Lakefield Trail 2-5

Today I was sitting at A Place For The Arts, in Bancroft, Ontario.

Usually, there are a fair number of people going through the Gallery but today it was fairly quiet.

Fortunately, I always bring something with me to work on when there isn't anyone in the Gallery.

I decided I would do some small drawings, from photographs (see post on 28 September 2020) while I was sketching on the Lakefield Trail.

Lakefield Trail 2

For the first one I worked mainly on a large maple tree that was close to where I was set up to sketch.

I added in a small amount of background bushes and tree trunks.

For the second drawing I worked on the trail where it had gone around the bend and in behind a large tree and went out of sight.

On the far side of the trail I indicated the trunks of a few mid-sized tree trunks and added some bushes and growies.

Lakefield Trail 3

For my third drawing I decided to change the format from portrait to landscape and do the section of the trail where it approaches the bend with two of the larger trees on the left side of the trail on one of the mid-sized trees on the far side of the trail in front of the background small trees and bushes.















Lakefield Trail 4

For my last drawing I did a row of the larger trees lining the right side of the Trail.















Lakefield Trail 5

There is only a small amount of the Trail that is showing to the left of the trees.

Autumn Beauty 1

Today I pulled this painting out that I had framed and decided that it needed a little more work (see posts on 05 November and 04 December 2014 and 22 September 2015).

First, I put some pure white in the sunlit side of the birch trees, followed by adding the dark markings on the trunks and branches of the trees.















From there I added some more brighter oranges and yellows to the leaves of the maples and birch trees.

Lastly, I dotted in a few splashes of cadmium red throughout the painting to tie every thing together.

Lakefield Trail 1

Today I went on a paint out with the Lakefield Creative Art Group and did this drawing of a section of the Lakefield Trail near the Lakefield Beach.

While I was there I took many photographs of the beach, the Otonabee River and the beautiful autumn colours.














I was going to do a number of smaller drawings, but the wind came up and the clouds rolled in with a rumble of thunder.

I chose to go home before I got wet.

Mikisew Provincial Park

With this being our last full day at Mikisew Provincial Park this morning we got up early, as we wanted to do both the Beaver Meadow Trail with the red markers and the longer Maple Canyon Trail with the blue markers.


















We went to the start of the trails and after looking at the trail map decided to do the Beaver Meadow Trail first and where it connects with the Maple Canyon trail and follow that trail until it connects with the yellow markers of the Old Dog Trail that we did yesterday and follow it back to the beginning.

The start of the trail took us around the golf course and then through a forested path before coming out into a clearing.

It was there we meet another person who was returning from the wetland. After I spoke to him about his camera, he let us know he had been taking photographs of a young male moose in the pond. We thanked him and continued.

It wasn't long before we once again entered the forest and the ground slowly began to get softer and more moist.

Then came the first of a number of boarded walkways which allowed us to cross through marshland.

This continued until we came to the beaver pond, where there was a long elevated wooden walkway with the pond on both sides.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the moose in the pond which was disappointing.

The one compensation was that as we started up the hill after crossing the walkway there were moose tracks in the mud at the side of the trail.















The nice thing about this trail was that there were different views of the pond on our left side, including coming close to the beaver lodge.















When we came to the Maple Canyon Trail, it lead us away from the pond and through a wonderful hardwood forest with many of the leaves on the trees in various stages of changing colour.















There were a number of places along this trail, that had wooden benches so you could sit and enjoy the views from the high points along the trail.















Eventually, we came to a point in the trail where we found the trail marker showing all three trail colours and followed it back to the start of the trail.

From there it didn't take long to return to the trailer where we had lunch and then relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine for a couple of hours.

We decided to take a stroll down to the beach and once we arrived there, we took off our shoes and walked along the shore until the sun got lower in the sky. It was time to head back to the trailer.

While I made supper, Ron put the logs into the fire pit so we could enjoy our evening tea or coffee with a fire.

