Breakfast Snack I - A Work in Progress

Today I put my crutches away and it looks as though I am going to usher in the New Year without having to use them any more.

This afternoon I watched the movie Hidalgo and I got my sketchbook out and did a number of quick drawings.














I will post this drawing at a later date after I have worked on it again.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

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.

ACEO - Autumn Trees 11

I pulled out this piece that I had started earlier this year (see post on 05 October 2015) while at the Knoepli Inn in Magnetawan.

I had set myself up in the farm house across the highway from the Inn and started working on a number of paintings of the wooded area beside the Inn'

I started by painting in the background trees with raw sienna and while that was drying I put in the dark green of the foreground vegetation.

With a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I put in the tree trunks of that were visible through the leaves.

Using mixtures of cadmium red and cadmium yellow I painted the bright coloured leaves into the foreground.

With the same colours plus new gamboge leaves were put onto the trees.

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 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.

Playing with Blues - Five Works in Progress

Today I didn't know what I wanted to paint so I decided that I would play with the different blues in my palette.

For the first painting, I used Cerulean Blue for the sky, being careful to leave some areas of white for the clouds.

I started with a darker blue in the top of the sky and gradually lightened the colour with water as I worked lower.

When I reached the horizon line, I decided that it would be a snow scene and I put a few shadows across the snow.

Cerulean Blue

For my second painting, I used French Ultramarine Blue.

I kept the painting darker at the top of the sky and gradually lightened it as I approached the horizon line.

Using horizontal lines I indicated a lake using a medium wash of blue, followed by putting in the waves with a slightly darker blue and lifting highlights with water.

Ultramarine Blue

For my third painting I used Antwerp Blue.

Into the sky I brushed various strengths of Antwerp Blue with diagonal strokes, trying to give the illusion of cirrus clouds.

I left a small area of white just above the horizon line for mist rising off the lake; and below it I used horizontal strokes to indicate the almost calm surface.

Antwerp Blue

On my fourth painting was a mix of Cerulean Blue with Antwerp Blue.

I started with a darker mixture into the top of the sky, leaving some areas white and softening the edges of the clouds.

As I worked lower in the sky I lightened the mix with water.

I put in the lake with a combination of the light and dark blue colours.

Cerulean Blue and Antwerp Blue

For my fifth and last painting I used a mix of French Ultramarine and Antwerp Blues.

Once again I used diagonal strokes to create cirrus clouds, keeping the top of the sky darker and lightening the colour toward the horizon line.

I wanted this piece to be a snow scene, so I left a small line of white, followed by running shadows across the snow.

French Ultramarine Blue and Antwerp Blue

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

Fog Rising 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

I am gradually working my way through some of the smaller and older paintings (see post on 07 August 2012) I came across in a box that had been put away in a storage container.

I didn't have a lot of time to do much today with going to Christine's house to celebrate Christmas with her family a little later today.

I set the three of them out side by side in order to see how I would proceed with them.

On each piece I indicated the main trees in the foreground using a pencil.

Fog Rising 1

Before I could do much more to each of these paintings I had to put them away and leave.

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









Fog Rising 2




















Fog Rising 3

Background 62 and 63 - Two Works in Progress

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, even though here there is no snow on the ground, the temperature has dropped to 47F (8.3C) and it is supposed to get more into seasonal cold weather over the next couple of days.














Background 62

Once again the remaining paint was used for backgrounds; for the first one the colours were titanium white, Hansa yellow, alizarin crimson, cadmium red and burnt sienna.














Background 63

For the second one I used black, titanium white, ultramarine blue and a small amount of burnt sienna.

Once I decide what to paint on them I will post them again.

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

Today it is unseasonably warm for this time of the year with the temperature today reaching 57F (13.9C) and there is no chance of having a white Christmas.

Since I had everything ready for Christmas I wanted to spend most of the day painting and I pulled this piece out that I had started earlier this month (see posts on 10, 12, 17 and 21 December 2015).

I decided to start work on the sails first which have a large single colour base area to cover and simple shadows to put in to create the illusion of roundness.

Being right handed I started with the mainsail on the port (left) side of the boat, that way I wouldn't accidentally drag my hand across the wet paint and smear everything.

