x 14" framed watercolour.

I keep thinking about the summer days and being out on the boat during the afternoon with the water reflecting back the sun's rays.

Sometimes it is almost blinding and the islands in the lake are just silhouettes against the sky.

Thank you to returning collectors Mr. & Mrs. Don Kortkos of Pefferlaw, Ontario on their selection of this painting to add to their collection.

Brief Encounter - A Work in Progress

This painting is almost complete. The centre of the sun still needs to be lightened as right now it looks too much like an orange hanging in the sky.

More detail needs to be added to the duck and ducklings and the sun reflection needs to be finished.

The companion piece to this painting is Brief Moment (see my posting on 04 August 2010).

I will post this painting once it is completed.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

Sugar Shack 1 - A Work in Progress

With this version of a Sugar Shack I changed the under paint from raw sienna (see yesterday's post for Sugar Shack) to a purple of alizarin crimson and manganese blue).

The sky colour is cobalt blue and titanium white. The background is a mixture of the sky colour, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, raw sienna and French ultramarine blue.

The layer of snow closest to the base of the distant trees was painted in using the sky colour. Then some birch trunks were added using the sky colour and a hint of burnt sienna to grey it. The dark deciduous tree trunks were put in using burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue with some of them coming into the snow to appear closer. A thinner mixture was used to indicate the main maple tree trunks in the foreground.

I will post this painting once I complete more work on it.

Sugar Shack - A Work in Progress

It is sugaring time here in Canada.

The days are warmer and the nights continue to drop down in temperature often well below freezing.

For this painting I used a thin wash of raw sienna to underpaint the canvas so that if there are areas where the acrylic paint dosen't completely cover a nice warm glow from the raw sienna will show through.

The sky was painted in with a mix of French ultramarine blue and titanium white.

The background trees where painted with various mixtures of titanium white, raw sienna, burnt sienna, French ultramarine blue and cobalt blue.

The snow on the roof is mainly titanium white with a hint of French ultramarine blue.

The sugar shack is various mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna, alizarin crimson and French ultramarine blue. The window frames where alizarin crimson, burnt sienna and a touch of French ultramarine blue.

The background snow is of mixtures of cobalt blue, French ultramarine blue and titanium white.

I will post this painting once it is complted.

Autumn Gold - A Work in Progress

The leaf shapes were masked out to protect the white paper.

Once the masking fluid was dry the paper was wet and various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, Antwerp blue and alizarin crimson were applied to the background.

The painting was set aside to dry.

The masking fluid was removed and the first oak leaf was given a wash of raw sienna as a base. Burnt sienna, raw sienna and French ultramarine blue were layered into the leaf to create shape.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of the leaves are completed.

White Water - A Work in Progress

This is a waterfall we came across in Dominica a number of years ago while taking a tour of the island when we were on a cruise.

The island has many beautiful waterfalls and rivers as well as a number of hot springs.

At one place we stopped to visit you had to swim across the river which was very cold; to a natural depression in the rock which would hold about 8 people comfortably. The water running down the rock face was hot and was very relaxing but, I really didn't want to swim back across that cold river to join the tour.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Still Life 4-6 - Three Works in Progress

I did the background for three still life paintings yesterday that had a vase with Chinese Lanterns and dried Queen Anne's Lace.

Today I am going to do the backgrounds for three paintings using an old enamel coffee pot filled with a mixture of flowers and at a later date will develop the third still life of the enamel water pitcher.

There were many things I learned from painting yesterday's backgrounds and I wanted to do a few things differently today especially since I can change the colours of the flowers.

Still Life 4

I liked the streaky effect I got with Still Life 2 from yesterday and thought I would try it again today but changing the way the colours were mixed slightly and using more burnt sienna in some areas along with the French ultramarine blue and raw sienna.

I liked the soft effect of the mauve in Still Life 3 from yesterday but I wanted something bolder and richer looking.

Still Life 5

To do that I added some Antwerp blue to the mixture and more alizarin crimson to the French ultramarine blue.

For the third painting I used almost pure Antwerp blue with a touch of French ultramarine blue to tone it down slightly.

I have set these paintings aside to dry and will post each one as they are completed.

Still Life 6

Still Life 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

When we were painting in Buckhorn on Tuesday, the Church had a number of vases with dried flower arrangements in them.

I had taken photographs and did sketches of them and thought that they could be developed into some interesting paintings.

I sketched out the vase that had Chinese Lanterns and dried Queen Anne's Lace.

Still Life 1

I transferred the small sketch down onto three pieces of watercolour paper.

I wasn't sure what colour I wanted to use for the background and decided to experiment with a couple of different backgrounds.

In the first one I used French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, making the colour a lot darker to the left side.

Still Life 2

On the second one I used a loose mixture of burnt sienna, raw sienna and French ultramarine blue and ran it down the paper in streaks to create interest.

For the third one I used a mixture of French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson and worked wet on wet into the background. The mauve it made would be a good contrast to the orange of the Chinese Lanterns.

Still Life 3

I set these paintings aside to allow them to dry completely before I start to paint in the flowers and vase.

I will post them at a later date once I work on them again.

Ocean Treasures - A Work in Progress

I took a workshop with Carol Francisco at KAGS on using pastel.

The morning was spent on learning on how to have a safe working environment when using chalk pastel, types of papers and boards that can be used with pastel, the various ways of handling the medium when applying it to the different types of paper and examples how the results.

In the afternoon we were allowed to choose various objects she had brought in for us to use in creating a still life painting in pastel.

I chose a seashell and a piece of coral.