It was the perfect end to an enjoyable day.

Tomorrow we will pack up and make our way back home.

ACEO - Early Morning 2

This morning I saw a number of flocks of Canada Geese flying in their V shaped formation as they head south for the winter.

I started in the background and put in the distant hills on the other side of the river with raw sienna and a little bit of cobalt blue.

With a grey of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and put in the furthest back tree trunks on the left side and then darkening the colour slightly and put in the closer trees on the left side, followed by using a darker grey for the maple tree in the foreground on the right side.

I wet the river with water first and then using the colours of the sky I brushed in bands new gamboge, alizarin crimson and the cobalt blue for the reflected sky colour into the water















Lastly, I used various mixtures of raw sienna, new gamboge aureolin, cadmium yellow, alizarin crimson, cadmium red and burnt sienna to put the leaves onto the maple trees and the grasses and growies into the foreground.

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 90lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

The Old Outhouse 1 - A Work in Progress

Today is our last full day at the Knoepfli Inn, we will be leaving for home tomorrow morning after breakfast.

Since the weather was sunny and warm with the temperature making it up to 61F (16C) and no wind.

After breakfast I decided I would work on this painting of the old outhouse that I started last year (see posts on 01 October 2018 and 04 May 2019).

During the morning I worked on the getting the outhouse finished as I wanted the sunlight shining on it instead of having it back lit.

Time passed quickly and before long the bell rang calling us in for lunch.

After lunch I took the time to take some photographs of Ahmic Lake, the Knoepfli Rapids and the Magnetawan River for future paintings.

I went back to the cabin and did a little more on the painting by starting he trunk of one of the foreground trees.

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

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

Changing Season 1 and 2 - Two Works in Progress

Today I wanted to do a couple of small autumn paintings, so I used a couple of photographs that I took while canoeing on Eels Lake earlier this week.

The first one is taken from the dock of the shoreline area nearest where the boat launch is located.

It is a nice mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees at the edge of the lake.

It shows how low the water levels are in the lake at this time of the year, with so many of the rocks and stumps being above the water.

Changing Season 1

Next I chose the area in the inlet on the far side of the parking lot for those using the boat launch.

This view shows even more of the exposed rocks that are normally below the surface of the lake.

Most of the deciduous trees are higher up and further back from the shoreline, while the pines and cedars are lower and almost on the edge of the water.

I decided I would do these paintings just at sunset as I saw them.

Changing Season 2

I started by putting in the sky in with a mix of raw sienna and alizarin crimson.

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

ACEO - Autumn Maples 1 and 2

Today I wanted to finish these two paintings that I had started quite a while ago (see posts on 20 September 2013, 23 January and 17 October 2017).

I decided that I would work on the first painting, beginning with the trees in the background and get it as far along as the second painting and then I would work back and forth on both pieces together until they were completed.

I used various mixtures of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, new gamboge, burnt sienna, raw sienna and French ultramarine blue for the trees.

Autumn Maples 1

I used burnt sienna and alizarin crimson for the rocks on the far shoreline.

Using French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the maple tree trunks in the foreground.

Now I can start working on both paintings together.

Using a mix of Antwerp blue and a small amount of French ultramarine blue I painted in the water adding lighter and darker areas.

With a sponge and cadmium red, cadmium yellow and raw sienna I added the leaves onto the trees.

Lastly I put in the grasses and growies with new gamboge and raw sienna.

Autumn Maples 2

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

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

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

The Old Outhouse 1 - A Work in Progress

I thought I would do a little work on this piece that I had started while in Magnetawan at the Knoepfli Inn.

First I wet the paper in the background, then carefully wet the area around the outhouse and the two main trees leaving them dry and finished by wetting the foreground.

Using aureolin, I brushed the paint into the wet areas to create the look of sunlit foliage in the background and the under paint for the brightly coloured leaves in the foreground.

