Long Shadows - A Work in Progress

Today is a very busy day, starting with going to the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio for the Still Life class in the morning, then going to the bank afterward to change the signing authority for the new vice president to be able to sign the cheques for KAGS and to return again to the Gallery to sit in the afternoon and evening.

I wanted to get this piece completed today that I had started a number of years ago (see post on 20 August 2010) especially since I was going to be at KAGS until 7:00 p.m. tonight.

During the afternoon the gallery was very busy and all I was able to do was use a pencil to indicate the small trees in the background and then put in the skeletons of the three larger trees in the foreground.















When the second sitter arrived at 4:00 p.m. I took a break and had supper downstairs before returning to the upper level to resume my duties at the front desk.

Using various greens made of various combinations of Antwerp blue, French ultramarine blue, raw sienna and burnt sienna I painted the trees into the background; this was in between looking after some of the people who came in to view the Christmas Show which closes tomorrow.

As I had time I was able to put in the trunks and main branches on the foreground trees using some of the green mixes and a little more burnt sienna.

I will post this painting once, more work on it has been completed.

Background 69 - A Work in Progress

Not too much has changed from yesterday in that the temperature remains at 6F (-14.4C) and with the wind chill it feels like -11F (-23.9C).

This is the background made with yesterday's remaining paint.















The colours used on this painting are ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, black, white, Hansa yellow, alizarin crimson and cadmium red.

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

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

It is another day of snow, but the temperature was milder in the morning at 16F (8.9C) and not very much wind; but as the day progressed the wind started up and the temperature dropped to 6F (-14.4C) and with the wind chill it felt like -11F (-23.9C).

After leaving it for a couple of days to look at the painting that I have been working on for a while (see posts on 10, 12, 17, 21 and 24 December 2015 and 02, 05 and 08 January 2016) I realized that there were a few things that had to be changed.

The major one was that the bow was at too low an angle and it had to be changed before I could add the splashing water by the bow.

The other two were much more minor in that the spreader was too dark and a little too thick.

Lastly the pipe on the deck was also much too thick as well.

Once these changes were made I started to by adding the red area below the white line with a mixture of alizarin crimson and cadmium red.

I added a little of the water splashing up from the bow with titanium white.

Now I will start painting the many pieces of equipment that are on the front of the boat.

First I increased the height of the stanchion on the top of the cabin. Then I added the base and the housing for the lines running to the spreader bars on the mast.

Next I cleaned up the white areas on the deck then added ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to the paint and put in the details on the window and curtains.

With various mixtures of white, blue grey, and black I painted the bow pulpit (the guardrail and support on the bow for the lifelines).

Now I can add the stem fitting (the fitting at the bow where the forestay is fastened).

With a grey mix I added in the spring line (a dock line usually used to prevent fore and aft motion of the boat).

I added the cleat (a metal object to which various lines  can be fastened) onto the deck with white paint and then added the lower part of one of the spreader lines before adding a little ultramarine blue to take it the rest of the way to the spreader.

Using the pale blue paint I put in the second line for the spreader, ran the lifelines, and the rigging line shadows on the foresail including the shadow of the far side of the bow pulpit and lastly the shadows cast on the deck.

Using a dark mix of ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I put in the dark part of the waves from the bow to the stern.














Next I added some of the splashing water from the bow of the boat and along the length of the hull some of the small white caps caused by the passage of the boat and the ripples at the stern.

With a thin mix of cadmium red and alizarin crimson I added some of the reflection of the boat into the water.

I will post this painting again at a later date once I add the reflection of the sails into the water.

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

ACEO - Morning Sky 1

With it raining throughout the night there is very little snow left on the ground. It will continue to rain for the rest of the day and it is to change to snow later this evening.

With the 25mph (40km) winds that started in the afternoon the temperature is dropping rapidly from the 48F (8.9C) of the morning and should reach 23F (-6C) and they are calling for flash freezing on the roads and the snow to start in the evening.













I pulled out this painting that I started a couple of years ago (see posts on 21 June 2014 and 22 August 2015) and lightly sketched in a tree and added a little bit of shoreline.

I mixed a dark of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and painted in the tree at the left side and darkened the mix slightly and put in the shoreline.














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 each and sold unframed.

Background 68 - A Work in Progress

Last night we had freezing rain, which during the morning changed to rain with the temperatures climbing to 47F (8.3C). My driveway was a sheet of ice with water running down road.

There wasn't very much left over paint from working on yesterday's painting but it did cover one small canvas.















The colours used were alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and titanium white.

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

Hoturo - A Work in Progress

I had a little time to work on a painting today and since this one is very close to completion (see posts on 10, 12, 17, 21 and 24 December 2015 and 02 and 05 January 2016) I thought it would be a good idea to try and get it finished.

The first thing to work on was the ladder on the stern. I used burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and titanium white.

With white and ultramarine blue I put in the shading on the fore deck and the port side edge of the cabin.

Next I worked on the wooden trim on the gunnel by darkening the wood.

Next I put in the white stripe on the bottom of the hull where it shows above the water on the stern and goes forward to the bow.

With a pale mix of ultramarine blue and white I added more shadows of the rigging onto the foresail as well as a part of the lifeline (a cable that runs along the outside of the deck supported by stanchions to help restrain passengers).

Using alizarin crimson I put in the shadow of the indent on the hull.














Then adding a little ultramarine blue to the alizarin crimson I added some shading just above the white line and just below the bow.

With a thin mix of titanium white I put in the reflected colour from the water onto the hull and where the sunlit was being reflected. With thicker white paint I added the brightest highlights from the sun on the hull and gunnel.

I will post this painting again once I have added the details on the foredeck.

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

Lovesick Lake I - A Work in Progress

Today I am sitting the Christmas Art Show and Sale at the Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio.

I brought this piece to work on that I had started last year (see post on 31 July 2015).












With a large number of people coming through the Gallery this afternoon I wasn't able to complete the drawing.

I will post the piece at a later date once I complete more of the trees on both sides of the sketch.