Proko has a challenge going right now, and I decided I would try to enter. I hope I can finish in time. The challenge is to paint 5 thumbnail landscapes. They can be painted in any medium, but they must be 2” x 2” large. The biggest focus of the challenge is to learn how…… Continue reading Proko Challenge Landscape Thumbnails: #1
Edge of the Woods: #4
Two days ago, I wanted to Practice painting clouds. I painted this: I liked it in general, but felt like the bottoms of the clouds got over worked. So I tried again. I like this one more than the first, and decided to try to paint clouds again, with a more definite focus on the…… Continue reading Edge of the Woods: #4
Barn: #1
December is nuts. Thanksgiving, then three birthdays, then Christmas… it’s busy. And my favorite time of year. But that means I don’t have much time to dedicate to writing these posts. Tonight, I finished a painting I’m pretty proud of, so I figured I would post it. This is my attempt to put into practice…… Continue reading Barn: #1
Nimishillen Creek: #5
Here’s what I ended up with. I drive through Spiker Park three times a week, to take Norah to swim, or Winnie to dance. The West Branch of Nimishillen Creek goes through Spiker Park, and I drive over it on the way. Almost every time I do, I am struck by the strong contrast in…… Continue reading Nimishillen Creek: #5
Bluebirds & Random Drawings
I honestly don’t feel like writing about these, because I just typed a metric tonne about that Homer drawing. But I also want to publish these paintings, because I want to document my progress. I could have sworn I posted something about this, but I can’t find it. Oh well. Playing around with the baroque…… Continue reading Bluebirds & Random Drawings
Bargue Plate: Homer
It’s been a while! I haven’t posted recently because I got Covid, and I’ve been playing catch up ever since. If you are curious, read on. Skip ahead if you don’t care about Covid. TL/DR; Covid is real, and really dangerous for some people – but I’m fine and I never got terribly sick. My…… Continue reading Bargue Plate: Homer
Drawing Practice
I have decided to put a more concerted effort toward being a better draftsman, because of all the things I have tried, nothing has improved my paintings more than practicing drawing. I don’t know “how” to practice drawing. I have seen a thousand videos of people drawing. I’ve watched dozens of tutorials explaining perspective, edges,…… Continue reading Drawing Practice
Farm Road: End of Year 3
Well, I’ve been painting for three years now. It’s time for me to do my little progress check. When I first started painting, I decided to try to paint the same thing every day for one month. It was the first watercolor painting I had ever really tried, and I figured painting it over and…… Continue reading Farm Road: End of Year 3
Monarch Butterfly: #1
Well, I am often too hard on myself when it comes to my paintings, but today, I finished a painting that I am happy with. Actually, I am very happy with this painting. I’ll go so far as to say I’m proud of this painting. One of the things that I think makes this painting…… Continue reading Monarch Butterfly: #1
Lobelia Cardinalis: #1
This painting has been haunting my mind for years: “Quiet Memories” Oleg Kozak This is by Oleg Kozak, a Ukrainian watercolor artist who unfortunately passed away in November, 2017. This man had the ability to capture light in a way that I haven’t seen in many other painters. I decided to try to look deeper…… Continue reading Lobelia Cardinalis: #1
Nostalgia Blossom: #1
I have decided to take a brief two week hiatus from watercolor. I think a small break will help me bump past this plateau I’ve been stuck at for the past few months. In the meantime, I’ve been working on some other creative endeavors. I think by exploring other media, I’ll improve at watercolor by…… Continue reading Nostalgia Blossom: #1
Tufted Titmouse: #1
My friends Tyler and Shanti want a tufted Titmouse painting, so I went for it today. I didn’t bother taking any progress photos because I wanted to focus on the painting itself. I find that when I’m painting I get all worked up thinking about what am I going to write about on my blog…… Continue reading Tufted Titmouse: #1
Bluebird: #2
I have been feeling stuck in a bit of a plateau for a while now. I decided to take a break from painting for a bit because my lack of progress was troubling me. I then watched a video on YouTube that convinced me that I need to put more effort into understanding construction and…… Continue reading Bluebird: #2
Bluebird: #1
Ok. I have excuses. This is a painting of a bluebird. First things first: it’s awful. Ok. Fine. Now that the self defeatism is done with: what can I learn? Well, three big things jump out at me: 1. The composition is flat flat flat. I liked the effect I got with one of the…… Continue reading Bluebird: #1
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
The next painting in the series of bird paintings for my friends Tyler and Shanti is a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. I LOVE seeing this guy show up at my bird feeder, so I was pretty excited to paint him. One thing – in case you don’t know. The red-bellied woodpecker has a red head, yes. But…… Continue reading Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Barred Owl: #1-4
My friends Tyler and Shanti asked me to paint some pictures of birds for them. I agreed to do so, as long as they agreed to just tell me that the final paintings were good, regardless of their true quality. (Kidding, I didn’t make them agree to anything.) The first (largest) painting they wanted was…… Continue reading Barred Owl: #1-4
Ray Hendershot Exercise: Lighthouse #1
I have been absolutely stuck for the past few weeks. Every time I sit down to paint, nothing comes to mind. Nothing inspires me, I have no intention. But, just as an act of discipline, I paint anyway. The results are nothing to write about. It’s all very ugly, muddy, cliche… just nothing that I’m…… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise: Lighthouse #1
Crappie Weather: #1
I have been wanting to get out and go fishing for quite a long time, and this past weekend, I finally did. The ice has thawed, and they are letting Nimisilla fill with the ice melt. So, on Saturday, I dropped my kayak from the ceiling, loaded it on the car, and drove to the…… Continue reading Crappie Weather: #1
Self Portrait: #Something
This looks like a painting I would laugh at if I came across it in Magic: The Gathering. (Which I have never played, but want to.) The artist who painted this was clearly trying really hard, and clearly didn’t know where to start or what to omit, and as a result we have a sloppy…… Continue reading Self Portrait: #Something
Buttermilk Falls: #3
I hate this painting. No… I loathe this painting. This painting actually made me mad at it when I was finished last night, because I knew it was ruined as soon as I laid down the first wash in the sky. I kept going likes dummy, hoping it would somehow fix itself. It didn’t. I…… Continue reading Buttermilk Falls: #3