First I painted in the entire area of the sail with titanium white, then using various mixtures of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the shadows.

Once the base paint on the main sail was completed, I painted the boom (the spar that supports the foot of the mainsail), the mast and the forestay (the cable that runs from the bow to the upper part of the mast).

Next I painted the foresail which is attached to the forestay the same way as I did the mainsail.

I put in the part if the spreader (the horizontal support for the stays that sticks out from the mast) that could be seen from this angle.

I added one if the lights that could be seen onto the mast.

Using a dark green of Hansa yellow and ultramarine blue I painted the dots onto the foresail.

With various mixtures of cadmium red and alizarin crimson I put the numbers onto the mainsail and the sail makers' logo onto both sails and the telltales (ribbons which in this case are located on the main sail which help to determine wind direction and proper sail trim).

Using a mixture of ultramarine blue and titanium white I put in all the shadows of the rigging showing through the sails and a couple of the lines running up from the boom.

I will post this painting at a later date once I start on the boat.

Toadstools 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

It is a very mild non winter like day with the temperature reaching 44F (6.7C).

I didn't have a lot of time to work on art today trying to get everything ready for Christmas, but I wanted to get these three little paintings that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 20 and 31 October 2015) a little further along.

Since I wanted the toadstools to be at eye level, the trees and forest behind them would be from a worm's eye view.

Toadstool 1

In order to paint in the background I needed to apply liquid friskit to the toadstools to protect them.

The nice thing about the masking fluid is that you can put it on over top of a painted surface and as long as it is totally dry it will not damage the painted areas.

As each piece was masked it was then set aside to allow the friskit to dry.

I do not have the time to do any more work on them today.

Toadstool 2

In the future I can now put all the verticals into the background from the foreground to the top of the painting without leaving any distortion.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date as the backgrounds behind the toadstools are completed and the friskit is removed.











Toadstool 3

Backgrounds 60-61 - Two Works in Progress

These are two canvases I used for the left over paint from yesterday to put in a background.














Background 60

For the first one I used some of the titanium white, cadmium red and most of the alizarin crimson.















Background 61

With the second canvas I used the remaining titanium white and alizarin crimson as well as all the black.

I will post each of these canvases at a later date once I start another painting.

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

It was time to put in the water and add the rocks and trees of the closer shoreline on this painting I had started earlier this month (see posts on 10, 12 and 17 December 2015).

I started with the rocks as a base for the shoreline and put in the rocks using various mixes of ultramarine blue, titanium white, alizarin crimson and cadmium red. 

Next I lightly sketched in the main tree tops and put in the base of the trees with vertical strokes using burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and raw sienna.

With light and dark mixes of ultramarine blue, raw sienna, Hansa yellow and burnt sienna the tree tops were put in keeping the sunlight on the right side.

I started the waves from the distant shore and worked forward, keeping the furthest away the lightest colour and gradually darkening the waves as they got closer to the front.

More details were added to the closer waves and a little of the under paint was allowed to show through to give warmth to the water.

Once the painting was dry the image of the boat was moved around on the canvas until I was happy with the position and then it was transferred onto the painting.

I will post this painting at a later date once work has started on the sailboat.

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

Sailboat 5 and 6 - Two Works in Progress

I had a little bit of time today and wanted to work some work on a painting and I chose these two that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 29 August and 30 October 2015).

Since the sailboats were already masked out I wouldn't have to wait for the friskit to dry.

Working back and forth on both paintings I washed in the sky using Antwerp blue, leaving a few lighter areas for wispy clouds.

By the time I finished the sky on the second painting the first one was dry and ready for the next step.

Sailboat 5

Adding a little French ultramarine blue to the sky colour I put in the lightest part of the water.

I added a small amount of burnt sienna to the blue and put in the darker waves.

I did the same thing to the second painting and then into the foreground waves I used a grey of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue to darken them a little more on both pieces.

Next I lightly drew in the horizon line on both pieces.

Sailboat 5

I added a little more burnt sienna to the grey wave colour and with vertical strokes painted in the distant shore.

