Morning Pond 1 - A Work in Progress

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

This morning I watched the sun come up on the first day of the year.

I thought I would start by painting the morning sky with raw sienna and adding the haze from the ice crystals in the air with a pale wash of Antwerp blue.

I put in the reflected sky colour onto the distant hill followed by some cast shadows at the edges of the closer field.














Using a pale wash of alizarin crimson to warm the painting I applied it to the snow covered surface of the pond.

I added a little burnt sienna to the blue and started to put in some reeds in the foreground and decided I didn't like the way they looked.

Once the paper was dry I added in some trees on the distant hill, put in some reeds at the far edge of the pond and some growies at the edge of the field. In the foreground I put in some cattails and reeds.

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

ACEO - Tied Up 4

Today I was thinking about being in the Caribbean, with the warm breezes and turquoise waters, so I thought I would work on this painting that I had started last year (see posts on 19 April and 24 July 2017)

Since I already had the sky with the birds completed I started by working putting in the water with a mixture of Antwerp blue with a small amount of cobalt blue. I left the area by the sand with the surf splashing up the white of the paper.

Next I used raw sienna as a base colour for the sand and as it dried I used a wash of burnt sienna I put in the islands on the horizon.

Darkening the burnt sienna was with a little cobalt blue I added the shadows to the islands and into the sand and put in the tethering post.

Using the Antwerp blue and raw sienna I put in some palm trees on the islands and some seaweed onto the sand around the boat.

Now it was time to work on the boat with alizarin crimson.

A lighter red was put on the sunlit side first and a hint of new gamboge was added in a few areas. On the shadowed side darker alizarin crimson was painted in first and Antwerp blue added  into the shadowed areas.

Lastly, with a mix of French ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna I put in the gunnels and the rope tying the boat to the post.

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.

Along the Road I - A Work in Progress

Today I didn't have a lot of time to work on art, as I have friends coming by to pick me up so we will finish up our Christmas shopping.

I thought I would work on this one which I can stop at any time with no clean up required (see post on 12 September 2018).

I started at the top and put in all the pine tree tops that appeared above the treeline.















From there, I put in the tops of the trees at various levels near the top of the hill.

Next, I indicated the base of the hill and the path the road followed.

The last drawing, I was able to do was put in the grasses and growies along the roadway.

I will post this at a later time once it has been completed.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

ACEO - Dusk 5

This morning I wanted to complete this painting I had started last year (see posts on 08 March and 09 December 2017).

Using a green of Antwerp blue and raw sienna I painted in the background trees leaving the area between the trees and the water as rocks on the shoreline.

I used some of the same green in the water for the ripples across the surface of the lake.

Using a dark of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the tree trunks.

Darkening the background green with a small amount of the trunk colour I put the needles on the centre line tree.

I used various mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna, new gamboge, cadmium yellow and cadmium red for the grasses at the base of 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.

Countryside Art Group Blog - Show Updates

On the first of each month I will update the Countryside Art Group's blog with a listing of shows where the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work.

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

Skies - Three Works in Progress

Today I wanted to play with colour and what better way than to paint skies?

I pulled out these three pieces that I had started a while ago (see posts on 27 June 2013, 23 September 2013 and 07 February 2015).

To keep the palette simple, I would use just three colours which were alizarin crimson, Antwerp blue and new gamboge.

I made a puddle of each colour on my palette, so I could put the paint on quickly and not have to stop to mix color.

I wet the sky in the first painting being careful not to touch the sun.

Using the blue first, I brushed in the top quarter of the sky, this was followed by using the red into some areas of the blue and part way down the sky.

Windmill 1

Lastly, I used the yellow and painted down to the top of the horizon line and then set this one away to dry.

With the next piece I wet the entire paper and as with the first painting I started at the top using the blue and brushed a small amount into the top leaving white areas for clouds, followed by putting the blue into the bottom of the painting for the reflection of the sky colours in the water.















Snelgrove Brook 1

This was followed by using the red into the top third of the painting again leaving areas of white for the clouds and then putting some into the water just above the blue.

Lastly, I put in the yellow into the bottom of the sky to just above the horizon line, followed by putting it in below the horizon line and going down into the red of the lake.

I set this one aside to dry.















Morning Fisherman 2

For the last piece, I started by brushing in the blue through the sky and leaving some areas untouched down the horizon line. The blue was then worked through the water area the same way up to the horizon line.

Next, I brushed the red throughout the sky and in some places overlapping the blue, followed by brushing it in throughout the water.

On this one I decided not to add the yellow. Instead, I put in the rocks in the foreground using burnt sienna, the red and the blue. before setting it aside to dry.

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

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

Cabin Memories 2 and 3

Today I was at KAGS sitting the On the Move exhibition and while I was there I thought I would do a couple of drawings to pass the time in between visitors.

I thought for a change I would draw some buildings set into a landscape, at the edge of a clearing or in a sheltered area at the edge of a forest.















Cabin Memories 2

For my first drawing I started by putting in a large building on the right side of the paper and then added a few large trees in behind.

It was at this point that I changed the building into an abandoned, run down  building.

On the left side I put a fence in the distance as well as a fence that was falling down, running out from the left side of the building.















Cabin Memories 3

On my second drawing I put the building a little further back and on the right side of the paper and set it at the edge of a forest.

Next I put in a few birch trees on the left side of the drawing.

After looking at both drawings I thought it would be nice to have them both as night scenes and added a full moon into the sky on the left side.