ACEO - Autumn Trees 11

I pulled out this piece that I had started earlier this year (see post on 05 October 2015) while at the Knoepli Inn in Magnetawan.

I had set myself up in the farm house across the highway from the Inn and started working on a number of paintings of the wooded area beside the Inn'

I started by painting in the background trees with raw sienna and while that was drying I put in the dark green of the foreground vegetation.

With a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I put in the tree trunks of that were visible through the leaves.

Using mixtures of cadmium red and cadmium yellow I painted the bright coloured leaves into the foreground.

With the same colours plus new gamboge leaves were put onto the trees.

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

The ACEO shown here are all 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.

Playing with Blues - Five Works in Progress

Today I didn't know what I wanted to paint so I decided that I would play with the different blues in my palette.

For the first painting, I used Cerulean Blue for the sky, being careful to leave some areas of white for the clouds.

I started with a darker blue in the top of the sky and gradually lightened the colour with water as I worked lower.

When I reached the horizon line, I decided that it would be a snow scene and I put a few shadows across the snow.

Cerulean Blue

For my second painting, I used French Ultramarine Blue.

I kept the painting darker at the top of the sky and gradually lightened it as I approached the horizon line.

Using horizontal lines I indicated a lake using a medium wash of blue, followed by putting in the waves with a slightly darker blue and lifting highlights with water.

Ultramarine Blue

For my third painting I used Antwerp Blue.

Into the sky I brushed various strengths of Antwerp Blue with diagonal strokes, trying to give the illusion of cirrus clouds.

I left a small area of white just above the horizon line for mist rising off the lake; and below it I used horizontal strokes to indicate the almost calm surface.

Antwerp Blue

On my fourth painting was a mix of Cerulean Blue with Antwerp Blue.

I started with a darker mixture into the top of the sky, leaving some areas white and softening the edges of the clouds.

As I worked lower in the sky I lightened the mix with water.

I put in the lake with a combination of the light and dark blue colours.

Cerulean Blue and Antwerp Blue

For my fifth and last painting I used a mix of French Ultramarine and Antwerp Blues.

Once again I used diagonal strokes to create cirrus clouds, keeping the top of the sky darker and lightening the colour toward the horizon line.

I wanted this piece to be a snow scene, so I left a small line of white, followed by running shadows across the snow.

French Ultramarine Blue and Antwerp Blue

I will post each of these paintings at a later date, once more work on them has been completed.

Fog Rising 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

I am gradually working my way through some of the smaller and older paintings (see post on 07 August 2012) I came across in a box that had been put away in a storage container.

I didn't have a lot of time to do much today with going to Christine's house to celebrate Christmas with her family a little later today.

I set the three of them out side by side in order to see how I would proceed with them.

On each piece I indicated the main trees in the foreground using a pencil.

Fog Rising 1

Before I could do much more to each of these paintings I had to put them away and leave.

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









Fog Rising 2




















Fog Rising 3

Background 62 and 63 - Two Works in Progress

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, even though here there is no snow on the ground, the temperature has dropped to 47F (8.3C) and it is supposed to get more into seasonal cold weather over the next couple of days.














Background 62

Once again the remaining paint was used for backgrounds; for the first one the colours were titanium white, Hansa yellow, alizarin crimson, cadmium red and burnt sienna.














Background 63

For the second one I used black, titanium white, ultramarine blue and a small amount of burnt sienna.

Once I decide what to paint on them I will post them again.

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

Today it is unseasonably warm for this time of the year with the temperature today reaching 57F (13.9C) and there is no chance of having a white Christmas.

Since I had everything ready for Christmas I wanted to spend most of the day painting and I pulled this piece out that I had started earlier this month (see posts on 10, 12, 17 and 21 December 2015).

I decided to start work on the sails first which have a large single colour base area to cover and simple shadows to put in to create the illusion of roundness.

Being right handed I started with the mainsail on the port (left) side of the boat, that way I wouldn't accidentally drag my hand across the wet paint and smear everything.

First I painted in the entire area of the sail with titanium white, then using various mixtures of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the shadows.

Once the base paint on the main sail was completed, I painted the boom (the spar that supports the foot of the mainsail), the mast and the forestay (the cable that runs from the bow to the upper part of the mast).

Next I painted the foresail which is attached to the forestay the same way as I did the mainsail.

I put in the part if the spreader (the horizontal support for the stays that sticks out from the mast) that could be seen from this angle.

I added one if the lights that could be seen onto the mast.

Using a dark green of Hansa yellow and ultramarine blue I painted the dots onto the foresail.

With various mixtures of cadmium red and alizarin crimson I put the numbers onto the mainsail and the sail makers' logo onto both sails and the telltales (ribbons which in this case are located on the main sail which help to determine wind direction and proper sail trim).

Using a mixture of ultramarine blue and titanium white I put in all the shadows of the rigging showing through the sails and a couple of the lines running up from the boom.

I will post this painting at a later date once I start on the boat.

Toadstools 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

It is a very mild non winter like day with the temperature reaching 44F (6.7C).

I didn't have a lot of time to work on art today trying to get everything ready for Christmas, but I wanted to get these three little paintings that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 20 and 31 October 2015) a little further along.

Since I wanted the toadstools to be at eye level, the trees and forest behind them would be from a worm's eye view.

Toadstool 1

In order to paint in the background I needed to apply liquid friskit to the toadstools to protect them.

The nice thing about the masking fluid is that you can put it on over top of a painted surface and as long as it is totally dry it will not damage the painted areas.

As each piece was masked it was then set aside to allow the friskit to dry.

I do not have the time to do any more work on them today.

Toadstool 2

In the future I can now put all the verticals into the background from the foreground to the top of the painting without leaving any distortion.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date as the backgrounds behind the toadstools are completed and the friskit is removed.











Toadstool 3

Backgrounds 60-61 - Two Works in Progress

These are two canvases I used for the left over paint from yesterday to put in a background.














Background 60

For the first one I used some of the titanium white, cadmium red and most of the alizarin crimson.















Background 61

With the second canvas I used the remaining titanium white and alizarin crimson as well as all the black.

I will post each of these canvases at a later date once I start another painting.