Clear Lake I - A Work in Progress

This morning I was greeted with the Meteorological Alert of a Winter Storm Warning calling for snow, changing to ice pellets, freezing rain and finally changing to rain; and they weren't wrong.

It started off at 24F (-4.4C) with a wind chill of 16F (-8.9C) and then the snow started and the rest of the weather followed. I get to look forward to more of the same for tomorrow.

I pulled out this sketch that I started a few years ago (see post on 09 June 2013).

I started with the foreground trees, deciding which ones would be birches or maples.

Next I worked on the rocks on the far side of the lake and once they were finished I indicated the trunks of distant trees.

In the foreground I put in the grasses and growies at the edge of the lake first, then added some more at the base of the birches.

I will post this drawing again, once it has been completed.

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

Country Road 1 - A Work in Progress

The first flock of Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived to join the four others that have been here all winter.

I had a little bit of time and wanted to work on one of the paintings that have been around for a while and need to be completed like this one (see posts on 29 January 2012 and 11 December 2015).

It was originally called Colour and Composition 6 and I have renamed it Country Road 1.













I added more aureolin into the top of the sky and while the sky area was still wet I added a mix of cadmium red, cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson into the bottom of the sky.

With cobalt blue and alizarin crimson I added a few clouds into the sky.

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

Bunny and Basket 1 - A Work in Progress

Today I painted with the Creative Arts Guild at the St. John the Baptist Anglican Church in Lakefield.

I pulled this little painting out that I had starting working on again earlier this year (see posts on 27 May 2014 and 06 January 2016).

I began by drawing in a few more pussy willow stalks and did a little more work on them.

With a pale wash of raw sienna I indicated the shadows on the head covering.

Using a mix of cadmium red and cadmium yellow I painted in the middle tone on some of the ribbons.

The vest was indicated with alizarin crimson.

I will post this painting again at a later date once more work on the bunny is completed.

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

Morning Lake 2 - A Work in Progress

Today is another mild day like yesterday with the temperature reaching 43F (6.1C) and most of the snow has once again melted.

I pulled out this painting that I have been working on for quite a while (see posts on 08 December 2013, 27 January and 22 February 2014 and 22 January 2015) and would like to complete it today if time permits.













First I mixed a dark of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and painted the shadowed areas into the pine needles. Then I added a few dead branches to the ends of the pine tree.

With burnt sienna I put the under paint down for the land area below the pine.














Using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna I painted in the land below the pine tree and added grasses and growies around the trunk.

It was at this point that I realized that the single pine needed company and lightly drew in a few more trunks.

It still needs a little more work before it is complete. I will post the finished piece at a later date.

Emil Varga Workshop on Painting Skies

My friend Joanne had wanted to learn to paint in watercolour and I had advised that she take the class with Emil Varga at KAGS.

Since her birthday is tomorrow and she was able to be here I enrolled her in the class as her birthday gift and supplied her with the brushes, paint and watercolour paper she would need for the class.

The theme for the workshop was how to paint skies and during the course of the day we worked on three different paintings.















The first painting had a dramatic sky and we put masking tape across the bottom quarter of the paper to protect the area for the snow that would be there and painted in later.

The paper was thoroughly wet with water and we put in various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, Antwerp blue and cobalt blue.

The paint was sprayed and rolled around on the paper as layers of colour were added to the paper to achieve the moody sky.















Winter Thaw

It was set aside to dry before the background islands could be painted.

The distant islands were painted in using various mixes of French ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.

The tape was then removed leaving with white paper and a large untouched area for the foreground islands to be placed














Last Light

The bottom of the paper was covered with masking tape to protect the white paper then it was wet thoroughly and new gamboge was brushed into the bottom area.

Burnt sienna was applied above and to the side of the yellow, then permanent rose was added on both sides of the yellow.

Clouds were put into the top of the sky with various mixtures of cobalt blue, French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and permanent rose, leaving some areas of white paper showing through.

It was then set aside to dry before the tape was removed.














The third painting was worked in stages in between the other paintings.

The bottom area of the painting was covered with masking tape and then the paper was wet.

Aureolin was put into the bottom of the sky against the masking tape and then softly blended upward to the top of the sky with clear water and set aside to dry.














Once the paper had dried completely it was wet with clear water and permanent rose was applied slightly over some of the yellow and up into the middle of the sky.

It was then blended upward to the top of the paper with clear water and set aside to dry.

The last colour to be added was cobalt blue and as before the paper was wet with water and the colour added above the permanent rose and blended upward to the top of the paper.














Early Morning Light

I will post each of these painting as more work on them has been completed.

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

OSWOA - Evening on the Lake 1

It is 9F (-12.8C) with the wind chill making it feel like -2F (-18.9C) and we are to get more snow today. But I really cannot complain about it as we haven't had much snow and cold weather so far this winter.

I thought I may as well warm things up by working on a painting of a warm summer evening that I have been working on for a little while (see posts on 29 August and 22 October 2015 and 30 January 2016).

The first thing I did was remove the masking fluid from both sailboats.














I then started by painting the hulls of each of the boats different colours. The first one in red using alizarin crimson and the second one in green using aureolin and Antwerp blue. These colours were also used for the hull reflections in the water.

With a black made with French ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna I put in the windows and hatch openings on the sailboats, the rudders, the hair on the people and the top part of the mast.

Using cadmium yellow and cadmium red I put the life jackets on both people.













Now it was time to start work on the sails and with cobalt blue I put in a band of colour near the top of the sail on the green boat and then added a little alizarin crimson and used the violet colour on the sail of the red boat.

Next the sails needed the shadow and reflected colour put onto them with various mixtures of new gamboge and aureolin.













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 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Stillness 1

Today I was at KAGS painting with the Outdoor Painters' Group.

I brought a number of small pieces to work on while I was there and decided to start with this one that I had started last year (see post on 27 December 2015) while I was playing with combinations of the various blues in my palette.

I thought I would make this piece look as though it was from Stoney Lake with its many small pink granite islands.

First I put in the islands using alizarin crimson as the base and gradually added combinations of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue for the shadows and texture in the rocks and for the rock reflections in the water.

This was followed by putting the pines onto the islands, starting with the furthest back ones to the closest ones.

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.