There is still more depth of colour and detail to add to the painting. I will post this piece once I have it completed.

Horse Sketches XI-XIII

These are small quick sketches I do when I have a little time to draw but not enough time to get into working on a painting.

It is from these sketches I get ideas for paintings and develop them further; sometimes I will combine more than one sketch into a finished piece.













Horse Sketches XI

For most of them they will be normal horses in various natural landscape settings. Others I may decide to add wings and turn them in to a Pegasus, change them into Unicorns or Carousel Horses.

It all depends on my mood and where my imagination takes me at the time.



















Horse Sketches XII

I may also change them into any colour breed.

Add spots and I can have an Appaloosa, patches and depending on the body type it could be a Pinto or a Paint.


















Horse Sketches XIII

The pieces shown here are original pen and ink drawings and are available matted and shrink wrapped for $25.00 each.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork. I hope you will return often.

OSWOA - Snow 1

Today I was sitting the last day of the Miniaturia show at KAGS.

To pass the time until the show closed I worked on a couple of small pieces that I had started a while ago.

This painting is a monochromatic of greys made from French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Broken 1

I wanted to do a painting with barn board, dirty broken glass and leaves.

One thing you really notice is the difference between the fuzzy way leaves look when you see them through dirty glass and how defined they are without any glass.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Sundown

I am fortunate in that I am able to see the sun rise and set each day weather permitting.

When we were on a cruise a number of years ago not only were we able to see the sun rise and set on the ocean but also the rise and setting of a full moon at night.

Thank you to Mrs. M. Sepp of Willowdale, Ontario on her purchase of this painting to add to her art collection.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork.

Tammy

This is one of two sketches I did at a dog show of a pair of Wire-Haired Fox Terriers.

For this one I used only black conte.

Tammy is an original 7” diameter framed conte pencil drawing available for $85.00.

Snowed In - A Work in Progress

It has been snowing all night and will continue to snow all day today and we are to get another 8" (20 cm).

I thought it fitting to paint something with a lot of heavy wet packing snow in it. This is the kind of snow that clings to the branches of the trees and weighs them down; with enough of this type of snow on them the branches can often break under the weight.

I have removed the masking from the foreground snow covered trees and have almost finished one of them. The shadows still need to be greyed more as everything is just too blue.

I will post this painting at a later date when I have finished more of the pines.

Incoming Waves - A Work in Progress

It is raining here at the moment, but the weatherman says it is to change to snow overnight and continue throughout the day tomorrow.

I am going to think warm thoughts and what better than to think of the Caribbean and the hot weather and wonderful beaches?

I looked at the temperatures in Aruba and they are consistent as always forecasting a week of 86F (30C) temperatures. I wish I was back there, maybe next year.

This painting is almost finished, I just need to put a few palm trees on the island and add a little colour to the froth on the waves. I will post this painting once it is completed.

Solitude

This is a fairly well known tree in the Buckhorn area found on the Gallery on the Lake property near the back parking lot.

Up until 29 years ago it was a magnificent pine tree when during a violent thunderstorm it was struck by lightning. The blasted shell still remains.

Congratulations to new collector Mrs. Connie Blasco of Lindsay, Ontario on her purchase of this painting.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Show Updates

I have updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group blog with a listing of shows some of the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work in during the month of March.

If you get a chance come out and visit them at one or all of the shows.

Confirmed Shows for 2011 - March

This is a listing of confirmed shows that I will be exhibiting my artwork at this year. I will update the list as more shows are added.

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery, Peterborough, Ont.
KAGS
27 Feb – 10 Mar Miniaturia
Opening Reception 27 Feb 11 from 1-4pm.
13-31 Mar Figuratively Speaking
Opening Reception 13 Mar 11 from 1-4pm.
01 May - 12 May 11 Once More From The Top
Opening Reception 01 May 11 from 1-4pm.
05-23 Jun Temperatures Rising
Opening Reception 05 Jun 11 from 1-4pm.
11-29 Sep Changes
Opening Reception 11 Sep 11 from 1-4pm.
30 Oct – 16 Nov Outdoor Painters' Group Show
Opening Reception 30 Oct 11 from 1-4pm.
04-23 Dec 11 & 03-05 Jan 12 Christmas Show
Opening Reception 04 Dec 11 from 1-4pm.

St Matthews Church, Buckhorn, Ont
BuckhornArtistsGroup
21-23 May 23rd Annual Among Friends Art Show
06-14 Aug 21st Annual Shades of Summer Art Show

Norwood Legion Hall – Branch 300, Corner of Alma and King Street, Norwood, Ont.
01-03 Ju1 Norwood Annual Art Show and Sale 10-4pm.

Settler’s Village, Bobcaygeon, Ont.
SettlersVillage
15-17 Jul Bobcaygeon Fine Arts Festival

Homeward Bound - A Work in Progress

This is a painting I started a while ago (see my post on 19 May 10) and needed some time to think about how I would put in the wave patterns.

I took a number of pieces over to my friend Heather's home to work on with her. This was one of them.

I originally had a few waves started in the lower left hand corner. With spending time away from the painting I realized that those were much too small for the size of the area of water and must be made larger if I wanted to create the illusion of distance.

Using French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna and alizarin crimson to create some of the wave patterns and trying to capture the impression of movement in the water.

As I worked up the left side of the painting to the boat I used more of the French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson. The wave size was also reduced. I also added some suggestions of waves across the water just below the horizon.

I will post this painting once I have completed the water, and I think I may also add a person onto the sailboat.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.