Young Pine Tree I - A Work in Progress

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Being in the warm house looking out the window across the front field it looks like we are having a wonderful, white Christmas with 6" (15.2cm) of snow covering the ground with a white blanket. From here you won't feel the cold 23F (-5C) weather with the wind chill making it feel like 6F (-14.4C).

While I sat at the kitchen table enjoying the view I saw one of the young pine trees that are growing along the north fence line and I decided to do this graphite pencil sketch of this snow covered Christmas tree.

I may add more detail at a later date and work it up into a pen and ink drawing, but now I have to get ready to go out to the family Christmas.

Pink Sky 7 - A Work in Progress

It is Christmas eve and I thought I would work on this little painting, which I started last year (see post on 26 December 2016).

Using a pencil, I lightly drew in the outline of the rock face in the foreground that would be touched by the sunlight and be lighter in colour.

This was followed by indicating the shoreline on the land in the background.

Next I indicated the tree trunks and the main branches of a couple of pine trees on the rock face.

Using a pale mix of Antwerp blue and raw sienna I painted in the trees on the far shore leaving the paper above the horizon line untouched.

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

Along the Shore 1-3 - Three Works in Progress

This morning I woke up 19F (-7C), with the wind chill making it feel like 8F (-13C) and add to that another 3" (7.6cm) of snow on top of everything we had received a couple of days ago.

To offset the cold I decided to work on these three paintings that I had started a number of years ago (see posts on 16 September 2013, 27 August 2016 and 16 January 2017).

Working on all three paintings at the same time, I started by putting the seagulls into the sky using a dark of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.















Along the Shore 1

Next I put in the blue of the water using various mixtures of Antwerp blue and raw sienna, leaving some areas of the paper white against the shoreline.

I added a small amount of French ultramarine blue to the water colour and added a few darker areas throughout the water to indicate waves.















Along the Shore 2

Using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, Antwerp blue, raw sienna, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I started adding layers of colour onto the distant islands on the horizon line.

Darkening the colours slightly I put in the closer islands.















Along the Shore 3

Lastly, I worked on the closer more detailed rock cliffs close to the beach.

I will post each of these paintings as they are completed.

Winter Buildings II - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to do some work on this drawing that I had started a number of years ago (see post on 04 November 2013).

I started working on the wind bent pine tree on the left side of the building and thickened the tree trunk, added a few more branches and some pine needles.

I found this building interesting in that the roof on the one side of the building extended further out and was lower than the back part of the building. 

The roof also, had a dip almost in the middle with both peaks higher on the ends.

The back part of the building was set back from the front part and it extended further out on the far side which, unless you walked around the building you wouldn't know.

I worked on the back part of the building and added the dip in the back part of the roof near the peak.

I will post this drawing at a later date once I have completed more of the building.

New Toys at Work

Ron finished fixing my newest toys, put them all back together and took them out today for a "test drive".















He started at the back of the house and cleared a path for me to get to the bird feeders making it easier for me to fill them without the risk of falling.















From there he cleared the way to the bird feeders at the front of the house and to the porch door.















He finished by clearing the snow on the way to the back of the barn to the far door leading to the hay mow, which makes my life a lot easier.

ACEO - Early Morning 1

Today we are supposed to have a high of 23F (-5C) and with the wind chill it will feel like 16F (-9C) which is a lot warmer than yesterday when I had no heat for most of the day.

We did however, have a beautiful sunrise and I thought I would finish this painting that I had started quite a while ago (see posts on 11 February 2013 and 22 July 2016), by adding some of the sky colours which were reflected onto the snow.

Next I painted in the tree trunks and fence rails with various mixes of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.















Lastly, I added in some of the grasses and growies at the base of the trees and some of the ones poking out of the snow.

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.