Coral Garden - A Work in Progress

I finally decided what kind of fish I wanted to add to this painting (see postings on 11 Dec 2012 and 16 Dec 2012).

It needed something that would contrast well against the green in the water so I sketched in a school of the purple Creole Wrasse into the water above and around the coral.














I will post this painting at a later date once more of it has been completed.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

Between Training Miles - A Work in Progress

After 40 years of Harness racing at the Kawartha Downs Track in Fraserville, Ontario, today almost became the last day for the Track to continue to have the horses race as on 31 March 2013 the Ontario Lottery and Gaming's slots at racetracks revenue-sharing deal ends.

How the province of Ontario which receives 1.1 billion dollars from the horse racing industry, but has pledged a mere 500 million dollars in transition funding to the industry is simply ridiculous.















Why would the OLG even try to separate the horse racing industry from its gaming activity is beyond me. Whether you put money into a slot machine, on a table playing cards, buy a lottery ticket or make a bet on a horse it is all a form of gambling.

I thought it only fitting that I post the sketch for a painting of harness horses in the barns between training miles at Kawartha Downs.

I will post this drawing at a later date once more of it is completed.

Open Field 1 - A Work in Progress

This is another of the small paintings that I started last year by using the various blues from my palette and painting in skies (see post on 28 October 2012). I pulled this one out which was called Blue Sky G and decided it looked a lot like one of the fields behind the barn.

I started by sketching in by twin pines that are on the fence line of the back field before the sugar bush.















Next I put in the middle field fence line with the various trees at the edge of the field. I indicated some of the grasses that grew along the edge of the field by the rock piles.

I was just getting my paints out to start work on this painting when I had unexpected company arrive, so I will post this piece at a later date once it is completed.

Easter Surprise - A Work in Progress

With tomorrow being Good Friday the Still Life Group at KAGS is doing an Easter theme.

We had a number of Easter bunnies including a Lindt gold chocolate bunny and a Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit. We also had various baskets, coloured Easter eggs, and some flowers.

I didn't like all of the pieces and decided not to use a number of them. To make a more interesting composition I moved some of them around and added some extra eggs and cut flowers. With fewer things to draw I was able to have more time to paint.














I put down the base yellow for the forsythias, the bottom part of the pot with the calla lily and a couple of the coloured Easter eggs.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it is completed.

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

Mr. Bud I - A Work in Progress

Even though there is snow still on the ground the trees are starting to show that spring is just around the corner.

Today I have to go to the Executive meeting at KAGS so I decided that I would go in a little earlier and work on a couple of paintings.













I started this painting earlier this year (see post on 06 January 2013) as a guide for an acrylic painting on which I am working.

I added the soft yellow seaweed into the forecastle of the boat and to the right side of the painting on the reef. More different types of sponges and corals were added onto the reef and onto the side of the Mr. Bud.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

Pottery 5 and 6 - Two Works in Progress

Today the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group had Neil Broadfoot as a guest instructor. He demonstrated how to do still life drawing and brought in a wide variety of subject matter.

He started us off with basic shapes and theory on how the shapes change when looking at an object at eye level, below eye level and above eye level.

Then gave us exercises to do with the light source on the different shapes and theory about highlight, light, reflected light, shadow and cast shadow.

By then it was time for us to break for lunch.

Pottery 5

After lunch we worked on developing a composition and how drapery can lead the eye through a painting.














Pottery 6

I will post these paintings at a later date as each of them is completed.

Suppertime? - A Work in Progress

I wanted to work on the knifefish today and at least get it completed (see postings on 15 Mar 2012, 31 Oct 2012 and 30 Dec 2012).

The dark stripes had already been completed and I started by painting in the white stripes on either side of the central black stripe. Then I added the white to the lips of the fish.














I added a little yellow to the white and painted in the dorsal fin stripes and then the yellow on the face. I then added a touch of cerulean blue to the yellow mix for the shadows and a hint of burnt sienna to the top of the head.

Mixing some cerulean blue with white the main body of the fish was painted and pure white was added for the highlights and some definition of the fin.














The remaining fins were painted with painted with cerulean blue at the base where the fins are almost transparent blending into a pale yellow and the outer edges tipped with a mix of the yellow and burnt sienna.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work has been completed on the coral.

