Big Cedar Lake I - A Work in Progress

I was going through the various sketches I did while out in the canoe over the last couple of years; and decided that I would like to work on this one that I started last year (see post on 23 August 2015).

Beginning with the background I put in the far water line, which forms the base of the rocks in the background.

Using vertical lines I put in the distant trees behind the rocks and then I added a few pine trees on top and lastly I put the shadows onto the rocks.

In the middle area I put in the rock close to the shore and blocked in the outline of the boathouse.

Next I started on the foreground island by putting in the rocks.














I put the maple tree trunk and branches on the end of the island and then gradually added the leaves onto the branches.

On top of the rocks I put in the small bushes and growies followed by the fallen tree trunk on the end of the island.

Next I put in the ripples in the water and the reflections from the rocks.

Then I started to put in the pine tree trunk, but ran out of time when my friends arrived and I had to leave.

I will post this drawing at a later time when more work on it has been completed.

ACEO - Reflections 6

Today I wanted to work on a painting with reflections in the water.

Using alizarin crimson and new gamboge I put in a flat wash across the upper half of the painting and change to alizarin crimson with a little bit of French ultramarine blue into the lower half of the painting

While the paint was still damp I added more of the blue into the mix and put in some of the darker reflections into the lower area of the water.














As the paint was drying I added in a green mix of Antwerp blue and new gamboge allowing the background colour to show through.

With French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I painted in the rocks against the shoreline.

Using the brighter green, I put in some water ripples below the rocks.















Lastly, I used the rock colour to put in a few tree trunks and branches on the shore followed by their reflections in the water.

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.

On the Lawn - A Work in Progress

We leave the Knoepfli Inn later today after breakfast and taking down the art show.

While waiting for breakfast I sat on the front porch and did this sketch of a wooden barrel with petunias in it and the Canadian flag blowing in the wind, along with a log reindeer ornament.














I haven't decided what I will put in behind the lawn ornaments, if anything.

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

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

Scenes of Magnetawan

Today at the Knoepfli Inn, located at 5484 Highway #124 Magnetawan, Ontario, owner Bea Kolman was having a Meet the Artists Afternoon Tea from 2:00p.m. - 4:00p.m.

This is on the second to last day of the exhibition of "Scenes of Magnetawan" which opened on 22 June 2016.

Four of the seven artists will be in attendance for this event which will resume in the coming year with new artwork when the Inn reopens next year in May.

We had a number of people come out and hopefully this exhibition of art featuring scenes of the areas will grow in popularity.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Show Updates

I have updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group blog with a listing of shows some of the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work in during the month of October.

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

Calm and Rage I - A Work in Progress

Today I headed up to Magnetawan to spend a few days at the Knoepfli Inn with some of the KAGS Outdoor Painters' Group and enjoy the peaceful area beside the Magnetawan River and to do some sketches and perhaps do some painting.












Photograph courtesy of Lorraine Ryan.

Once we arrived and settled into our cabins I went and set myself up together with my friend and fellow artist Sheila Stanley, near the bottom end of the Knoepfli Rapids which start about 800' (243.8m) upstream down from the dam at Ahmic Lake.

There was a small section of water where the river splits slightly that does not have the rush of water, but is a calm and peaceful before once again joining with the rapids.













This is what I wanted to capture; the quiet reflections on the calm water of the far bank next to the raging torrent of the rapids on the other side of the rocky outcrop.

I did manage to get the movement of the turbulent water closer to me and hopefully will be able to show the differences.
















I will post this sketch at a later date once I add some pen and ink to show what attracted me to this spot.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

1st Annual Outdoor Painting Festival Cavan/Millbrook

Yesterday was day one of the 1st Annual Outdoor Painting Festival Cavan/Millbrook and we signed in and had our canvases stamped at the Cavan Art Gallery at 8:00a.m. in the morning before heading out to our first painting location.

The morning was cloudy and overcast with a cold breeze blowing.

As I set up by Needler's Mill just off Distillery Road in Millbrook near Needler's Pond it started to drizzle.

Since we couldn't prime the canvases with a base coat of acrylic before signing in that is what I had to do to my first canvas.

It started to rain a little harder and since it was getting wetter instead of being able to dry, I set it under the table out of the rain and primed a second canvas.

By this time my first canvas had dried and with alizarin crimson I blocked in the trunk and branches of the northern white cedar tree, the bench and the tops of the background trees.

Using mixes of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I put in the grey sky.

A darker mix of the same colours was used for the tree.

Raw Sienna, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna were used for the grasses and the grass in shadow beneath the tree.

Then I put a little bit of titanium white onto the bench for the high lit areas.

By this time with the amount of rain on the canvas I could not get a thicker layer of paint on the canvas so I decided that I would go for lunch and hope that the rain would slow down or stop.

When I returned it had gotten colder and the wind had picked up, but I wanted to do more on the painting and I lightened the sky with a little ultramarine blue and white.

Next I added mixes of raw sienna and Hansa yellow to the sky colour for the background trees, the grass areas and the grasses in the shadowed areas.

By this time my fingers were numb and it was time to go home and warm up. I would return early in the morning and continue to work on this painting.

I arrived around 7:00a.m., which was shortly after sunrise and set up in my spot on a picnic table.

With titanium white I added some highlights to the bench before starting on the foliage of the tree.

Next I put in a few markers of raw sienna and burnt sienna for the areas where the old growth was turning brown with age and a few of the new growth of bright green with a mix of Hansa yellow and cerulean blue.

Then I finished the bench before I ran out of time and then went back to the foliage of the cedar tree using various mixtures of raw sienna, burnt sienna, Hansa yellow, ultramarine blue and cerulean blue.

Although I didn't get the painting totally finished, but when considering the conditions of the first day, I am pleased with the results and I will post this painting again at a later date once it has been completed.