Christmas Candles 1 - A Work in Progress

It is still bitterly cold, -2F (-19C) and with the wind chill it feels like -13F (-25C). The one nice thing is the sun is shining.

The Weather Network is saying the temperature will finally make it above freezing by the weekend, which would be nice as we haven't had a day here above freezing since around the middle of November.

I thought I would like to do a little more work on this drawing that I had started quite a while ago (see post on 25 December 2011).

First I added more details to the drawing of the candles, giving them a definite shape and straightening them.

Next I fixed the flames on the candles.

From there I used a black ink pen and darkened the base of the red candle and then added the wicks on each of the five candles.

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

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

Free Form - A Work in Progress

-10F (-23C) and the temperature is steadily dropping. You can hear the boards on the house crack as the nails in the wood contract.

I filled all the seed feeders around the house and have had to bring one of them inside to repair the broken hanging cord which snapped due to the winds yesterday. Tomorrow I will have to put more fat into all the feeders in the swamp maple.

It continues to be windy and although it is only -14F (-25C) now, but with the wind chill it is closer to -31F (-35C). Walking up from the barn facing into the wind my cheeks came very close to being frost bitten. The bright point is that it isn't snowing and we have sunshine.














I really couldn't get into painting today so I decided to play with a large flat brush and a limited palette of colours and swirl paint around to create some interesting shapes.

I am not sure where I am going to go with this one, but it looks as though I have an abstract fish in here swimming around.

I will post this painting at a later date.

Cerulean Blue Backgrounds - Two Works in Progress

It is hard to believe that the temperature went up overnight to 32F (0C) and it had rained, which with the rapid temperature drop afterward caused a flash freeze.

The roads iced up, in fact everything turned to ice. Now the wind has picked up and it is snowing. Currently it is -8F (-22C) and all the doors on my vehicles are frozen shut so it will have to wait until tomorrow before I get around to trying to thaw them out.

Pine Tree 1

I pulled out a couple of small paintings that I had started a while ago (see post on 27 February 2012 and on 12 December 2013) and painted the background with a flat wash of cerulean blue and then set them both aside to dry.













Out of the Fog 1

I will post both paintings at a later date once more work on them has been completed.

Field Poppies - A Work in Progress

The temperature continues to sit at 22F (-5.5C) and it is snowing again.

To get into a brighter mood I decided to work on one of my favourite flowers the poppy (13 December 2013).

I had started this painting back in November of last year as part of a class demonstration.

In a small plastic container I first mixed a puddle of pure raw sienna and then set it aside. In another container I mixed raw sienna with Antwerp blue for a brighter green colour. In a third container I mixed together French ultramarine blue and raw sienna for a darker more olive coloured green.

Then I wet the paper with water and while the "glow" was coming off the wet paper I mixed some pure burnt sienna in one section of my palette, in another section some pure French ultramarine blue and I made a dark mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

First I poured the raw sienna over the upper part of the paper and toward the right side, being sure to leave some areas of white.

Next using the bright green I poured it into the center of the painting and rolled it around. Then with the paint brush moved some soft lines outward in leave shapes.

Using the final container of dark green I poured it mainly towards the bottom of the painting and rolled some of the paint toward the center of the painting.

Lastly using a brush and each of the colours mixed on my palette I painted in various soft leaf shapes. Once the paper was completely dry I removed the masking fluid.

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

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

OSWOA - Dawn 2

This is a painting I started while teaching a basic watercolour class last year (see post on 12 Dec 13).

I put the pine trees in against the dawn sky and added some sun touched grasses into the foreground.













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 Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $30.00 and sold unframed.

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.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Show Updates

I have updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group blog with a listing of shows some of the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work in during the month of January.

If you get a chance come out and visit them at one or all of the shows.