Toadstools 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

Today I was sitting at Art on Kent which is one of the art galleries in Lindsay.

What better way to spend my time at the Gallery on Hallowe'en day than to work on paintings of toadstools that I had started with a class earlier this month (see post on 20 October 2015).

Although we had a number of people come through the Gallery I started by adding the placement of the white scales on all of the toadstools.

Toadstool 1

On the second painting I thought the single toadstool could use a little company since Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of various deciduous and coniferous trees and are found mainly in forested areas growing in groups in all stages of development.

Occasionally they form a naturally occurring ring with one or more trees in the center. These rings are considered to be tethered to the tree and this relationship prevents them from growing too far from the tree roots.

These rings have many names including: fairy rings, fairy circles, elf rings, elf circles, pixie rings, sorcerers' rings or witches' rings.

Toadstool 2

The names come from old European folk tales dating back to the 12th century when people once believed that mushrooms growing in a circle came from supernatural origins and marked the places where fairies, elves, pixies, sorcerers and witches would gather and dance.

These gatherings usually happened on moonlit nights and the rings would only become visible to people on the following morning in the light of day.

European superstitions routinely warn against entering a fairy ring as they are generally regarded as dangerous places and should be avoided due to the terrible consequences.

Toadstool 3

And to enter a fairy ring on May Eve or Hallowe'en night was especially hazardous.

While they are most often associated with doom and seen as dangerous places, some legends claim these circles are places of fertility and good fortune. One folk tale states that building a house on a fairy circle will bring prosperity to its owners.

I will post each painting as it is completed.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

Sailboats 5 and 6 - Two Works in Progress

After transferring the sketches of Sailboat 5 and 6 into Evening on the Lake (see post on 22 October 2015) I decided to rework the sails on both of the sketches.

With Sailboat 5, I decided to reverse the sketch and have it going in the opposite direction and use it as a match to go with Sailboat 6.

This took a little more work as I had to change the positions of the sails and move them to the opposite side of the mast on the boat.

It took a little while until I was happy with the outline drawing.

Then it was time to transfer the image onto the watercolour paper.

I made a few more changes to the hull of the boat after it had been transferred onto the watercolour paper.

Next I used a liquid masking fluid on the boat to protect the white paper on the hull and sails.

I then set the painting aside to allow the friskit to dry completely before I started work on the next boat.

Sailboat 5

For the second boat I left it going in the same direction as it was in the original sketch.

As I did to the sketch of Sailboat 5, I changed the shape of the mainsail to have it attached to the mast.

When I was finally happy with the completed outline sketch it was once again time to transfer it onto the watercolour paper.

A couple more details were changed after I had transferred the drawing and it was ready for the masking fluid.

After the masking fluid was applied to the sailboat, this painting was set aside to dry.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date once the background sky, land and water have been painted.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to view my blog and I hope you will return to see how these paintings progress.

Sailboat 6

Sailboats 3 and 4 - Two Works in Progress

Today I just didn't feel like heading down into Peterborough to go to the Still Life class at KAGS.

Instead I wanted to work on a few of the sketches I did earlier this year when we went on the Stoney Lake Boat Cruise (see post on 29 August 2015) and develop them into a couple of paintings.














Sailboat 4

The sketches of Sailboat 3 and Sailboat 4 were fairly small and I decided to put both of them on the same piece of watercolour paper.

After transferring the sketches onto watercolor paper I thought that I could reverse the direction of the two boats and change their positions on another piece of watercolour paper and do a second painting.














It didn't take very long to rework the sketch and transfer it to another piece of watercolour paper the same size as the first one.

Using a liquid masking compound I painted the boats on both paintings to protect them when I painted the background and keep the sails white.














Sailboat 3

These two paintings should be interesting to do and I will post both of these paintings once they have been completed.

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

Countryside Art Group Blog - Show Updates

On the first of each month I will update the Countryside Art Group's blog with a listing of shows where the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work.

