Squash - Three Works in Progress

Yesterday at KAGS our theme for the sill life class was squash and gourds. The main painting I was working on (see yesterday's post) had to be set aside to dry so I decided to work on some sketches of a number of the other squash that were in the display.

Since pumpkins are probably one of the best known squash, I did a sketch of one of the small pumpkins that were in the display.

I liked the various Maple leaves that were scattered throughout the display and continued with having them as a base for the drawing.

After completing this one I decided to do a couple more.

Sugar Pumpkin

There was such a variety I was spoiled for choice. I finally settled on one of the ones that looked similar to a pumpkin.

Since this one was more flattened instead of round I did it in landscape rather than portrait format. That way I wouldn't have the sides of the squash at the edges of the painting and a lot of space above and below.














Carnival Squash 1

The next squash I picked because it was warty instead of smooth and it looked as though the bottom of it had been dipped in green paint.

Next I took all three paintings and put in a background of mixtures of raw sienna, new gamboge, aureolin and burnt sienna.














Crookneck Squash 1

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

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

Squash and Gourds - A Work in Progress

Today the theme for the Still Life class at KAGS was Squash and Gourds; as usual we had a wide variety of things from which to choose.

I did one small section that had ears of Indian corn and a variety of squash and gourds in an old wooden butter bowl. With a dried bottle gourd and a Carnival squash on a bed of fresh fallen Maple leaves.














Once I had completed the drawing I washed in a very pale base of raw sienna and added various mixes of new gamboge, raw sienna and a touch of burnt sienna into the background.

The paper was so saturated with water that it had to be set aside to dry before I could do any painting on the still life.

I will post this painting at a later date once I complete some of the squash.

Today I have gotten my dog early from the Peterborough Humane Society since she came in heat yesterday and they cannot spay her for at least a month. So I have her at home now until next month when she will be spayed and then she will be mine permanently.

Katchewanooka Lake I and II - Two Works in Progress

I added a little more detail to these sketches I did last month when we went canoeing on Katchewanooka Lake.

Ron had gotten home in the afternoon and with it being windy and the threat of rain in the forecast for the evening we didn't want to waste a lot of time driving so we went to Lakefield.

We launched the canoe into the Otonabee River from the public launch on Water Street.

The Otonabee is a 34 mile (55km) long river and is a part of the Trent Severn Waterway. It flows through Katchewanooka Lake and goes down to and through Little Lake in Peterborough and finally drains into Rice Lake.

Map courtesy of Google Earth imagery.

We paddled across the river in between Prince Andrew Island and went to the far side of Gordonstoun Island. We could feel the strong current pushing against us as we crossed.

Katchewanooka is a Cree word meaning Water of Many Rapids and there are a number of the rapids which are still in existence today and can be seen between the various locks and channels.

We stayed out of the main channel and continued north beyond the marina and came around Hague Point.

As we passed by markers C113 and C114 we entered the bottom end of Katchewanooka Lake which is the first of the Kawartha Lakes.

It is roughly 5 miles (8km) long and 1/2 mile (.8km) wide.

Katchewanooka Lake II

It has a maximum depth of 30 feet (9m) with the average depth being 7feet (2.3m).

The larger boats and cabin cruisers have to be careful and stay within the marked channel because of the multitude of hazards throughout the lake; they include foul ground, rocks awash, shoals, sunken piling and tree stumps.

We continued to the left and followed along the edge of the Lakefield Marsh. It is 200 acres (81ha) of wetland that was saved by local people from development. In 1996 this property was acquired by the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority due to the very generous involvement of local people for the conservation of a provincially significant class 1 wetland, source water protection, conservation education and nature appreciation.










Katchewanooka Lake I

We continued until we were almost at Webster Island and could see 175 acres (71ha) of forest, which was dedicated to the Lakefield College School in 2008; before turning around and heading back.

Ron caught a perch, but none of the other sporting fish such as large and small mouth bass, muskie, walleye, bluegill, and carp for which the lake is known.

I will post each of these pieces at a later date after I have put the ink onto the drawing and have them completed.

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

Kabocha Squash and Garlic - A Work in Progress

Today at KAGS I took the first of a four day workshop with Michel St-Jean in painting representational art.

While we were waiting for all of the class to arrive we put a thin wash using our choice of neutral grey #5 or #6 for the under paint on the canvas and set it aside to dry.











We had a discussion about what to expect over the next classes and in order to keep it fairly simple we would be working on a still life, but the same techniques we are learning can be used on almost any type of painting including portraits and animals.

We were shown the Charles Barque method of drawing in order to get the proportion correct and asked to do our drawing of the still life and then transfer it by making a grid and enlarging it to fit the canvas.















I will post this piece at a later date once I am happy with the drawing and have it transferred onto the canvas.

ACEO - Autumn 1

It looks as though our Indian summer is over with the morning starting at 30F (-1C); although it started off sunny, it quickly became overcast and the high was 48F (9C). We can expect the temperature to continue to drop over the rest of the year.

Today I mowed the lawn for probably the last time this year which is a good thing since with the cold wind I had to wear gloves and a winter jacket to keep warm.

I thought I would like to paint an autumn scene and I started by putting in a sky with cobalt blue and a hint of alizarin crimson.















Next I put in the foreground field with various mixes of raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin.

Once the sky was completely dry, I indicated a few trees along the edge of the field and painted in the tree trunks and branches with a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Using a sponge and mixes of cadmium red, cadmium yellow and new gamboge I added in the leaves on to the trees. I used the same colours to add the fallen leaves at the base of the tree trunks.















Lastly, I added in some growies into the foreground with raw sienna.

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.

Ingredients - A Work in Progress

This is another of the sketches I did from last week when the theme in the Still Life class was Baking.

I liked the way the various ingredients for making cookies like shortening, baking soda, baking powder and sugar were set together.













I used French ultramarine for the background and I will have to go back in once the paint is completely dry to even out the colour.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have completed some of the ingredients.

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

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 October.

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