Then I set it aside to dry while I mixed the colour for the tree trunks and the boards on the outhouse.















Before I could get further on the painting Ron came by and needed my help raking up the branches from the willow tree that had broken and fallen during the winter.















It took the rest of the morning and after a short break for lunch we worked through the rest of the afternoon and finally had all the branches raked up, placed onto tarps or piled into the wheelbarrow. By then it was time for supper.















I will post this painting at a later date once I have painted the boards on the outhouse and the foreground tree trunks.

Autumn Rapids

Today I saw my first Robin on the front lawn; although I have seen them a number of them at the bottom of the front field for almost a month.

I thought that I would work with acrylic paint today and pulled out this painting that I had started quite some time ago (see posts on 11 October 2010 and 21 February 2017).

The mass of trees in the distance was just too solid a colour and I decided to add a few more trees into the background.















Using ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and raw sienna I added a few trees into the background between the maple trees on the right side of the painting as well as a few dark colours into the background between the maples and the birches..

This original 16" x 20” acrylic painting when framed will be available for $425.00.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Benched

Today I went through a stack of unfinished canvases and pulled out this painting that I had started a couple of years ago (see post on 02 October 2016) when I entered the 1st Annual Outdoor Painting Festival Cavan/Millbrook plein air competition.

Using various greens made from Hansa yellow, ultramarine blue, manganese blue, cadmium yellow lemon and raw sienna, I put the remaining leaves on the tree.

This was followed by adding some highlights using Hansa yellow, titanium white and shadows using and burnt sienna.

I added a little more of the pale green into the sunlit area behind the bench.

This original 8" x 10" acrylic painting is available for $150.00.

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

Elegant Elm and Elegant Elm I - Two Works in Progress

Today I pulled out a box containing various leaves that I had pressed and dried earlier this month.

I started by picking out all the elm leaves that had been dried so I could decide how I would like to place them on a canvas for a mixed media painting.

I had two different sized canvases that I was planning to use for a series of paintings of different kinds of leaves.

On the larger one I hadn't painted the background colour onto the canvas, but on the smaller one I used a mixture of black and iridescent acrylic paint.

Next I placed the leaves onto the canvases and moved them around.

Elegant Elm

It took quite a while, but I finally found how I wanted them placed

I put the rest of the leaves away and I will have to decide what colour or colours I will paint the leaves before attaching them to the canvas.

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

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.


Elegant Elm I

Pathway 1 and Reflections 7

Today it is back to being another overcast day at the Knoepfli Inn, but hopefully the rain will continue to stay away.

After breakfast I went down to the Magnetawan River and this time I wanted to sketch some of the trees on the far shore and their reflections in the water.

There were a number of trees that had not changed from their bright green foliage in behind the ones closest to the shore. I liked how the pale dead tree trunk beside a brilliant orange maple were reflected into the dark water of the river.

Reflections 7

I added in a few of the plants into the foreground of the drawing that where on this side of the river.














Pathway 1

On my way back to the Inn for lunch I stopped and did this sketch of the pathway near cabin 1.

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

After lunch Norma and I brought our friend back from the hospital in time to join us for supper. 

Autumn Maples 3

Today I was at the Gayle Nelson Keene Historical-Society room, located in the Otonabee-South Monaghan Library, at 3252 County Road 2, in Keene, Ontario.

I wanted to see the room and the amount of space that was available for paintings and photographs for their exhibit called "A Pictorial History of Hope and Lang Mills" which will run from 23 April - 03 June 2019. I thought it may interest some of the KAGS Outdoor Painters' Group to exhibit their work.

While I was waiting for the library to open I did this drawing of some maple trees on the lawn of the property next to the parking lot.

I took a number of photographs and at a later date may do a painting of the trees.

Early Morning 2 - A Work in Progress

It continues to be hot 84F (29C) and the humidity making it feel like 100F (38C).

This morning I saw a couple of flocks of geese and pulled out this little painting that had geese flying and getting ready to head south.

