Evening Sky 4 - A Work in Progress

It is cold outside with the temperature at 0F (-18C) and the wind making it feel like -9F (-23C) but it looks nice with the 2" (5cm) of snow covering the ground.

I wasn't in the mood to paint a snow scene, so I decided to paint a sunset, but added some dark rain clouds to have them hovering on the edges of the sky as the sun went down.

For this painting I used a limited palette of new gamboge, burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue to paint the sky and water.














French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna were mixed to create the distant shore and a touch of alizarin crimson as added to the mixture for the island and rocks.

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

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

Autumn Reflections I - A Work in Progress

It is still fairly cold today and although the sun is currently out, it is supposed to cloud over and we should see more snow overnight.

I wanted to at least get the under paint and the sketch blocked in on this canvas as one of the three paintings I am donating to the Small Treasures Show to be held at KAGS in March next year as a fund raiser for prize money for the Best of High School Art Show.

I used raw sienna as the under paint colour for the canvas.

Then I used cadmium red to sketch in the main trees, rocks and water.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have the main areas blocked in with colour.

Winter Morning I - A Work in Progress

Yesterday I spoke too soon about there being no snow in the forecast; overnight we received about an inch (2.5cm) of snow. The temperature has dropped to 14F (-10C) and there is more snow called for later in the afternoon.

We did however have a nice sunrise this morning and it inspired me to capture the lovely pinks, mauves and blues in the sky of the new day.

The colours were reflected in the soft shadows spreading across the snow, seeming to give it a warm glow. I then set the painting aside to dry.

Later when it was dry I lightly indicated where I would place the trees.

I will post piece at a later time once the trees have been painted.

Bath Time - A Work in Progress

The temperatures have finally dropped and we are back to the colder winter weather, although there is still no snow in the forecast.

I decided to work on this piece that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 11 and 16 July 2014).

Using new gamboge I painted in the back of the duck's body that would be seen through the glass bottle of bath oil and a little into the cap of the bottle for the reflected colour.

Next I worked on finishing the bottle cap with mixtures of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.













I started on the bill with mixtures of new gamboge, cadmium red, cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson.

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

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

Deer in the Shadows - A Work in Progress

This morning as I was going over to my friend Heather's house to drop off her Christmas gifts now that she was back home from celebrating the holiday with her family in Toronto.

I glanced at the lake as I was driving by and at the edge was a doe with last year's fawn standing with her deciding if they were going to cross the ice covered lake.

I stopped the car and quickly took a photograph before opening the door and getting out just in case I spooked the deer and they disappeared before I could get closer.

It was a good thing that I did because as soon as I got out of the car she spotted me and that is exactly what happened. So it is a good thing I listen to the voices in my head some of the time.

I got back into the car and visited with Heather for a while before returning home and doing this little sketch.

I will post this piece at a later date once I have taken the time to develop the sketch and transfer it onto either watercolour paper or a canvas.

Gardening 2 - A Work in Progress

If the temperatures continue this mild I may have to cut the grass with my Christmas gift from Ron; a beautiful, new, black riding lawn mower with all the bells and whistles including cruise control and a 46" deck which will cut my time mowing the lawn by about a third.

The drawback to the larger mower is that there is only an inch (2.5cm) of clearance on each side of the deck when going into the west barn.













I didn't have a lot of time to paint today with going to Christine's for  opening Christmas presents and supper at her home and with it being so mild I did a little more work on this painting (see posts on 25 May and 14 August 2014).

I will post this painting later once I have completed the watering can and the other flower container.

Welcome the Newborn - A Work in Progress

Last month in the Still Life at KAGS we did a class with a number of figurines; I chose to do the ones of dragons and changed a number of things on them to create my own dragons.

I liked the idea of a dragon clinging to a marble column and heralding the birth of the first dragon hatchling from a clutch of eggs.

There is still a lot more drawing to do before the sketch is complete and ready for me to paint including the placement of the legs, putting in the scales and adding the other eggs.

Being a big fan of dragons and other mystical creatures I am looking forward to working on this piece.

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Tulips - A Work in Progress

I have everything ready for Christmas tomorrow and I thought I would have some time to paint today, so I pulled out this painting that I had started earlier this year (see post on 25 October 2014) and removed this masking fluid from the flowers.