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

Sailboat 1 - A Work in Progress

This morning I gave a talk on painting with watercolour to the Art Study Group of the Women's Art Association of Canada - Peterborough Branch.

They were a wonderful Group to speak with and asked a wide variety of questions about watercolour painting, the differences between watercolour and other media.

I took a number of paintings for them to see from in various styles and sizes, from sketches, the transferred drawing and through the various stages of painting to the completed piece of art.

I would like to thank Ms. Jewell Allington on her selection of Blue Maple (see post on 15 August 2010) for her art collection.














When I returned home in the afternoon I wanted to start working on one of the sketches I did earlier this year when we went on the Stoney Lake Boat Cruise (see post on 29 August 2015) and develop it into a painting.

Once I was pleased with the sketch I transferred the boat onto a piece of watercolour paper.

I lightly sketched in a couple of islands that would be found on Stoney Lake and added the main waves by the boat.

Next I used a liquid masking fluid and cover the boat to protect it while I painted in the background.

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

Carousel Horse II - A Work in Progress

I wasn't in the mood to paint today so I decided to just doodle and see if anything productive happened.

It didn't take long and I had a carousel horse in the making.

I moved the position of the legs around until I was pleased with them. They will have to be changed later to get them in the proper proportion.

Next I lightly drew in the forelock, mane and tail just to get a feel for how they would flow.














I added a little detail onto the horse's head and then I blocked in the body and added the saddle, the breechings and started the bridle and breastplate.

Lastly, I lightly indicated the pole that would balance the horse and before I knew it I had to go to the Executive meeting at KAGS.

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

ACEO - Birch Song 5

This is a painting I a while ago and have worked on it when I am at various art shows (see post on 22 August 2014 and 18 August 2015).

With today being cloudy and windy with rain in the forecast I decided to work on this painting.

I could see a number of rock shapes throughout the background of the painting and gave them a little more definition by adding a few darker colours against the high lit sides and adding some evergreen trees in and around them as well as a few small maple trees.

Once the rocks were completed I started adding a little more reflected colour and a few branches to the background birch trees.

On the foreground tree trunks I put in a small amount of shading to the trunks and once the paint had dried I added the markings using a dark grey mixture and the peeling bark using a mixture of browns.

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.

Barron Canyon 1 - A Work in Progress

Today before I could get started on a painting I had a few things to do in the morning in Peterborough.

After completing my errands I arrived back home and started work on this piece that I had started last year (see post on 07 May 2014).

Beginning on the left side of the painting I added some trees to the top of the cliff's edge.













Working my way down the face of the wall I added some details to the rocks and at the base I put in darker colour to the shoreline and some trees against the shore. Then using the colour mixtures for the trees I painted in the reflections on the water.

I started adding some of the trees on the edge of the rock face on the right side of the canyon until Ron returned home and needed my help in the barn.

I will post this painting again once I have completed the right side of the canyon.

Evening on the Lake 1 - A Work in Progress

Today I had errands to run in the morning and missed the Still Life class at KAGS.

I did arrive in time to paint with the Outdoor Painters' Group for the afternoon.

I wanted to paint a background for one of the sailboat sketches I did while on the Stoney Lake Boat Cruise (see post on 29 August 2015) earlier this year.













I thought an evening scene would be nice and using raw sienna I put in the top of the sky and as I worked lower I added burnt sienna for a nice orange glow.

I added a touch of French ultramarine blue to the mix and painted in the clouds and the water.

Once the background had dried I moved the various images of the different sailboats around on the painting.













Finally I decided that I would use two sailboats in this piece and transferred Sailboat 5 and Sailboat 6 onto the paper.

I will post this painting again at a later date once I paint in the distant shore and add the waves into the water.

Background 52-54 - Three Works in Progress

During the Lucy Manley workshop at KAGS earlier this week we were doing mosaic paintings and for that we needed either black primed canvas or we had to paint regular canvas black as a base.















Background 52

For the first two I used black paint as the background on the canvases.















