Starting to Thaw 1 - A Work in Progress

With having started a winter scene yesterday I thought I would like to do another but this time with the ice on a river starting to thaw.

I wanted to use a limited palette for this painting and decided on Antwerp blue and burnt sienna.

The sky was washed in with Antwerp blue and the colour was lightened with water as I went down toward the horizon line.

Next I added a little burnt sienna to the Antwerp blue to grey the colour and painted in the river being careful to leave some areas of white paper for the snow.

Using a darker mixture of the two colours I painted a pine tree on the edge of the river.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have painted in the background trees.

Deep Snow 2 - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to start a painting  and thought I would make this a snow scene and put a little masking fluid at the top of the painting to indicate snow covered trees.

I think I will add a couple of kids tobogganing down the hill.

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

OSWOA - Evening Shadows 1

I pulled out this piece that I had started a while ago (see post on 17 December 2011) and wanted to complete.

Before putting in the shadows I wanted to paint some colour into the snow and create some snow drifts.

I used various mixes of French ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna and left the top of the hill below the sun untouched.













Once the paint had dried I put in the shadows of the trees using a grey of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, keeping the shadows darker near the base of the trees and lightening as they travelled along the snow.

At the base of the trees and in various places throughout the painting I added grasses, growies and leaves with raw sienna, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, cadmium red and French ultramarine blue.

Lastly I lifted a few sun touched areas on the sunlit side of some of the trees with water.













If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Windsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Frost Fairies 1

I started this painting earlier this year when I was playing with salt on watercolour paper (see post on 05 January 2013).

I found a face by one of the flowers and lightly drew it in and started to add some definition to the flowers which will be petunias.

I started with the hair on the fairy and put it in using raw sienna and for the darker areas I used burnt sienna.















The face was a mix of burnt sienna and alizarin crimson. The eyes were Antwerp blue and the lips alizarin crimson.

I then started working on the flowers. I made various shades of mauve and violet, using mixtures of alizarin crimson, Antwerp blue and French ultramarine blue.

First I put in the darkest veins on the petals to give the flowers some shape.















Working every other flower so that the paint could dry before working on the one right beside it I used either mauve or violet to paint the petunias.

Next I drew in a few leaves and filled them in using various combinations of raw sienna, new gamboge, Antwerp blue and French ultramarine blue.

Lastly, I did a little more work on the fairy's face to complete the painting.















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.

Shadows I - A Work in Progress

I started applying ink to this sketch of a rock which was partially submerged in the water of the lake close to shore. I wanted the rock to have highlights, shadows and cast shadows.

First I indicated the water with a few horizontal lines and then added the water line to the base of the rock.

Next I started to put in some of the lighter shadows just behind the sunlit area of the rock face.















I added the mid tone shadows to the further back rocks, then I darkened the small rock close to the water line.

Going another shade darker I put in the cast shadow from the first rock across the second one and darkened the base close to the water slightly.

After I added a few more waterlines on the other side of the rocks I decided it needed something more to make it interesting.















I sketched in a small that is often found growing out of the crevices between the rocks and put in its cast shadow.

Next I inked in the additions on the front of the rock and then set it aside.

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

Hazy Day 1 - A Work in Progress

I pulled out this painting that I had started last year (see post on 07 July 2012) that was originally called Blue Sky B.

It didn't take long to draw in the distant hills and add some trees to the skyline.














Next I placed a few tree trunks into the foreground with the bushes already indicated at their base.

I will post this painting at a later date once I decide how I wish to complete this painting.

Buckhorn Artists' Group - Blog Update

Today I updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog with a few details about what happened during the 25th Annual Among Friends Art Show and Sale.

Please go to the site and enjoy pictures of some of the paintings that were exhibited at the show.