The drawing needed a little more work before I would be happy with the way it looked.

I had just started into it when we had some unexpected company arrive and that ended my doing any more work on this piece.

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

First Snow - A Work in Progress

With the milder temperatures that are being called for the rest of the week I do not think we will have a white Christmas this year.

I decided that I would start on one of the three canvases I am donating for the Small Treasures Show from the 18-29 March 2015, which is a fund raiser for the Best of High School Art Show at KAGS.














I under painted the canvas with raw sienna and using cadmium red blocked in the distant hill and the edge of the field as well as the two main trees in the foreground.

Using various mixtures of Titanium white, French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson I painted in the sky first, then gradually added a little more white and painted the far hill and then the field.

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

Background 11 - A Work in Progress

This is a background from the left over acrylic paint when I last worked on Magnetawan Reflections (see post on 19 December 2014).














I will post this painting at a later date once I have decided what I will paint on this background.

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

OSWOA - Cloudy Morning 1

I wanted to paint today and as I was going through some of my started paintings I came across this one that I had started last year (see post on 11 December 13).

It reminded me of an early spring morning where there is still some snow on the ground, but the sun during the day melts it and then small areas of ice form on top of the snow as the temperature drops once again overnight.














I lightly sketched in a couple of large trees and indicated a fence line at the back of a pasture.

Starting with the background I painted in the fence as well as a few small trees in the next field.













Using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna, and alizarin crimson I painted in the tree trunks and branches.

Once the trees were completed I painted in the grasses and growies with mixtures of new gamboge, raw sienna, cadmium yellow, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.













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 - Winter Snow 1

Finally we have a sunny day. The sun shining on the infield of the track makes the frost covered grasses look like glittering diamonds strung on threads of gold.

I don't even mind the fact that it is currently 14F (-10C) and supposed to reach a high of only 28F (-2C); it is simply not a grey, cloudy and overcast day.

I thought I would work on this painting that I started earlier this year (see post on 27 April 2014).

Using French ultramarine blue with a small amount of burnt sienna, I brushed in the sky.

Next I added a little more burnt sienna to the sky colour and painted in the shadows on the snow, leaving small bits of the white paper showing in a few places.















To the sky colour I added a little more burnt sienna to make a grey and painted the barn on the top of the hill.

Adding various combinations of the blue and the brown to the grey I painted in the tree trunks and the fence posts.

With pure burnt sienna, I ran the barbed wire fence between the fence posts in both the foreground and on the distant hill.

Next using raw sienna first I painted in the base colour of the grasses and growies at the base of the trees and fence posts.















I added burnt sienna and a touch of alizarin crimson to the grasses and growies to give them some variation from one solid colour to complete the painting.

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.

Magnetawan Reflections - A Work in Progress

I didn't have a lot of time to paint today but I wanted to get a little more work done on this painting today that I had started last month in the Lucy Manley class (see posts on 10 and 15 December 2014) at KAGS.

I added blue into the sky and gave more definition to the clouds. I also touched up some of the sky holes in the trees on both sides of the painting.

With the cloud colour I straightened the distant shoreline added a little more cerulean blue into both sides of the shore and into the reflection.















The one dark tree on the edge of the closer shore on the right side needed to be placed on that shore instead of hovering between it and the background and I lengthened the reflection in the water as well.

Using mixtures of cerulean blue and white I indicated a few birch trees into the shadows on the shore.

I will post this painting at a later date as more work on this painting is completed.

The Lope 1-4 - Four Works in Progress

I was watching a program on television about the training of Quarter Horses and the classes in which they are exhibited.














The Lope 3

While the program I watched the program I did a number of quick sketches of the horses.














The Lope 2

There was a segment on training reining horses and it showed a horse doing one of the reining patterns.














The Lope 1

Another part featured the Trail, Western Please and English Pleasure classes.














The Lope 4

There was a part about the various gaming classes and racing.

I will post each of these drawings at a later date once they have been completed.

Affordableism Show at Art on Kent

The current show at KAN which is being held at Art on Kent in Lindsay, Ontario is called Affordableism.














Each artist is allowed to submit up to four paintings for the show, but the total value of all the paintings submitted cannot exceed $400.00.











Here are some of the paintings that are currently hanging in the gallery.