Hidden - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to work on something small that wouldn't take a lot of time so I pulled out Sponge Work A (see post on 29 December 2012).

After looking at it for a little while I could see the shape of a rabbit among the foliage. So I changed the name of this piece to Hidden.

I washed in the background with new gamboge leaving the rabbit shape untouched.

Using a little alizarin crimson I painted the inside of the ear and the nose.

Next using burnt sienna I applied washes over the head, ears and body of the rabbit gradually darkening some areas to create the illusion of roundness.

While that was drying I applied a mixture of alizarin crimson, French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and put in the eye.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have completed the rabbit on worked on the foliage.

In the Shade I - A Work in Progress

I often see the horses gathering beneath the trees on a hot summer day, to relax and get out of the sun. It is a quiet and peaceful time.

I will probably add a couple more horses into the drawing and perhaps a foal laying down.














I will post this drawing at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

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

Tea for Two - A Work in Progress

Yesterday at KAGS we had the three different tea services from which to choose. After doing sketches of each display I decided to paint a couple of the traditional tea cups.

The reason I chose them was that I liked how the red colour from the cloth they were placed on was reflected back on the white of the cups.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it has been completed.

Asian Tea Sets - Three Works in Progress

This morning I was at KAGS with the Still Life Group and our theme was Chinese tea sets. We had three interesting displays along with two types of fans and a pair of dragon candle holders.

Traditional Chinese Tea Service

I did one sketch of each of the three displays and will need to add more detail before applying the paint.

The first was a traditional Chinese tea set with a red and orange flower design. The round tea having a pot cord wrapped handle and matching thick porcelain cups.


Japanese Dragon Moriage Tea Set

The second one was an ornate 1950's Japanese Dragon moriage tea service with a black dragon design. It featured a tall tea pot with a scrolled handle and a matching creamer and sugar bowl; as well as two demitasse tea cups and saucers.

The third grouping was simply two thin porcelain tea cups, with an Oriental plate having an image of a pair of Golden pheasants against a blue background.

I will post these pictures at a later date as more work on them is completed.


Oriental Elegance

Magnetawan River 3 - A Work in Progress

Today I didn't have a lot of time to work on a painting, but I still wanted to do a little bit on one of the many sketches I have started on watercolour paper.

I pulled out this piece that I had sketched while in Magnetawan at the Knoepfli Inn with the Outdoor Painters' Group last year (see post on 05 October 2012).













I washed in the sky with French ultramarine blue and then set it aside to dry.

I will post this painting again at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

OSWOA - Evening Forest 3

This is a painting I had started last year (see post on 31 July 2012) and decided that I wanted to complete it today.

First I put in the distant evergreen trees into the background with French ultramarine blue and raw sienna.

Using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the various deciduous trees and the markings on the birch trees in the forest.

With burnt sienna and cobalt blue I painted the growies into the foreground.

Lastly I added the leaves using mixtures of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna and raw 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 - Pastel Morning 1

I wanted to work wet on wet and play with a few different colours in a sky.

Starting with new gamboge as a base color, I painted in some areas of the centre and towards the bottom side edges of the sky. I then put in areas of alizarin crimson into the sides and some areas toward the top of the sky.

Lastly I added some French ultramarine blue into the top of the sky and around the side edges.















As the paper was drying I used a mixture of the three colours and I indicated land, rocks and trees.

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 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Using Shades of Green - Three Works in Progress

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than paintings with green in them?

For the first painting I blocked in areas of sunlit trees in the background and left a clear sunny area for the pasture using combinations of aureolin, Antwerp blue and French ultramarine blue.

Then I put in mid tones and the dark shadows before I set it aside to dry.


Pasture I

For the next painting I used a mixture of raw sienna, Antwerp blue and French ultramarine blue.

I applied the paint to dry paper and softened some of the edges slightly by adding water to the paper together with a little more paint.

When I was pleased with the result it was the set aside to dry.



Green Background A

For the final painting I first masked out a birch tree to one side of the painting and while the masking fluid was drying I mixed various greens using Antwerp blue, aureolin, raw sienna, burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue.

I poured some of the paint mixtures onto the paper and rolled it around to create interesting patterns.

Once it was dry I removed the miskit and painted the shadow onto the one side of the birch trunk.