Background 53

For the last one I used the Grumbacher red that I had remaining for painting the drawing of the subject matter as the background colour.















Background 54

I will post these paintings at a later date once I decide what I will put on each of them.

Toadstools 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

Today is the second day of the Watercolour Class I am teaching at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio.

Some of my students wanted to do fairies and mushrooms in a painting.

I did a few sketches of mushroom silhouettes on tracing paper and had them transfer the various mushrooms they wanted to use onto their paper.

While they were doing that I did a couple of sketches of fairies for them.

Toadstool 1

Once they were pleased with the placement of the mushrooms they were able to transfer the fairies they liked onto the watercolour paper among the mushrooms.

I liked the idea of doing painting some brightly coloured toadstools and did three small drawings of the Fly Agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria).

The name Fly Agaric comes from the traditional use for this mushroom in medieval times when it was ground up, placed in a jar and used as an insecticide.

Toadstool 2

The Fly Agaric is a large mushroom, which when fully grown the caps are usually around 3-8" (7.6-50.8cm) in diameter, although larger specimens have been found. It is easily identified by its rich, deep red coloured cap with its contrasting bright white scales. This bright colouration serves as a warning that it can be harmful and should not be eaten.

Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion in recent times are extremely rare and it is known for its hallucinogenic properties.

But with that being said, it does belong to the Amanita family which contains a number of highly poisonous toadstools.

Toadstool 3

Some of which are its close relatives the Destroying Angel (Amanita bisporigera) and the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) which are responsible for the majority of deaths due to mushroom poisoning.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date as more work on them has been completed.

Moonlight Island - A Work in Progress

It is another day with a hard frost in the morning and the temperature again below freezing. I think it is just a little early in the season to find a thin layer of ice on the top of the water trough for the horses; but tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and raining.

In the Lucy Manley workshop today at KAGS we were doing mosaic paintings.

For this we either used a black canvas or painted a canvas totally with black paint as a base coat for the painting.

I painted three canvases black while I waited for the first canvas to dry before I could start the next step.

Finally, I lightly painted the outline of the main trees trunks, branches, rocks, reflections in the water and background hills on the horizon line using Grumbacher red.

I wasn't able to do much more on the painting in this class as I had to leave early to go to a meeting.

I am looking forward to trying this technique at a later date and I will post this painting again as more work on it is completed.

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

Moonlit Buildings 1 - A Work in Progress

We had a hard frost this morning with the temperature at 29F (-1.7C) together with a few snow flurries and the high for the day in the late afternoon was 38F (3.3C).

Last month I completed the companion piece to this painting (see posts on 07 May and 16 September 2015).

I wanted to at least get a more work completed on this one and perhaps get it to the stage where I would put the dark wash over it to turn it into a night painting.

I started with a greyed mix of raw sienna and burnt sienna and put in some of the barn board on the lighter coloured walls of the buildings to give them a little texture.













With a dark mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I brushed in some of the barn boards on the shadowed side of the building and also gave a little detail to the window frame.

I started adding some of the shadow under the eaves of the roof and the corner of the building when I was interrupted by unexpected phone calls which took most of the afternoon.

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

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Autumn Leaves IV - A Work in Progress

Today I didn't have a lot of time to paint but I wanted to get a little more work done on the painting of autumn leaves I had started earlier this month (see post on 13 October 2015).

Using washes of burnt sienna, raw sienna, alizarin crimson, new gamboge, aureolin and a green of Antwerp blue and raw sienna a base coat was added to define each of the leaves.















By being careful when applying the washes to make sure that each leaf was not in contact with any other wet leaf so the paint did not bleed into another one or make the colour muddy.

As I finish each of the leaves I will post this painting to the blog.

Background 47-51 - Five Works in Progress

These are the backgrounds from last month (see post on 22 September 2015) when I completed Autumn Beauty I while painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group at St. Matthews Church.

As usual I applied the left over acrylic paint from my palette onto spare canvases as a background and occasionally they become abstract paintings.