If you have a chance, come out and view the show it will run through to 10 January 15.












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

Kyora

Kyora is has learned many things over the past couple of months and is proving that she is almost as smart as I thought she would be when I first spent some time with her when she was at the Peterborough Humane Society.

She has learned not to chase the cats and has made friends with the horses and even Tai likes her, which is a big change for him considering he would chase after She-Ra if she went out in the pasture with me and chases after the cats if they cross through the paddock.














For the most part she comes when she is called and stays in sight when we go for a walk through the fields and woodland.

I posted this photograph of her while she waited to see which path I will follow through the fields before she goes charging off ahead of me.

Magnetawan Reflections - A Work in Progress

This is a continuation of one of the paintings I started last month in the Lucy Manley class at KAGS (see post on 10 December 2014).

Using Titanium white with a little cerulean blue added, the upper part of the sky was painted and the same colour added to the reflections in the water. Next a little French ultramarine blue was added to darken the colour and change it slightly and the closer reflections in the water were brushed in using vertical strokes.















Working on the distant shoreline the orange tree tops were put in with a mix of cadmium red, cadmium yellow and Titanium white. This colour was also used for some of the dead ferns at the edge of the closer shoreline and added into the water reflections below the far shoreline.

A little more Titanium white was added to the orange mix and the distant shore was given more definition and the fern reflections were painted.















With a yellow green mix of cadmium yellow, cerulean blue and Titanium white, some of the bright tree reflections were painted below the far and closer shores.

When I stood back to look at the painting the bright green reflection below the far shore was too bright and seemed to attract the eye to it and needed to be toned down.















Adding a little more cerulean blue and a touch of burnt sienna to tone it down, the brightest tree and the reflection were painted and the same colour was added in a couple more places throughout the painting to tie everything together.

I will post this painting again at a later date when the closest shore and trees have been completed.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

Palomino - A Work in Progress

After a workshop with Lucy Manley earlier this year (see post on 26 March 2014) I used the left over paint front my palette to create a background for another painting.

When I pulled this one out and turned it around 180° I could see a semi abstract image of a horse's head and I changed the name from Background 3 to Palomino.

Using a piece of tracing paper I laid it over the painting and drew in a few more details, trying to still keep it fairly abstract, but to add a little more definition to the painting.

I then tightened up the image on the tracing Paper, making sure that everything was aligned and balanced.

The background was darkened with graphite pencil and then transferred the main lines onto the panel.

I erased all excess graphite from the panel and lightly went over the pencil lines so I could follow them easily when I started to paint.

Now I have to decide what colour to do the mane and forelock.

Also how dark to paint the eyes and nostrils, then see if I want to make any changes to the background.

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

Background 9 and10 - Two Works in Progress

When I had finished working on Magnetawan Reflections for the day (see post on 10 December 2014) as usual I used the leftover acrylic paint to create a background for a painting.















Background 9

Using a palette knife I picked up the paint and applied it to the panel  blending it slightly and keeping the layer of paint fairly smooth and not very thick. After having covered the 8" x 10" panel there was still a fair amount of paint remaining.

In this case I still had enough leftover colours to cover a small 5" x 7" panel using the remaining burnt sienna, cadmium red and a little cadmium yellow.

I applied it onto the panel with a palette knife first and then used a brush and water to blend the paint on the panel to give it a flat, smooth finish.

I will post each of these panels at a later date.

Background 10

More Hallowe'en Stuff - Two Works in Progress

These are two more drawings from the Hallowe'en eve still life class at KAGS.














Witch's Kitty

The first is of a small black cat with beautiful green glowing eyes wearing an orange bow tie and matching witch's hat.














Jack in the Hat

The second is of a smiling Jack o' lantern wearing a black witch's hat.

I will post each of these pieces as more work on them is completed.

Christmas Bags, Boxes and Ornaments - Two Works in Progress

Today in the Still Life class at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio our theme was Christmas Boxes, Bags and Ornaments.

It was fitting subject matter considering it has been snowing since last night and I had to brush off close to 5" (cm) of snow off of my car before I could head into Peterborough for the class.













Christmas Bags, Boxes and Bows

Because of the snow and the road conditions I was late arriving for the class but there was a wonderful display set up and I was spoiled for choice.

