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Lily of the Valley III

Lily of the Valley III

In the post prior to this, Country Road, I mentioned that a painting had been sitting on my easel for months. This is that painting.

I find myself struggling at times with values, edges, and negative painting. I am also a major sufferer of overworking syndrome. I am guilty of all of these things, both with the struggles and overworking in this piece. However, it really did come out quite…

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Country Road

A few weeks ago, I decided to sit down and finish one painting that had been occupying my easel for months and move on to other pieces, if I could.

This is one of those new pieces that I found took no more than an hour to paint. It is about 5 inches x 10 inches and results from a scrap cut-off from a quarter sheet I had cut to a different size.

Country Road

The plan was to create a very…

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Pampas Alpaca

This is one I really enjoyed planning, drawing and painting. A bit more ethereal with the colors and quite happy with the result.

It all started with my notebook of inspiration, where I add clippings from magazines and newspapers to help get those creative juices flowing.

This was the source.

I just liked the background and wanted to do something like an older work of mine, Moonglow…

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Lessons from an Artist: Laurel Hart

Lessons from an Artist: Laurel Hart

There are many things that I don’t know how to do in painting. Progress is a slow beast, but it is steady and will get you as far as you want to go. It just takes a little nurturing. One source that I have recently found on Youtube is a series of watercolor demos/exercises in real time by accomplished fine artist Laurel Hart. She seems to be more of a colorist and a strong advocate of letting the…

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Getting to the Source: Liron Yanconsky

Getting to the Source: Liron Yanconsky

I have been steadily watching and learning and growing many different aspects of skill and general enjoyment in making various doodles, scribbles, and the occasional painting that helps me to recharge, reset, and just detoxify from all of the caustic aspects of life that tend to make me go a bit sour.

It is a whole movement that always has been, I believe, but is easier to see and partake in…

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Sketching Habits

I have spent the last few months trying to develop a better hand-eye-mind coordination to better transfer what I think things should look like to paper. The best example of this is on paper and here as excerpts from my sketchbook through time. I have been better with more regular practice, even when I was busy, as any good painting must start with good composition and proportions. Thus, if you…

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Coming Up

I am planning on some larger pieces that will be in future posts. I really want to experiment a bit with layering of different colors, and lost and found edges. Maybe another combination of India ink and watercolor. Or watercolor and pastel. Or Ink and wash. The list goes on.

Barebones, here are two sketches that I like as painting ideas. Soon I will transfer them using a light table. Building…

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Some more sketching

Here are a few sketches I have been working on in various sketchbooks. I want to try different things and try different media in practicing value and composition of shapes, as well as achieving interesting shapes.

This is an experiment in using contrast to enliven a topic. This goldfish was really fun to draw, and something that will turn into a painting in the future against a dark…

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Single Line Sketching

Today is something of an interesting exercise, one that one of my favorite artists employs regularly during her sketching exercises (Brenda Swenson – really talented and diligent – check her out)(no, she doesn’t know who I am, and I receive nothing from this blatant endorsement).

The single line doodle. Placing a pencil to paper and drawing something without ever lifting the tip from the…

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Trying Something New

This past weekend, I was traveling with my family and did not bring my palette along. I wanted to sketch more and learn how to render what I see differently using a method I will cover later. However, there was a set of soft pastels laying on the bookcase for a while, I had a little time and a fresh cuppa tea. We all know where this story leads.

In any event, I wanted to try some pastel…

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China Marker Waterfall

I have found myself experimenting more and more with a combination of materials to achieve certain effects in my paintings. I still am trying to develop a more well-rounded painting foundation before developing my style (stiff student right now). Here is something I tried to do as a form of wax-resist technique.

I wanted to paint a waterfall, with water sprays and such, but my masking fluid is…

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Beach Doggie

My sister really likes dogs. A lot.

She doesn’t get the responsibility of them, and I believe she is somewhat allergic to them, but she just wants a dog. So, I gave her one.

It was through an exercise of doing different sorts of things and rendering different kinds of subjects that I produced a Bernese Mountain Dog laying on a beach. It is based on an image I have from a magazine, but it…

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Yellow Trolley

I will be the first one to tell you, I have a fascination with public transportation. I love it. It lets you be independent, gets you from point A to point B. Sometimes requires a little creative thinking. My way to work every day involves 2 buses, a train and some walking. But I don’t mind. Usually have some music, an audiobook, and a cuppa something in my hand.

So, I know that there will be…

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Local Color - What is it?

Local Color – What is it?

As opposed to foreign color, I guess. But seriously, what is it?

When watching artists paint, I often find that they have created a wonderful image that includes contrast and just enough suggestion to let the mind fill in what the scene is. Or what the subject is. However, unless we look at hyperrealistic art, we find that the representation of the artist is not an exact replica in form,…

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Two Bicycles Ink and Wash - Part 2

Two Bicycles Ink and Wash – Part 2

This is the second one in this series, purely resulting from a watercolor basis. Here you can see two parts of the process, the very beginning and the very end. I was quite pleased with the initial gradated wash with some lifting of color, as you can see.

Then, I continued, with a little technique that I will cover in a future post. However, the final product is below.

Eventually, all of…

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India Ink

In the most recent Watercolor Artist magazine, there was an article written by Joe Cibere featuring his method of painting using a non-soluble ink as an underpainting. In this case, something like India Ink, which works. The artist states that he likes to start with the darkest darks of the painting and leaves the whites as the lightest. Then, all that you have to introduce are the middle values.

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Lavender Fields, Again

Every time I look at my palette, that Dioxizane Violet always catches my eye and begs to be used. It is a very strong color, so I end up having to build my subject and painting around it rather than just incorporating it here and there. You can see it in the painting of my chives in a pot earlier, but I find I use it most with lavender.

Here is another painting I based on a photo from a…