Birch Lake - A Work in Progress

This is another painting that I started earlier this year on location at the Riverview Zoo with the Outdoor Painters' Group.

I indicated some of the new grasses pushing their way up through last year's autumn leaves that had not been blown away by the winter winds; and then areas where the trees would cast their shadow to give me the direction of the light source.

Once the paint was dry I have removed the masking fluid from the birch trees and the trunk of the cedar tree.

I started on the cedar tree trunk using the shadowed area already indicated put in the light and shadow as well as adding a little of the bark texture. It still needs more work before it is completed.

I also painted the markings on one of the birch trees to give a feeling of what the overall look of the completed painting.

When I have finished more on this painting I will post it at a later date.

In the Past - A Work in Progress

One of the many century old, forgotten and soon to vanish barns in the area.

The glowing colours of the autumn maples add a bright spot to the landscape, but it is also the fore runner of the winter winds which are rapidly approaching.

Hopefully the weathered old barn will be able to survive for another year without too many boards being broken and torn off or sheets of metal removed from its roof.

There is still more work which needs to be done to the barn and the maple tree before this painting is finished.

I will post it once it is completed.

Warm and Cool Glads - Two Works in Progress

I wanted to paint something in a different format, so I chose a long, tall shape to depict Gladiolus.

With an H pencil I lightly drew in the shapes of the flowers on both paintings. Then with a wash of raw sienna and using vertical strokes I brushed in the background.

Since Gladioli come in a wide range of colours, I decided that I would do one painting with the warm colours of red, orange and yellow and the other painting with the cooler colours of lavender, blue and green.


Cool Glads

Using a mixture of French ultramarine blue and raw sienna I painted in the taller spikes on both paintings.

With a mixture of alizarin crimson with a touch of cadmium red light I indicated the basic shape of the red glads.

Then with the red mixture and raw sienna I indicated some of the shapes of the red orange glads.

Adding cadmium yellow light to the orange mix I painted in the yellow orange glads.


Warm Glads

I still need to indicate the yellow glads with cadmium yellow light and a mix of raw sienna.

I will post both paintings at a later date as they are completed.

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

Evening Twilight - A Work in Progress

Even though it is a rainy Sunday I cannot really get in the mood to paint.

For this painting I used French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson and brushed in a sky and added a little colour into the bottom of the painting as a base whether for water or snow. I will decide what I want to put there at a later date.

Winter Sunset - A Work in Progress

This painting is the opposite time of the day from Long Shadows (see yesterday's post).

The shadows are still very long but the painting instead of showing that it is going to get brighter as time goes on it has a darker quality. That things are getting ready for the night.

The shadows are more greyed instead of having blue tones in them. The sky colours reflected in the snow are more subdued. When the rays of sunlight are touching the snow it does not have the brilliance that you would see in the morning.

It still needs some "growies" added into the foreground snow and a few more shadows added to the base of the trees.

I will post this painting when it has been completed.

Long Shadows - A Work in Progress

In the early morning the sun is so low in the sky that it causes the shadows to be very long and stretch across the snow covered ground.

The bold colours of the sunrise have been painted in using Antwerp blue, raw sienna, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson and a touch of cadmium red light.

The tree shadows have been indicated across the snow using French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, with a touch of alizarin crimson.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have added the trees and completed the painting.

Quiet Reflection - A Work in Progress

This is the beginning of a painting in mid morning as the sun is burning off the last of the mist from the lake.

The water is still very calm with hardly a ripple which allows it to reflect the mirror image of the islands and the clouds in the sky.

The painting is about halfway completed and at this stage has only two colours used in it; French ultramarine blue and raw sienna.

I will post the completed piece at a later date.

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