Rain Clouds - A Work in Progress

Today I was painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group and thought I would like to do more work on the trees I put into this painting last month (see posts on 14 January 2011 and 05 January 2020).

I started by washing a in a base colour onto the trunks and main branches of each of the trees using mixtures of Antwerp Blue, French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.









Using darker mixtures of the same colours gradually added the bark texture to the tree trunks and main branches, as well as adding smaller branches and twigs.

I will post this piece at a later date one all the branches on the trees have been completed.

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

Rain Clouds - A Work in Progress

Today I had a little bit of time ans I thought I would work on this painting that I had started many years ago (see post on 14 January 2011).

I washed in a sky behind the clouds using Antwerp blue and set it aside to dry while I decided what to put into the foreground.









Next, using a pencil I lightly drew a few trees into the foreground against the rain clouds.

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

Dark Skies - Two Works in Progress

Today I didn't have a lot of time to paint but wanted to get a little more work done on a couple of paintings and I thought putting in the skies would be a step in the right direction.














Quiet Place 3

I pulled out this small drawing I started a long time ago (see post on 12 November 2014) and put in the sky using a mixture of French ultramarine blue with a small amount of burnt sienna and set it aside to dry.















City Lights 1

Next I started on this piece that I started earlier this month (see post on 10 March 2018) and using the sky colours from the last painting and added more burnt sienna and a little bit of cerulean blue and brushed in the sky.

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

Sharing the Sky I - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to do a little more on this sketch that I started in Cuba (see post on 23 May 2016).

Using pen and ink I started with the clouds putting in the outline first and then adding in some shadows.

Next, I put in the horizon line, followed by adding the islands and hills.

From there I put in the palm trees, life guard hut, and the pier.















I then started in on the water and put in the waves and white caps as well as the ripples from the waves washing onto the beach.

The kite boarder was added onto the water. I then erased the hut that had been on the end of the pier as I felt it made things too "busy" and fought for dominance with the kite boarder.

I will post this drawing at a later date once I have added a few more kite boarders and some of the seagulls which are sharing the sky with them.

Front Field I

Today is the last day of the Kawartha Art Festival held at the Fenelon Fair Grounds.

I arrived at the show a little bit earlier to change some of my paintings around to fill in the space left by the painting that was sold yesterday.

The weather is a little different than yesterday with it starting off with rain, which is to clear around noon, but the temperature is going to be just a little warmer at 72F (22C).

The rain didn't stop the crowds from coming out.

For most of the morning I did little bits on a number of drawings, but couldn't settle down and get into working on one of them.

It wasn't until after I had lunch that I decided to work on this piece that I had started earlier this year (see post on 18 June 2017) while Ron and I were out in the fields at the farm using my new toy.

I started by putting in the clouds and then proceeded to work on the trees along the fence line, finishing with the foreground.

This original 9" x 12" pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $75.00.
















I would like to thank new collector Mrs. Christine Martin of Peterborough, Ontario on her selection of A Spring Bouquet (see post on 20 September 2011).
















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

Ocean View I

Today I sat the exhibit at Art on Kent in Lindsay, Ontario.

While I was there I worked on this drawing that I had started a number of years ago while vacationing in Veradero, Cuba (see post on 18 December 2013).

First I started by putting in the horizon line in the distance and added some white caps in the ocean.

Next I worked on the palm trees starting with the coconuts and then adding the fronds and lastly the tree trunks.

To finish the foreground, I joined the growies together in front of the palm trees.

I worked on the clouds next, starting with the large fluffy clouds that were lower in the sky and then the smaller, higher ones in the top of the sky.

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

Shades of Grey - A Work in Progress

I had started this piece by doing a demonstration of clouds for someone who needed some help with them and it sat for quite a while, until recently when I drew in a line of winter trees along a fence line.

It is going to be a winter scene with some grasses poking through the snow and perhaps a few scattered leaves on top of the snow.













I have to decide if I am going to use masking fluid or salt to create the snowflakes.

I will post this painting again after more work on the sky and background has been completed.

Trees 3 and 4 - Two Works in Progress

Today I am painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group and I couldn't get into painting anything large so I pulled out a couple of small pieces that I had started a while ago (see post on 12 June 2016).