Background 47

The first one was raw sienna, burnt sienna and some of the leftover green mixtures.














Background 48

On the second one I used burnt sienna, raw sienna and cadmium yellow.














Background 49

For the third one I used burnt sienna, titanium white, cadmium red, alizarin crimson and the leftover orange mixtures.














Background 50

The fourth one was French ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, alizarin crimson and I added a little titanium white to prevent it from becoming too dark.














Background 51

On the last one I used the remaining colours on the palette which included alizarin crimson, cadmium red, burnt sienna, French ultramarine blue and titanium white.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date once they are completed.

White Water I - A Work in Progress

I like driving along River Road as there are always so many interesting things to see no matter what the season.

I came across this stand of birch trees just south of Lakefield Lock 27.

Today I took the time to pull over and do a small sketch of the birches, rocks and fast flowing water of the Otonabee River.

It is a very pretty place and I will have to make a point of it to return in the fall, winter and spring as I think it would make a nice collection of the four seasons.

I will post this painting later once I finish the rocks and water.

Background 41-46 - Six Works in Progress

As usual after painting with acrylics the remaining paint is applied onto stretch canvas panels as the under paint for future paintings. These are the various ones from Back Lit which was worked  on earlier this week (see post on 10 October 2015).














Background 41

The first one is predominately cadmium red, cadmium yellow with a little bit of titanium white.














Background 42

On the second one the colours are various mixtures of burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow and titanium white.














Background 43

For the third one it is mainly burnt sienna, raw sienna, with a little cadmium yellow.














Background 44

This background has a base of raw sienna with streaks of alizarin crimson and cadmium red with s touch of French ultramarine blue.















Background 45

This one used most of the remaining French ultramarine blue, Cerulean blue and cobalt blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson. There is also a little bit of Titanium white in the top.

In a couple of places in the dark top area a few drops of water touched the paint on the canvas while it was still wet and could be used as "stars" in the sky.















Background 46

This final one is various blends of burnt sienna, Titanium white, Cerulean blue and French ultramarine blue.

I will post each of these backgrounds when they are used in future paintings.

Autumn Leaves IV - A Work in Progress

Today I was teaching the basic watercolour class at KAGS.

I thought I would do "cheater" leaves today for an easy start to paintings of autumn with my beginner painters.














I brought in a number of freshly fallen leaves and had my students paint on the back or front of the leaves and place them on a piece of watercolour paper and press them firmly to transfer the paint.

Each student made their own arrangement and selected the colours for the leaves.

Once they were happy with what they had on the paper they had to firm up the outline lightly with pencil so there were definite edges to their leaves and it was at this point that they added the stems to the leaves.














Next a dark mixture of either browns, greys, purples or black or a combination of the colours was to be applied.

Each student chose their own colour combination and started to put the colour around behind the leaves to the penciled edge.

I will post the completed painting next week and the start of the second way of painting autumn leaves.

ACEO - Autumn Trees 10

This is one of the paintings I started earlier this month when I was in Magnetawan staying at the Knoepfli Inn for a paint out with some members of the KAGS Outdoor Painters' Group (see post on 05 October 2015).

While a have a little time in between preparing the Thanksgiving turkey supper with all the fixing I completed this painting of the autumn forest beside the cottages at the side of the Inn.

Using mainly mixtures of cadmium red, cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson I painted in the brightly coloured leaves in the trees first.

Then with the same colours I added some of the young saplings into the bottom area of the painting.















With a mix of French ultramarine blue and raw sienna I added some of the darker green leaves into some of the shadowed areas.

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.

Back Lit - A Work in Progress

I wanted to get more work done on this painting that I had started last month in the Lucy Manley workshop (see posts on 28 February and 08 October 2015).

First using Titanium white with a touch of cadmium yellow the sky showing through the branches was added covering up many of the areas with the orange background colour showing.

A little bit of Cerulean blue was added to the mix and a few spots were added to the left side.














