Almost Spring I

I was heading down to a craft shop just off Highway 28 and as I passed an old, abandoned horse farm I pulled over onto the side of the road because there was a dead tree in the middle of what used to be a horse pasture.















I liked the twisted bent shape of the tree, and sketched it while there and when I returned home I drew in a couple of horses and then using pen and ink finished the drawing.

This original 4-1/2" x 6-1/2” pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $30.00.

Frozen Birches - A Work in Progress

Today I was painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group and I took with me a number of paintings that were very close to being finished.

After looking through the pieces I had with me, I decided that I should do a little more work on this painting; especially since there is a show being held at KAGS running from 22 June - 11 July 13 called Monochrome and this would be a good piece to submit.

I had started this painting a while ago (see posts on 13 May 2010 and 26 August 2012) and since only Antwerp blue was used in this painting it would be ideal for the show.

I did a little more work on it and completed the birch tree on the right side of the painting.

I will post this piece once more on it has been completed.

Snow Scenes - Two Works in Progress

I still had a number of precut 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" pieces of watercolour paper for ACEO and decided that I would work on them today.

With the first one I mixed a dark using French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson and painted the bottom branches of some trees against a snow bank.

Once it was dry I gently scraped out some areas for grasses and growies using a razor blade.

Winter Trees 6

For the second one I put down a light was of alizarin crimson and French ultramarine blue leaving some areas of white paper showing.

Using various darker mixtures of the same two colours I painted in the shadows on the snow covered tree.














Frozen 1

Using the same dark mixture for the trees from the first painting I painted in some of the pine needles on the tree.

I will post these paintings at a later date once I have them completed.

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

Waterfall 1 - A Work in Progress

Today while going through I box of small paintings I came across this piece that I had started last year (see posting on 09 October 2012).

I added a little more colour to the water and another rock on the edge of the falls.

Put a little more under paint on the background rocks and then added the darker foreground rock face.

I then set this painting aside to dry before I over paint the rocks and scrape out the rock shapes with a palette knife.

As I complete more of this painting I will post it to the blog.

Dockside 1 and 2 - Two Works in Progress

Today we are shoveling out from yesterday's snow storm.

It was hard to push the porch door open enough so I could get out through the 12" (30.5cm) of new snow that I had to clear away from the front of the door and off the walkway.

The one nice thing about today is that it is bright and sunny even if the temperature remains very cold 0F (-18C).

Dockside 1

The birds are out in full force around the feeder today and I had the chickadees buzzing around my head as they flitted around and onto the feeders as I was refilling them.

This had me thinking about the Caribbean and the warm breezes in the evening as the sun sets.

I pulled out two small paintings (see postings on 16 October 2012) that I had started last year.

I have changed the names of the paintings from Yellow Sky A and B to Dockside 1 and 2.

I drew a couple of the dock posts in the first painting and added a horizon line.

Next I added a little more definition to the larger seagulls.

Dockside 2

On the second painting I drew in the horizon line and a single dock post. Next I drew a larger seagull as well as a number of smaller ones.

I will post both paintings at a later date as they are completed.

Sunset 2 - A Work in Progress

The snow is still falling and the wind is blowing this morning. I think I am going to stay in and paint today.

This is the second (see posting on 04 February 2013) of evening sky paintings that I started when painting with Neil Broadfoot earlier this week.

For this painting the paper was again wet above the area where the snow would be on the ground. Aureolin was then brushed in just above the snowline and gradually lightened as it went up towards the top of the sky. A little of the pale wash was then brushed into some areas what will be a lake.













Into the still wet aureolin, burnt sienna was used in some areas of the sky. Brown madder was then brushed into the sky. A hint of alizarin crimson was added into the wet brown madder towards the top of the painting.

A small amount of cobalt blue was added to the brown madder and the clouds were painted into the sky on the almost dry paper.

This painting was set aside to dry completely before painting the background hills could be painted. 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.

Succulents - A Work in Progress

Today was a very long day at KAGS; it started at 8:30 in the morning when I opened the gallery for the Still life class. The display was relatively simple with a Christmas cactus, a Jade plant and an Aloe, with two pieces of pottery to add interest.

After lunch it was time to sit the gallery and continue working on various small paintings. Then a couple of us went out for supper before returning to the gallery where we had to set everything up for the Information meeting tonight.















The weatherman was right about the massive snow storm that was going to hit this evening. The trip home was long with the snow covered roads and limited visibility due to the blowing snow. It was interesting to see how many people were not prepared for the road conditions and many of them were fish tailing on the road due to the conditions.

I am thankful that I have a 4 x 4 and good quality winter snow tires on my vehicle. My trip home that normally takes 20 minutes took just under an hour. But I made it home safely.
Now it is time to kick back and relax.

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