I started with the sky and put in small areas of French ultramarine blue and then I added a little burnt sienna and put in shadows into the clouds.













I left the bottom area of the painting white for snow; it was at this point that I decided to change the name of this painting from Tree 3 to Chance of Snow 1.

I set this painting down to dry and pulled out a second painting.

Using French ultramarine blue I put in the sky leaving some areas white for the clouds and used the same shadow mix for the clouds as I did in the last painting.














I brushed in a mix of raw sienna and burnt sienna for the foreground leaving an area of white paper at the base of the trees.

I changed this painting's name as well, from Trees 4 to Late Fall 1 as the foreground colors reminded me of wheat fields after the grain and straw had been taken off.

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

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 - Rainy Day 2 and 3

Since we are having a rainy day today, it is fitting that I work on these paintings of rainy days that I have been working on for a while (see posts on 06 March 2013, 15 July and 08 August 2015).

With the wind warnings in effect our heat wave is coming to an end with the high today being 66F (18.9C) before the temperature drops to seasonal for tomorrow of 48F (8.3C).

Due to the high winds I was without power from 9:30a.m., when we returned from going out to have supper in Peterborough the power had been restored.

It didn't hurt that on the way home we purchased a new generator to replace the old one which had finally decided to give up the ghost.

I started with the birch trees and added the markings using mixtures of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Using new gamboge and Antwerp blue I filled in the rest of the grass area and added a little French ultramarine blue for the darker grasses in the foreground.

I set the painting aside thinking it was complete.

Rainy Day 2

Then I added a shadow down the side of the birch trees with French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Adding new gamboge and Antwerp blue to the shadow colour I added leaves on the birch trees using a sponge.

I started by lightly drawing in the background and adding a birch tree.

Next I completed the old, dead tree and added the markings on the birch.

I painted in the background grass and trees using the same colours as in the previous painting.

Lastly I ran a pale wash of burnt sienna down the trunk on the birch.

Rainy Day 3

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

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 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Rainy Day 2-4 - Three Works in Progress

It was a nice day even though the sun went into hiding and it was overcast, with an occasional sprinkle of rain and the temperature reached a very pleasant 74F (23.3C).

I pulled out these paintings that I worked on last month (see posts on 06 March 2013 and 15 July 2015).

I wanted to at least get the background in on all four of the paintings.

For this one I wanted to make it an early autumn scene when the leaves have just started to change, with the promise of autumn colours.

Rainy Day 4

Using various mixes of French ultramarine blue, raw sienna, alizarin crimson and Antwerp blue to create the background trees and field.

I put in the under paint on the tree trunks using French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and washed in raw sienna in a couple of places on the trunk.

On the next one I wanted to make it look like a day in late spring with more of the bright green colours.

I used Antwerp blue as the base with aureolin and new gamboge to make a wide range of bright greens.

The background fence was a mix of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue.

Rainy Day 2

The first tree I made into a birch  using the dark colour from the fence and adding some burnt sienna in areas and raw sienna to give the tree marking some colour.

For the two remaining trees I have to decide if I want them as birches or another type of deciduous tree.

On the next painting I started putting the bark on the one main tree with a dark of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

I was debating what kind of background to put behind the tree and thought about a dead tree on Highway 507 that is in a field at the edge of a large area of ground water that doesn't dry up even in a drought.

Rainy Day 3

But then I had friends drop by and I put my paints away.

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

Gathering Storm I - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to do a little painting and I pulled this piece out  that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 12 January  and 19 February 2015).

I painted in the distant shoreline with various shades of green created by mixing French ultramarine blue. burnt sienna, raw sienna and Antwerp blue.



















I will post this painting at a later date one I have painted the foreground shore and trees.

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

Skies - Three Works in Progress

Today I was painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group and we had Emil Varga as the instructor who was demonstrating different skies.














Dramatic

In the first painting the horizon line was masked out using a piece of tape and the paper was wet above the tape. The dark clouds were created with a mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna on one side and the other side was a mix of Cobalt blue and burnt sienna leaving a white area slightly off center. The paint was sprayed with water and the colour was rolled around on the paper to create cloud shapes.