Forest 1

I will post these painting at a later date as they are completed.

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

Coral Reef I - A Work in Progress

I started this small watercolour of one section of the coral reef along Newman's Wall in Roatan where we get dropped off in the morning for our second dive. From there we make our way back along the reef to the diamond markers then following the chain over the small plane to the Prince Albert wreck and then following another chain to the CoCo View Resort.













I still have a lot more coral to add onto the rock face of Newman's wall and I will post this painting at a later date as more of it is completed.

Sunset 1 and 2 - Two works in Progress

I pulled out these two paintings that I had started last month (see posts on 04 and 08 February 2013).

With both pieces having many of the same colours I use a pale mixture of Antwerp blue, Cobalt blue and alizarin crimson to wash in the background hills.

Next on the first painting I washed aureolin into some areas of the snow to give it a warm glow.

On the second painting using a darker wash of aureolin I streaked colour across the water.

Sunset 1













Sunset 2

Once the paint was dry I lightly sketched in the trees. I will post each of these paintings as they are completed.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Shoes and Boots - A Work in Progress

Today's theme at the Still Life class at KAGS was shoes and boots. There was a wide variety of footwear available, from hand made csowboy boots from Chile, black patent high heels, work boots, moccasins, baby booties, deck boots and winter boots.

I did a sketch of the entire display and with all the detail that needed to be added did not have any time to paint.

I will post this painting once I do put some paint on it at a later date

Cloud Layers 1 - A Work in Progress

After the lovely mild weather we have been having the temperature has dropped rapidly and it is snowing.

It is March and it is to be expected to have winter fight to stay before the real spring melt which I hope will be soon. Meanwhile I will just have to wait and see how much more of the white stuff is going to fall.














I thought it fitting that I do a painting using French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to portray the cold, grey snowy day we were having.

I will post this painting later once it has been completed.

Rock Shadows - A Work in Progress

I was painting with the Buckhorn Artists' Group at St. Matthew's Church today. I took with me a number of paintings I had started a while ago and decided to work on this one (see posting on 30 January 2011).

I did more work on the background trying to keep areas of light showing behind the birch trees and giving an illusion of depth. There is still a lot more work to do on this painting and I will post it once more of it completed.

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

Snowy Morning - A Work in Progress

Today I was painting at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery with Neil Broadfoot.

I decided I would start this painting. It is from a photograph I took after finishing the barn chores this morning and walking back to the house.

The early morning sun gave a warm orange glow to the back of the house which contrasted strongly against the blue sky and the dark blue cast shadows from the trees creating patterns across the white snow.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it has been completed.

Galloping Pair - A Work in Progress

This is a painting I had started earlier this year (see post on 15 January 2013). I washed in a stormy sky behind the horses with French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Next using French ultramarine blue and mixtures of raw sienna and new gamboge for the background trees and pasture.

Using a darker mixture of the greens the foreground grasses were painted.











Once the back ground had dried I started the under paint on the lead horse.

The first layer was raw sienna; and the next two layers were with burnt sienna.

I will post this painting at a later date as each horse is completed.

Hat II - A Work in Progress

This is another of the cowboy hats I started from the still life display at KAGS on Thursday.

I will post it at a later date once it is completed.

Hat I - A Work in Progress

Yesterday at KAGS the theme for the still life class was hats, gloves and scarves.

This is a small painting I started of one of the three cowboy hats that was in yesterday's display.

I will post this painting at a later date once it is completed.

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

Hats, Gloves and Scarves - A Work in Progress

The theme for today's still life class at KAGS was hats, gloves and scarves.

There was a wonderful assortment of many different hats and colourful scarves. It was very hard to choose which section to do, so I did a sketch of the entire display.

After the break I did a couple of quick sketches of the cowboy hats and started with a little paint on one of them.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it is completed.

Grey Sky A-E - Five Works in Progress

Today I just couldn't get into working on a painting so I decided to work on small pieces of paper that I had already cut to 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" for ACEO.














Grey Sky A

On one painting only French ultramarine blue with a hint of burnt sienna just to grey the colour slightly was used leaving areas of white for the clouds.


















Grey Sky B

Using mixtures of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in skies and clouds. I added a little raw sienna and put in a few tree shapes into the bottom of one painting.