Using a grey of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue I indicated the trees on the far horizon first.















I darkened the grey slightly and put in the trees on the far side of the water.

Lastly, with a slightly darker grey I put in the geese and the maple tree in the foreground.

I will post this painting once it has been completed.

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

ACEO - Waterfall 2

Today I thought I would finish this painting that I had started last year (see posts on 06 February and 08 August 2017).

Using a small sponge to put in the autumn leaves on the closer trees I used mixtures of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, aureolin and new gamboge.

I started with the larger trees in the middle area and darkened the colours as I worked my way forward to the largest tree in the foreground.

Using a brush I added a few leaves scattered throughout the grasses.

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.

Autumn Maples 1 and 2 - Two Works in Progress

This morning I woke up to find the ground outside covered in a thick layer of frost. With the temperature at 30F (-1C), it is just a taste of more cold mornings to come in the future. The nice thing is that by this afternoon the temperature will be 63F (17C).

After doing the barn chores and feeding the birds, I thought I would like to work on these two paintings that I had started many years ago (see posts on 20 September 2013 and 22 January 2017).

I started with the rocks using a mix of alizarin crimson, burnt sienna and a touch of French ultramarine blue.

I was just about to start on the trees in the background when a couple of my friends dropped by for a visit and they brought lunch.

It wasn't long before I had made tea, coffee and a provided a variety of desserts.

Autumn Maples 1

After an enjoyable visit, it was time for me to get back to work on my paintings.

I decided that I would work on the second painting, beginning with the trees in the background.

I used various mixtures of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, new gamboge, burnt sienna, raw sienna and Antwerp blue.

Using French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the maple trees.

Autumn Maples 2

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

Autumn Trees 2 - A Work in Progress

Today is our last day at the Knoepfli Inn and we will head home after breakfast.

Having gotten everything ready to go last night, I spent the morning working on this little painting that I had originally started here a couple of years ago (see posts on 20 October 2013, 17 February 2014 and 10 July 2016).

With having both oak trees and maple trees in front of the balcony, I sketched in the tree trunks and branches, as well as the pine trees in the background.

Next I painted in the tree trunks on the main trees when I heard the bell ring for breakfast and had to put everything away.

I will post this painting again once I have put the pine trees into the background.

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

ACEO - Dusk 14

We arrived at the Knoepfli Inn, located at 5484 Highway 124 in Magnetawan, Ontario yesterday and spent most of the afternoon settling in and taking photographs. I am limited by my leg as to where I can go on the property but hopefully by next year it will be a lot better and I can get down the hill to the river behind the cottages.

Bea Kolman mentioned at breakfast this morning she would really like it if for next year she could have some paintings of the various cottages for the Scenes of Magnetawan" show for next year. While the light was good in the morning I most my time out taking photographs of the cottages on both sides of the road, then I took pictures of the Inn, the farmhouse and the boathouse.

After lunch I spent some time working on a number of sketches of various birch trees on the property.

This evening after supper went down to the dock by the boat house, which is on Ahmic Lake at the start of the Knoepfli Falls which become the Magnetawan River at the end of the rapids under the Highway 124 bridge.

I thought I would use the opaque watercolor paint that I had used earlier this year, as it seems to lend itself to painting late evening scenes.

I had to work quickly so I kept the painting fairly simple before I lost the light as the sun set.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

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. Fabriano 100% cotton, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Back Forty I

Today I wanted to complete this sketch that I had started while out in the back fields with Ron (see post on 25 June 2017).

I started with the main maple tree in the foreground and then added the beech tree in the middle area.

On the right side I put in another smaller maple tree and added the grasses and growies beneath them.














Next I added some grasses to indicate a small rise a little further back in the field, but it looked a little plain so I added a couple more maple trees.

Lastly I added in a tree another field further back and put in the edge of the distant forest.

This original 4-1/2" x 6" pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $40.00.