Each layer of paint was slightly thicker and darker than the one before and added into the corners of the painting, sprayed with water and rolled around the mix with the under paint.

A few areas of Cerulean blue were added into the clouds toward the bottom of the sky, sprayed with water and rolled to mix in with the existing paint. Then the painting was set aside to dry.














The next one was of a graded sky using three colours and glazing each layer over top of the one below.

The horizon line was put in using masking tape and the paper was wet above the tape. Using pure new gamboge the paint was swept into the area just above the tape in a diagonally upward stroke to create interest and movement.

The painting was set aside to dry before the next colour could be applied.














Pale Sky

Clear water was applied over the paper and  permanent rose was applied just slightly over lapping the layer of new gamboge and upwards leaving some of the area at the top of the painting without paint. It was then set aside to dry.

The paper was once more wet and this time painting from the top of the sky down into the permanent rose, Cobalt blue was applied.

Once again the paper was set aside to dry completely.














A Patch of Blue

For this painting the tape was applied on two different levels the highest was the bottom edge of the farthest island and the lower line was the bottom of the closer island.

The edges of the islands were lightly drawn in as a guide and the paper was wet above pencil lines.

A mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna was brushed into the sky in various areas, sprayed and rolled around leaving some areas of the sky white. Pure burnt sienna was added into the sky sprayed and rolled always trying to keep some areas of white. Pure Cerulean blue was brushed into the bottom of the sky and rolled upward into the clouds.

A little pure Cobalt blue was added into the upper part of the cloudy sky in a couple of places, sprayed and rolled. More colours were added into the clouds until I liked the way it looked (and before I made a muddy mess of it).

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

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

ACEO - Cloudy Sky 5

It is fairly mild today and the weatherman is calling for light snow to fall on and off throughout the day. What better way to spend the afternoon than to paint a snow scene?

I picked this piece that I had started a few of years ago (see post on 10 November 2013) and began with brushing in the sky using a mixture of Antwerp blue and leaving some white areas for the clouds.

Next I added a small amount of burnt sienna to the blue to grey it and put in the shadows on the underside of the clouds and then set it aside to dry, while I made myself a cup of tea.















When I returned I put in the shadows on the snow drifts with a mix of French ultramarine blue and Antwerp blue.

I mixed various greys and browns using the blues and burnt sienna and working my way from the distant hills through to the closest ones I put in the trees, gradually adding more details to the closer ones.

Lastly I added a few dead grasses and growies into the snow around the bottom of the trees.














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

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Skies - Three Works in Progress

Today I was at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church in Lakefield giving a class on painting skies to the Lakefield Creative Arts Group.

They wanted to learn to paint skies at different times of day and clouds formations.

To make it easier for the class I decided to use a limited palette of French ultramarine blue, raw sienna and burnt sienna for the first painting of a sunset.

The sky and water would be painted wet on wet.

Each student first mixed a puddle of the three colours on their palette and then the paper was thoroughly wet with water. Once the glow had left the paper pure raw sienna was swept into the sky area leaving some sections of white paper.

A thin line of white paper was left to indicate the horizon line.

Sunset Silhouettes

The water of the lake was put in with horizontal strokes to make it appear to be a flat surface.

Burnt sienna was used next and brushed into the sky in various areas and allowed to mix with the raw sienna creating a subtle orange glow in the sky. This colour was also painted into the water, again using horizontal strokes.

Finally, French ultramarine blue with a touch of burnt sienna were brushed into the still wet sky and water. It was set aside to dry.

The morning sky was again painted with a limited palette of Antwerp blue, alizarin crimson, French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

The colours were prepared in the same way as the first painting, with the exception that the French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna were premixed for a warm grey,

Going Uphill

Once again painting wet on wet Antwerp blue was applied to the paper leaving the bottom of the paper white for the snow and some areas of the sky white for the other colours.

Next alizarin crimson was brushed into the sky and a pale wash was put into the snow area with slightly curved lines to give the snow covered hill a little shape.

Lastly the grey clouds were put into the sky covering some of the pinks and blues already applied to the sky. This painting was also set aside to dry.

The last painting was to be mainly of clouds. For this one we wanted a little more control over the colour as it was applied so the paper wasn't wet as much as for the first two pieces.