Grey Sky C

Some of the backgrounds had very little cloud and lighter and darker mixtures of the two colours were used to give different tones to the skies.


















Grey Sky D

A couple of the paintings I did vertically using different washes of the blue colour and painting it in with streaks of a grey mix.


















Grey Sky E

I will posts these backgrounds sky paintings as I complete them at a later date.

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

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

OSWOA - Cedars 1

I wanted to work on this painting that I had started while out in the boat on Chemong Lake (see post 04 July 2012).

It needed the dead cedar trees and various deciduous trees added into the background which I could not do while on the boat.














I lightly sketched in the placement of the larger trees to give a starting point, then using a mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I mixed a dark to put in the trunks and main branches of the various deciduous trees.

Next using water, I lifted a few of the lighter tree trunks in front of the cedar trees and then went back in with the dark mix and added a few smaller tree trunks into the foreground.













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 Windsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Winter Peace 2

I pulled out another of the background paintings that I had started last year (see post on 28 October 2012), this one was called Blue Sky L.

Even though spring will officially begin later this month I decided that the painting would make a nice snow scene. I drew in the main trees and fence posts for a wire fence first.

These kinds of paintings lend themselves to being painted with a limited palette of three colours: French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and raw sienna.

For the grey tones in the fence posts and tree trunks I used mixtures of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

With pure burnt sienna I ran the two strands of wire fence between the fence posts.














With various mixtures of the three colours I painted in the grasses and growies at the base of the tree trunks and fence posts.

Lastly I added a few leaves onto some of the branches of the trees with various mixtures of burnt sienna and raw sienna.

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.

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 2013 - 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.

Algonquin Provincial Park, Whitney, Ont.
Algonquin
03 Nov 12 - 26 Jun 13 Algonquin Palette

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery, Peterborough, Ont.
KAGS
07 Apr - 02 May 13 Unfolding
Opening Reception 07 Apr 13 from 1-4pm.
23 Jun - 11 Jul 13 Monochrome
Opening Reception 23 Jun 13 from 1-4pm.
15 Sep - 03 Oct 13 Rural Scenes
Opening Reception 15 Sep 13 from 1-4pm.
20-31 Oct 13 Motion in Stillness
Opening Reception 20 Oct 13 from 1-4pm.
03-21 Nov 13 Outdoor Painters' Group Show
Opening Reception 03 Nov 13 from 1-4pm.
08-22 Dec 13 & 05-10 Jan 14 Winter Delights
Opening Reception 08 Dec 13 from 1-4pm.

The Evinrude Centre, 911 Monaghan Road, Peterborough Ont.
12-14 Apr Peterborough Garden Show

St Matthews Church, Buckhorn, Ont
BuckhornArtistsGroup
18-20 May 25th Annual Among Friends Art Show
10-18 Aug 23rd Annual Shades of Summer Art Show

Cobourg Waterfront Festival, Cobourg, Ont.
Waterfrontfestival
29 Jun - 01 July The Lions Club Art Show and Sale

The Lindsay Gallery, Lindsay, Ont.
LindsayGallery
30-31 Jul - 24 Aug 2013 Above and Below the Reef
Opening Reception 01 Aug from 7-8:30pm.

MacKelvie Gallery, Keene, Ontario
PioneerVillage
11 Jul - 08 Aug Lang Pioneer Village Museum, Keene, Ont.

Fenelon Falls Fairgrounds, Fenelon Falls, Ont.
KawarthaArtsFestival
31 Aug - 01 Sep Kawartha Arts Festival

Through the Storm - A Work in Progress

Today it is bright and sunny with the temperatures climbing into the low 40's F (4.4C), which is making some of the snow melt, but it has a long way to go yet.














I wanted to do more work on the seagull  as this painting is getting very close to being completed (see postings on 10 Dec 2010, 23 Mar 2012 and 31 December 2012).

I added another layer of Chinese white to the leading edge of the wings and on the bottom edges of the primary and secondary feathers.

Using a mixture of cobalt blue and burnt sienna I added some definition to the upper wing coverts and the speculum.

Then with a wash of pure cobalt blue I added a little shape to the gull's back and to the curve of the wings.

I will post this painting at a later date once it has been completed.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.