Next the autumn maples were added into the background with using cadmium red, cadmium yellow and Titanium white. Using this colour most of the green shadowed leaves on the right side were covered.

With the Cerulean blue sky colour a little more white and cadmium yellow was added and some of the green leaves were added into the background trees and the sunlit edge of the shadowed leaves were painted.

Using various mixtures of burnt sienna, French ultramarine blue and cadmium red the trunks and branches were given more definition and a couple of tree trunks were placed into the shadowed on the left.














White was added to the trunk colour and some of the areas of the trunks on the left side were given a few highlights.

Using Cerulean blue and cadmium yellow a few grasses were brightened as though some of the sunlight was able to filter through the leaves and touch them.

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

Background 39 and 40 - Two Works in Progress

These background paintings were made from using the leftover acrylic paint from yesterday's background painting of Back Lit.














Background 39

For the first one I used alizarin crimson, raw sienna, burnt sienna and a little bit of French ultramarine blue.

For the second one I used the remaining colours of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, burnt sienna and titanium white.














Background 40

With the green at the bottom of the canvas it would be an easy matter to make it an early morning scene.

I will post each of these pieces at a later date once more work on them has been completed.

Back Lit - A Work in Progress

This is a painting I had started in the Lucy Manley workshop last month.

I used Background 19 (see post on 28 February 2015) which already had a warm base colour made from cadmium red, cadmium lemon and cadmium yellow.















Using cadmium red I indicated the main tree trunks the shapes of where the large areas of foliage would be placed and indicated where the pathway would go through the opening in the trees would be placed.

Next the darker greens were painted in with various mixes of cadmium yellow and French ultramarine blue.

More cadmium yellow was added to the green mixture for the lighter green leaves.

With various mixes of white, burnt sienna, French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson the pathway to the opening in the trees was painted in creating the look of dappling on the ground from sunlit penetrating through the tree leaves.














Some areas of the background colour were allowed to show through the path helping to unite the warm colour throughout the painting.

With French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna some of the larger tree trunks were indicated on the right side of the pathway.

A little of the pathway colours were painted into the shadows on the tight side of the leaves.

With titanium white and a touch of cadmium yellow areas of the sky showing through the leaves and tree branches were indicated.














Adding a little cerulean blue and more cadmium yellow to the sky colour the high lit leaves on the edge of the of the pathway and behind some of the shadowed leaves were painted.

Cerulean blue, titanium white and cadmium yellow were used to put in some of the sun touched grasses and leaves in the shadowed areas.

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

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

Thank You Bea!

Today is the last morning we will be at the Knoepfli Inn and we will return home after an enjoyable time spent painting the fabulous autumn scenery and relaxing in the evening.

This year it was my turn to make the Thank You card for Bea. She had told me at one time that she likes everything that features a bumble bee.













So it was a simple decision to do a smiling bee for her on the card to let her know just how much we enjoyed our stay with her at the Inn.

After breakfast it was time for all of us to pack up our paintings and the rest of our belongings and return home.

I am already looking forward to returning once again next year.

Foggy Day 3 - A Work in Progress

As usual when I am at the Knoepfli Inn I wake up early in the morning to the sound of the Magnetawan River, make myself a cup of tea, pick up my camera and go out for a walk.

I have not yet walked through all of the 400 acre (161 hectare) property that straddles both sides of Highway 124, but each year I explore more of the land along the river and go through the forest.

With this morning being very foggy I went across the Highway to the farmhouse and wandered down to the boat house and dock and took photographs of the mist shrouded Ahmic Lake.














Ahmic Lake is a part of the Magnetawan River waterway in the Almaguin Highlands region.

The lake is approximately 12 miles (19 km) long and has a maximum depth of  89' (27m) with the average depth being 27' (8m).

Many of the cottages and homes on the lake have remained with the families that purchased land around the lake as far back as the 1860s; making Ahmic Lake's shores intact over the years with very little change.

After breakfast I did this quick watercolour sketch and I will post it at a later date once it has been completed.