Only three colours used for the sky, they were French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and raw sienna.

Gathering Storm I

The paper was lightly wet and the horizon line washed in using pure raw sienna.

Various mixtures of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna were made on the palette, some more to the blue shade some more to the grey shade.

The clouds layers were brushed in using the different mixes, keeping some areas of the paper white and allowing the colours to blend on the paper as well. This painting was then set aside to dry.

After the lunch break. We started again on the sunset painting by lightly sketching in with pencil the distant island and the closer island, rocks and trees.

Using a mix of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson to create a warm dark black the far shoreline was painted in first without a lot of detail.

Next with a little more detail the distant island was painted in and reflections were painted into the water below the island.

Work was started on the closer island before we ran out of time. I will post the continuing progress of each of these three paintings at a later date.

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.

ACEO - Tree Tops 8 and 9

I started with the backgrounds for these paintings earlier this year (see post on 19 February 2014) and called them Clouds for lack of a better name at the time.

Now that autumn is just around the corner and the trees will soon be dropping all their brilliantly coloured leaves I wanted to paint trees showing just the bare bones without the leaves hiding anything.

I took the first one that had been called Clouds 1 and painted in a single dark coloured tree with its branches showing starkly against the background sky.

Tree Tops 8

For the second one which had been called Clouds 2 I thought painting in some of the trees along the north fence line would be interesting and I have many pictures if them against the sky in every season with some stunning background colours.














Tree Tops 9

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 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Approaching Storm 1

Even though it was overcast for most of the day, we didn't get the rain they were calling for in the afternoon; and the temperature rose to 54F (12C).

While I was on the porch I did this quick sketch of the storm clouds and added a few of the pines from my front fence line and decided instead of putting the driveway in the drawing I would turn it into a lake and added in a distant island on the horizon line.

I gathered together my gardening tools and went outside to get a start on getting rid of some of the weeds.

Hopefully, this is going to be the first of many more days where I can get a little work done in my garden.

Clouds 1-4 - Four Works in Progress

Finally, a day above freezing! It  made it up to 36F (2C) and it is so nice to see the snow slide off the barn roof and some of the snow melt off the driveway. But I know this is just Mother Nature's joke on all of us, because next week the temperature is going to plunge back down below the freezing mark yet again, so I am going to enjoy it for the short time it lasts.

Clouds 1

It somehow seemed fitting that I should paint some nice blue skies with snow clouds.














Clouds 2

I worked back and forth on all four pieces at the same time so by the time I had finished washing in the fourth sky the first painting would be dry enough to paint in the next layer of paint.














Clouds 3

I used French ultramarine blue to wash in the sky leaving some areas of the white paper to show for the white of the clouds.















Clouds 4

Next I added a little burnt sienna to the blue to grey it slightly and painted in the shadows on the clouds.

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

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

ACEO - Overlooking the Lake 1

When we went back into the deep freeze yesterday with a high of -17F (-27C),  I thought it was cold enough especially with the wind chill taking it down to -24F (-31C). Well the cold isn't over yet as the day is starting off with -25F (-36C) and I haven't gone out to see what the wind chill is for the day yet, but at least it looks as though I will have a bright and sunny day and our high for the day is supposed to go up to -12F (-24C).

I thought I would like to finish this piece that I started last year (see post on 02 June 2013).

I started with the sky using French ultramarine blue and left an area of white for a snow cloud. While the paint was still wet I put in a little bit of burnt sienna to the underside of the cloud and blended it with the sky colour.














Using a slightly darker mix of the sky colour I put in the first layer of ice on the frozen lake.

While the lake was drying I mixed a green of French ultramarine blue and raw sienna I put in the smaller trees on the right side of the painting, and a couple of small trees on the distant hills in the far side of the lake.

Next I added a small amount of burnt sienna to the sky colour and darkened the ice on the lake slightly.














Using various mixtures of raw sienna, new gamboge, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson, I put in the various grasses and growies at the base of the pine trees as well as through some areas of the snow.

I added the darker lake colour to some areas of the foreground snow to give it a little depth.

With a mix of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue I put in the foreground pine tree trunks and branches. I followed this with the various greens I used for the background pine trees and added the needles onto the trees.














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

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.