I decided to do a couple of small paintings and completed the drawing for the first one and started on the second one before it was time for lunch.













Christmas Balls, Boxes and Bags

I was sitting the Gallery in the afternoon and despite the weather a number of people came through to paint and to see the art show.

I will post both these pieces at a later date once I have started painting them. 

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

Magnetawan Reflections - A Work in Progress

This is the third of three paintings I did with Lucy Manley at KAGS last month.

First the entire canvas is covered with a background colour in this case raw sienna and set aside to dry.















Using cadmium red the darkest areas are indicated as well as the different shorelines, the heights of the background trees, reflections and any major trees.

Using a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna with a touch of alizarin crimson the darkest areas are painted in first and while the paint is still wet cadmium yellow is added to the dark mixture to give a warm dark green.















This is used for the greens foliage in the shadowed area and more yellow is then added for the mid tone greens.

Using almost pure cadmium yellow with just a touch of the mid tone green the lighter tree branches are painted.















The sky is indicated using Titanium white with just a touch of cadmium yellow to give it a little warmth. Small areas of sky are scattered through the upper branches of the trees.

I will post the next stages of this painting at a later date.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

The Red Sleigh - A Work in Progress

There is snow on the ground which helps to make things look more like Christmas and my Basic Watercolour class at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio wanted to do a Christmas theme.

It was decided to do a horse and sleigh after they saw my graphite pencil drawing that I had started a couple of years ago (see posts on 05 and 21 August 2012).

I made copies of the sketch in four different sizes and had my students decide how large they wanted to make their painting.










Most chose to work on the medium sized one that fit an eighth sheet of watercolour paper and one brave soul decided on the larger one that would fit a quarter sheet of watercolour paper.

After a little bit of discussion it was decided that the horse would be a Belgian, rather than a Clydesdale or a Percheron.

Leaving the mane, tail and white markings dry the rest of the horse's body was wet and a pale wash of raw sienna put over the entire horse.















A little more raw sienna was added to the wash to darken it slightly and the darkest shadows were painted in and the edges softened slightly.

Adding more raw sienna to the wash the darkest shadows were covered over again and the lighter colour at the edge of the darkest shadow was painted once again softening the edges.

This process was repeated twice more to create the look of roundness on the barrel and to give some shape to the legs, chest and neck.

I will post this painting at a later date as more work is completed on the horse.

I would like to thank returning collector Mrs. Joanne Fernall of Norwood, Ontario on her selection of Battle Royale (see post on 01 August 2010).

Backgrounds 7 and 8 - Two Works in Progress

In the first two Lucy Manley classes (see posts on 03 November and 01 December 2014) we had last month we did an autumn scene with lots of red, orange and yellow in the tree leaves.















Background 7

As usual rather than waste the remaining paint I apply it to a piece of canvas as  a background for another painting.














Background 8

I will post these two backgrounds at a later date once I decide what I will paint on them.

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

OSWOA - Winter Day 2

With it being December and there is snow on the ground and many of the maple trees still have a few tenacious leaves clinging to their branches I thought this completing this painting would be appropriate for the weather (see posts on 20 January and 09 February 2014).

First thing I did was mix a pale green and put in the distant background trees and I also added some of this colour into the middle ground pine trees.

With a dark of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I continued to add more tree trunks to match the shadows on the snow as well as completing the smaller trees in the distance against the pines.

Next I added some autumn coloured leaves onto the maple tree branches as well as adding a few leaves onto the ground at the base of the foreground trees.













Using a soft blue grey I added more shadows into the snow throughout the painting.

The grasses and growies were painted in using mixes of cadmium yellow, raw sienna 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 each and sold unframed.

ACEO - Winter 1

With it being December I thought I would be nice to do a snow scene. I started with the sky using French ultramarine blue in the top and gradually adding Antwerp blue into the sky toward the bottom half to the horizon line.

I added a little burnt sienna into the blue mixture and indicated the some of the shadows on the snow beneath where I would place the trees.

I darkened the shadow colour with a little more burnt sienna and put in the trees on the horizon line.















Once the paint was completely dry I indicated where the pine trees would be on the edge of the field.

Using mixes of French ultramarine blue, raw sienna and new gamboge I put in the pine needles on the trees.

With a dark of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue I put in the tree trunk and branches and then added a few dead tree trunks among the live ones.