I will post both of these paintings at a later date once I have removed the friskit and start to paint the sailboats.

Uncle Albert's Farm - A Work in Progress

I am concerned about my Patch kitty. Ron saw her last weekend when he did the barn chores for me but so far he hasn't seen her and Christine hasn't seen her at all this week.

I am starting to walk a little without the crutches but I still need to use one when going up or down the stairs but things are improving every day.

I wanted to do some drawing today and I pulled out this sketch that I had started a couple of years ago (see post on 22 October 2013).














I added a horse on the other side of the fence, and then I brought in a few more branches from the right side of the drawing.

I want to add a couple more animals, such as a couple of cats, a dog and perhaps a few more chickens or pair of geese. I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed and I have added the other animals.

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

Background 57-59 - Three Works in Progress

These are the backgrounds I put on canvases using the remaining acrylic paint from yesterday.














Background 57

The first one was created using mainly the leftover  ultramarine blue, cerulean blue and a little titanium white.














Background 58

For the second one it was mainly burnt sienna, titanium white and a little ultramarine blue.














Background 59

This last one was a mix of titanium white, raw sienna and Hansa yellow.

I will post each of these canvases at a later date once I know what I would like to paint.

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

I really shouldn't have been surprised to see a flock of about eighty snow buntings flying around the infield of the track this afternoon; especially since last year with the snow having been so deep, we feed over two hundred of them for about a month until the weather warmed and some of the snow started to melt.

Having put in the under paint and blocked in the background on this piece earlier this month (see posts on 10 and 12 December 2015) I wanted to get more work done on this painting today.

Starting at the top of the painting on the sky I used ultramarine blue with a small amount of white.

I left some of the cloud areas untouched so the warmth of the cadmium red would show through the white.

I gradually lightened the sky colour as I worked down to the horizon line by adding a little more white and some cerulean blue.

Once the paint had dried I started adding the clouds using titanium white as the base and added various mixes of cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, with a small amount of burnt sienna.

I took clouds down into the tree tops of the closer shoreline so when I painted in the trees they would show through the branches.

Using various mixtures of ultramarine blue, Hansa yellow, cerulean blue and raw sienna I painted in the distant shoreline.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have put in the water and closer shoreline.

ACEO - Foggy Day 3

I pulled this painting out that I had started a couple of months ago (see post on 06 October 2016) and knew it would not take much to finish.

I lightened up the wave ripples as they were too dark for the amount of fog on the lake and lifted a few tendrils of fog by the island with water.














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.

Mailbox 2 - A Work in Progress

Going through a box of small paintings I came across this piece I had started quite some time ago (see post on 20 February 2012).

The mailbox needed to the straightened and the mail flag was put on in an upright position indicating that there was mail waiting in the box.














With this being an evening scene I indicated some distant hills and a few trees.

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

Backgrounds 56 - A Work in Progress

As usual I used the left over paint from yesterday and put it onto a canvas as the background on a canvas.














The colours I used are cadmium red, burnt sienna, titanium white and a small amount of ultramarine blue.

I will post this painting at a later date once I decide what to I wish to paint.

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

Now that the drawing for the sailboat was completed (see post on 10 December 2015) it was time to prepare the canvas.

First I washed a thin layer of raw sienna onto the canvas to give a warm colour to the background.

Using cadmium red I indicated where I would place the clouds in the sky.

Then decided where the distant horizon like would be and the approximate height of the trees.

Lastly I put in the closer shoreline leaving a blank area indicating a large rock.

I will post this painting as more work on it is completed.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Colour and Composition 6 and 7 - Two Works in Progress

I pulled out these two paintings that I had started quite a while ago (see post on 29 January 2012) and decided it was about time I did something with them.

For the first one I thought that it looked as though a road winding its way through the hills would work.















Colour and Composition 6

I lightly sketched in the road and added a fence line on the one side as though it was part of a pasture and added a few trees to the top of the hill.

On the other side I put in a few trees and I may at a later time when I start painting it add another fence or do something entirely different.















Colour and Composition 7

For the second one it seemed as though it should have a stream running through the fields.

