Ben

Ben was a Percheron stallion often seen in the show ring and in parades with his team mate a gelding called Bill pulling the wagon.

Both horses were used as a working team for ploughing fields in the spring, haying in the summer, sleigh rides and skidding logs in the winter.

Ben made a made a name for himself as the sire of a number of heavy weight hunters and police horses used by the Metropolitan Toronto Police Mounted Division.

Congratulations to Boyd Dunford of Lakefield, Ontario for selecting this painting.

Emil Varga Workshop - Barns in Summer - A Work in Progress

Today the Buckhorn Tuesday Painters have Emil VARGA coming in to do a workshop with us on painting barns.

I had taken a workshop with him a couple of years ago and knew he was an excellent instructor and we would learn a lot from him.

Everyone had to have two pieces with the barns already drawn onto the watercolour paper and ready to paint.

He started the backgrounds on two different barn paintings one was a summer scene, the other an autumn scene. It was interesting to see how he handled painting the clouds into the sky lifting the clouds out with a tissue and then adding more paint slightly darker into the bottom of the clouds.

He paints his trees both deciduous and evergreens with a sponge and that can create some attractive results.

It was an enjoyable workshop and we look forward to having him back in the spring for a workshop on painting flowers.

This painting is about three quarters finished. I feel the barn board needs to be darkened down more and that something needs to be added to the foreground to unite the entire painting.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it is completed.

Rain Clouds - A Work in Progress

This is my third monochromatic painting (see Mountains and Waves on my postings of 22-23 January 11 respectively) using only French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

I think I will add some dark coloured deciduous tree trunks in front of the clouds. The lace patterns the branches make should be a pleasant contrast.

I will post this painting later once I have it finished.

Moonlit Waves - A Work in Progress

I am again using only French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna for this painting (see Mountains posted yesterday).

I brushed in the wave patterns from the horizon line downwards, adding more water to the mixture to lighten the colour.

I have set this painting aside to dry until I decide how I wish to finish the foreground; what I will do with the sky and if I will put an island or a boat against the horizon.

Mountains - A Work in Progress

For this painting I am using a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Using a flat brush and a thick mixture of paint I put in the mountain tops.









I gradually added a little more water to the paint to lighten the colour and brushed in the sky in the upper right hand corner and left the area white for the edge of the clouds against it.

I added a little more water and continued to build up layers of clouds with gradually lighter paint.

I set this painting aside to dry and will complete it at a later date.

Snow Beauty - A Work in Progress

Only three colours were used in this painting, French ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and raw sienna.

The shadow across the snow needs to be softened and more details need to be put on the tree. Some growies peeking out of the snow wouldn't hurt either.

I will post this painting again I have it is completed.

Dawnlight

Well the snow has finally stopped and we have a bright and sunny day for a change.

After looking at the two small paintings (see my posting on 17 January 11) I did in Janet Skrepnek's class I decided I would do a similar scene adding raw sienna into the sky instead of doing it as a graduated wash.

I did the trees as dark silhouettes against the sky using a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

This is an original 6-1/2" x 10" framed watercolour.

Thank you to new collector Ms. Geraldine Matheson of Riverside Park, Ontario on her purchase of this painting.