Stormy Sky I

It was a beautiful day today with the temperature going up to 77F (25C) and with the humidity it felt more like 88F (31C), this caused us to be treated to three thunderstorms.

I have always enjoyed watching thunderstorms and with living on the top of a hill you can see the lightning all around you during a storm. It was especially nice being able to sit on the front porch with my husband and enjoy the beauty of the storm with its many lightning strikes.












While going through some drawings I came across this one that I had started a few years ago (see post on 27 August 2011).

I thought it fitting that I should finish this drawing of a stormy day.

I lightly penciled in the bottoms of a series of clouds and then gradually inked in the layers of the clouds as they stacked one on top of the other.

This original 4-1/2" x 9" pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $45.00.

In the Caribbean 1

Today I was watching a program on television about the various resort islands in the Caribbean.

As I was watching the program, I pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and did this little sketch which was a composite of a number of the beaches.















I put in the horizon line where the sky meets the ocean.

I added clouds into the sky and added some of the larger waves into the water.

Lastly, into the foreground I added the bubbling froth as the wave starts to recede back into the ocean.

Summer Trees 1

Today as I went to the Peterborough Riverview Park and Zoo and went down to the lower level by the Otonabee River where there is a footbridge leading to a small island. I wanted to work on a small painting, so I sat down to paint for by the river.

It didn't take long for me to rough in the main sections of the rocks, the far side of the river and the trees.

Wetting my paper first, I brushed in the sky and the river with French ultramarine blue.

While the paper was drying, I mixed various greens using Antwerp blue, raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin.

I started by painting in the trees on the far shore of the river, this was followed by painting the areas of the leaves on the trees that were in the island.

















Using alizarin crimson and burnt sienna, I indicated where the rocks of the island would be located.

While the rock base was drying, using raw sienna I indicated some of the reeds in the water by the far shore.

I mixed a dark of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue and painted painted over the rock area, and using a palette knife I lifted some of the dark colour to create the rock shapes, with the under paint showing through.

Next, I painted in the tree trunks with the dark mixture.

Lastly, I added in a couple of gull silhouettes as they flew across the sky above the river.

This framed, original 3" x 3-1/2" watercolour painting is available for $85.00. SOLD

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Mountain Range

I wanted to compete this painting that I had started a number of years ago (see post on 26 May 2010).

Working from the background forward I started by rounding the top of the middle mountain so it didn't look as though someone had put off the top.

Next using various mixtures of cadmium red and cadmium yellow, I brushed in some areas with colour to give a little more depth to the autumn colours, but not enough to make them jump out at you.

Now I wanted to work on the rocks. Beginning with the further back ones on the right shore, I tidied up the top edges that were against the background trees. This was followed by adding some darker colors and lighter colours to give the rocks shape.

On the middle section of the rocky shore, using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna and alizarin crimson, I gradually added more definition to the individual rocks, instead of having them as one large mass. This was followed by adding various textures to some of the rocks, while leaving others fairly plain.












On the foreground rock face, I toned down the far left section and added a few cracks onto the rock surface.

Lastly, I wanted to make changes to the the lake, again working from the back forward, I lifted a few highlights from the dark reflections in the water below the reeds at the shoreline.

Below the furthest back ones on the right side I darkened the colour in the water slightly, while still letting some of the paler colour show through; and dry brushed some of the dark green colour right across the water.

I removed the dark section at the bottom of the middles section of the rocks leaving only a thin line at the base  of them.

Using various mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna, and French ultramarine blue and using a dry brush I put in ripples through the middle section of the lake from the base of the rock across the other side.

From there I continued working across the lower part of the lake with a dry brush to add more ripples on the lake.

When this original 6-1/2" x 11-1/2” watercolour has been matted and framed it will be available for $245.00.

Moonlight Reflections 1

Tonight there is a full moon in the sky lighting up the ground with a soft glow.

I thought I would like to do a drawing of a full moon at night.

I started by placing the moon in the top of the sky and indicating the path of the moonlight on the ground, but in this case on water.

Next I put in the horizon line and to the right side of the lake I indicated an island.

To create some interest I put in a sailboat on the water along with some reflections from the sailboat.

At a later date I may develop this drawing into a painting.

Lake Reflections I

Today I just didn't feel like going to a paint out with the group, so instead I went to the Selwyn Beach Conservation Area. I wandered along the hiking trail and about 1 mile (1.6km) along the trail I stopped to sketch this view of Chemong Lake.














What I liked about this scene was the two trees that flanked the trail that led to the lake. It made it look so inviting to go and stand at the edge of the water and look out across the inlet.

Pine Tree at Dawn

Today my Smoke kitty finally came back. I thought something had happened to her, since she was gone for almost two weeks.

This morning I watched the sunrise and painted the dawn colours and added the same pine tree from yesterday to the painting.

This original 6" x 8" framed watercolour is available for $125.00.

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