I lightly indicated the stream and added a few of the main trees. I will have to decide if I wish to turn this piece into a pasture or a forest scene.

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

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

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

All my paintings start with a number of quick sketches of the subject and a selection is made as to which one is to be developed into a painting.

It is the same for this one of a Redline 25 sailboat built by the Canadian Company, C&C Yachts and designed by George Cuthbertson and George Cassian.

The next step is to enlarge the completed sketch to the size needed for the canvas.

Now comes the time consuming part, making sure everything is in its place.

Needless to say, it took just under twelve hours to complete; by the time the multitude of rigging lines and all the parts and pieces of the boat were place in the correct way, and shape.

I will post this outline sketch at a later date once it has been transferred onto the canvas.

Abstract Horse Head 1 - A Work in Progress

Today I injured my knee and I have my leg in a splint that goes from the top of the thigh to the ankle and I am on crutches; not what I needed at this time of the year.

I thought I would make the best of it and play with a little bit of colour; I wet some areas of the paper and left others dry.

Next I mixed various combinations of colour together and put it on the paper and in other areas I used pure colour. Some I brushed onto the paper and some I simply dropped into various areas.















Once the paper had dried completed I looked to see if there were any shapes that could be made into anything recognizable.

It didn't take long until I found a partial horse head and drew it in with pencil.

Next I started to put pen and ink on top of the pencil outlines, but I didn't get too far along with it before I decided to set it aside for now.














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

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

Evening on the Lake - A Work in Progress

I thought since I was going to be working on a sailboat painting I may as well develop some of the sketches that I did when we were on the Stoney Lake Boat Cruise earlier this year.

I decided to use the sketch of Sailboat 7 (see the post on 29 August 2015) and I worked on it until I was satisfied with the basic outline drawing.

Then I transferred the drawing onto the watercolour paper for this painting.

Next I used liquid masking fluid to protect the sailboat from the paint I would put onto the background.

I then set the painting aside to let it dry before I will sketch in the background.

I will post this painting at a later date after I have decided on the background and painted in the sky and water.

Christmas Art Show and Sale

This morning while I was out running errands in Peterborough I stopped by KAGS to drop off some matted and shrink wrapped paintings for the Christmas Art Show and Sale.

The show has a wide variety of subject matter with something for everyone, including animals, landscape, portraits, still life, buildings and floral in sizes ranging from tiny miniatures through to a couple of fairly large paintings and in almost all sizes in between.


The hanging committee did a wonderful job as the show was well laid out and beautifully presented.













A number of paintings have already been purchased an may even end up as Christmas gifts.














The show continues through to 20 December 2015 and closes for the holidays and will be open again in the New Year from 06-17 January 2016.










I hope you will take the time to come out and enjoy the show.

Background 55 - A Work in Progress

As usual I used the remaining paint from yesterday's artwork to make a background for another painting.

This background was made from a limited palette of Cerulean blue, French ultramarine blue, Titanium white and alizarin crimson.















I put the colour onto the canvas much as I would for a landscape painting of an early morning sky with a lake in the foreground.

I will work on this painting again and post it at a later date.

Cool Morning - A Work in Progress

Last month we had a class with Wayne Moore on painting windswept trees in acrylic.

We put the sky in using Cerulean blue and lighted the colour with water as we went lower into the sky.














The water was a darker Cerulean blue and toward the bottom of the painting a small amount of alizarin crimson was added to the blue to give a little warmth to the water.

Using a pencil the rocks, grasses and main tree trunks were lightly sketched onto the canvas.














With Cerulean blue, some French ultramarine blue and a little alizarin crimson the trunks, growies, branches and some of the needles were painted.

With the darker colour a touch of white was added and the background trees were painted in using vertical strokes along the horizon line.














Using the dark mixture and adding a little more French ultramarine blue to darken it a little more the background water and some of the shadows below the rocks were added.

It was suggested that I continue with the painting but make it into a winter scene rather than add a lot of bright greens to the trees, and perhaps add some snow onto the rocks.















Before making a decision about what I would do with the painting I added some definition onto the one dead and broken tree trunk on the right side of the painting.

I will post this painting once I have finished the rocks and added a little more detail into the water.

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