I put in some grasses and growies at the edge of the field and at the base of the trees with 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 140lb. 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 December

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

Musical Instruments - Two Works in Progress

The theme for the Still Life class at KAGS was Musical Instruments. We had a nice selection of instruments to choose from including a guitar, a violin, a ukulele, a clarinet, a keyboard, sheet music and maracas.

Seeing the violin among the instruments brought back memories of when I used to play in grade school, so I decided to draw the sketch of the violin first and will decide on the background later.

We tied both the violin and the guitar to the chairs they were resting on so they wouldn't be damaged if they shifted or accidentally fell.

Violin

For my next sketch I chose the ukulele and the maracas. I liked the contrast between the warm wood and the bright orange maracas.

To make it more in keeping with most musicians that work in the bars I added a bottle of wine, a half filled glass of liquor (in this case ice tea) and I still need to add a tip bowl to go with the coins.














Ukulele and Maracas

I will post each of these paintings when more work on them has been completed.

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

Confirmed Shows for 2014 -2015 - December

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 Arts Network - Art on Kent, Lindsay, Ont.
KAN
27 Nov 14 - 10 Jan 15 Affordableism
Opening Reception 29 Nov 14 from 1-3pm.
09 Apr - 02 May 15 Local Floral
Opening Reception 11 Apr 15 from 1-3pm.
02 Jul - 01 Aug 15 Annual All Members' Show
Opening Reception 04 Jul 15 from 1-3pm.
03-31 Dec 15 and 07 Jan-16 Jan 16 Affordableism
Opening Reception 05 Dec 15 from 1-3pm.

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery, Peterborough, Ont.
KAGS
30 Nov - 21 Dec 14 and 07-18 Jan 15 Free Expressions
Opening Reception 30 Nov 14 from 1-4pm.
18 Feb - 15 Mar 15 Motion in Stillness
Opening Reception 21 Feb 15 from 1-4pm.
18-29 Mar 15 Small Treasures
Opening Reception 21 Mar 15 from 1-4pm.
Closing Reception 28 Mar 15 from 1-4pm.
08-30 Apr 15 Emerging
Opening Reception 11 Apr 15 from 1-4pm.
10 Jun - 05 Jul 15 Warm and Cool
Opening Reception 13 Jun 15 from 1-4pm.
26 Aug - 27 Sep 15 Faces and Figures
Opening Reception 29 Aug 15 from 1-4pm.
11-29 Nov 15 Outdoor Painters' Show - Elements of Nature
Opening Reception 14 Nov 15 from 1-4pm.
02-20 Dec 15 and 06-17 Jan 16 Winter Show
Opening Reception 05 Dec 15 from 1-4pm..

The Lindsay Gallery, Lindsay, Ont.
LindsayGallery
03 Dec 14 - 31 Jan 15 Then and Now All Members' Christmas Show and Sale

Peterborough Theatre Guild, 364 Rogers St., Peterborough, Ont.
Theatre
11 Feb 15 - 07 Mar 15

Township of Douro-Dummer Library Art Gallery, Warsaw, Ont.
17 Feb - 31 Mar 15
Opening Reception 20 Feb 15 from 7-8pm.
08 Sep - 24 Oct 15 Three Good Friends
Opening Reception 11 Sep 15 from 7-8pm.

Norwood Skillet, 4247 Highway 7, Norwood Ont.
25 Mar - 27 May 15

Fenelon Falls Fair Grounds, Fenelon Falls, Ont.
KawarthaArtsFestival
05-06 Sep 15 Kawartha Arts Festival

Millennium Park, Peterborough, Ont.
Purple Onion Festival
20 Sep15 from 11am-4:00pm.

Dancing Blueberries, 360 George St. N., Peterborough, Ont.
02-28 Oct 15

Please come out and enjoy the artwork displayed at these shows.

Free Expressions Show

A big change from yesterday's mild temperature to the 4F (-15.5C) with the wind chill making it feel like -4F (-20C) and add into the mix snow flurries on and off all day.










The new exhibition at KAGS is called Free Expressions and there are many different types of art forms in the show in addition to the regular artwork.

There are carved leather pieces, wood burned paintings, painting made from material, stained glass, art pieces made from computer parts and a wide range of other pieces.