This is the second post about the Proko Landscape Thumbnails challenge. The challenge was to submit five landscape paintings, each 2 inches wide by 2 inches tall. I started this painting off wanting to paint trees in the distance using wet-in-wet. I tend to do this often, but in my mind, there is this technique… Continue reading Proko Challenge: Landscape Thumbnails #2
Category: Epiphany
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
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
Great Tree Off Cantongawa: #1
I am trying more and more now to find my voice. I look online and see paintings that I admire, and I find myself trying to paint like them. But, I don’t find much success with Joseph Zbukvic’s silvery greys. I am never restrained enough to implement Alvaro Castagnet’s flare of colors. I can’t get… Continue reading Great Tree Off Cantongawa: #1
Ray Hendershot Exercise, Fieldstone Building: #1
Yet another successful painting from Ray Hendershot’s “Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors.” I was getting really down on myself recently because the paintings I was making were all turning out muddy and gross. This exercise helped me learn patience. The more I paint through this book, the more I learn about how to rely on… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise, Fieldstone Building: #1
Ray Hendershot Exercise, Clapboard Siding: #1
This weekend I decided I would take my own advice, and paint from the book. I decided to paint from one of the books that I have because trying to learn from my own failures has been pretty discouraging. I’m only about a quarter of the way through Ray Hendershot’s “Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors”… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise, Clapboard Siding: #1
Poplars at An Imagined Stream: #1
I have long been inspired by seeing Van Gogh’s “The Poplars at Saint-Rémy.” When you see photos of this painting, it looks almost drab, and lifeless. I don’t know if the Cleveland Museum of Art recently had it restored, or if the photos just simply can’t do it justice, but the painting in real life… Continue reading Poplars at An Imagined Stream: #1
Nimisila C-6: #12
This is my attempt to paint this scene from Dock C-6 at Nimisila Reservoir. If you are curious about my previous attempts… Attempts 1-4 are here. Attempts 5-7 are here. Attempts 8-9 are here. Attempts 10-11 are here. Number 12: OMG… I think I’m getting close. So I decided to try to follow the recipe… Continue reading Nimisila C-6: #12
Wave Crash
Ok … GUYS! I’m proud of this one. That means if you don’t like it, shut up. Because I’m fragile. Call me a snow flake, a wuss, whatever. I don’t care. I just know that I like this painting, and I almost never actually like my work. If you tell me why it sucks, I… Continue reading Wave Crash
Ray Hendershot Exercise: Birch Trees
Tonight, I painted the next exercise in Ray Hendershot’s book. I don’t know why Birch trees feel like a very trite subject to me – but they do. I think every painting of birch trees is essentially the same thing – masked off trunks with something colorful or dark behind them. I think Ray Hendershot… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise: Birch Trees
Caldwell Hillside: #1
I haven’t painted in a while, in large part because I haven’t felt inspired by the ideas in my head. There is a photo I have had in my recent photos that I’ve wanted to paint. The photo wasn’t great in terms of composition, but the memory of the scene was very strong. I remember… Continue reading Caldwell Hillside: #1
Backrun Exercises
I wanted to explore some exercises to learn more about how I might be able to control and use backruns. What is a Backrun? Call them what you want: blooms, blossoms, backruns, cauliflowers, it doesn’t matter, we are all talking about the same thing. (You could argue that a back run is different. Fine. Be… Continue reading Backrun Exercises
Cloudy Sky: #4
I decided to try that painting again. I was going to try some exercises with back runs, and water, but before I knew it I was painting. So… here it is. There are some things that I really like here, and some things I definitely want to do differently. But, I think I’m done with… Continue reading Cloudy Sky: #4
Rocks at Wooster Memorial Park
I took a walk in the Wooster Memorial Park after work one day this past summer looking for something to paint. As I wandered around the creek, I saw a rocky outcrop about twenty feet up a hillside. Just then, my daughters FaceTimed me, and I waved the phone around like an idiot, showing them… Continue reading Rocks at Wooster Memorial Park
Lowery Lake Exercise: #2
I painted a lake cottage from Arnold Lowrys book today. I think painting from a book is a good idea for beginners like me because you get to compare what you did to what a professional artist has done. You can do the same thing by trying to create a “forgery” of another artists work,… Continue reading Lowery Lake Exercise: #2
Downhill at Dawn: #3
I liked my painting on the 1/16th sheet enough that I decided to try the same thing on a half sheet. I’ve never painted a half sheet before, so this was a little new. The one thing I knew at the outset was that no matter what, I couldn’t let myself overwork it. I knew… Continue reading Downhill at Dawn: #3
Abandoned Shed: #1
I don’t have much motivation to write up on this one. Which is unfortunate because I liked it. But I did take one photo of the techniques I used. Basically, I painted one color. Then, while that was still wet, I dabbed pigment into it to get some variance. Once that dried, I then wetted… Continue reading Abandoned Shed: #1
Creek Bridge: #1
Tonight, the goal was to paint a creek, paying attention to perspective, and atmosphere. When I started, there was no bridge in my mind, but a bloom seemed to suggest one, so I went with it. I don’t have a reference sketch or photo for this one, I’m just kind of laying down layers and… Continue reading Creek Bridge: #1
Fall: #2
Before I start, I should say thank you to Liron Yankonsky for a Video he posted on YouTube recently. The study he did helped me a lot. I really focused on clean washes, and simple composition as a result of watching that video. I decided to paint another autumn tree today. This time I wanted… Continue reading Fall: #2
Zbukvic Farm: 1
Today, I decided to buck up, puff out my chest, and try a painting from Joseph Zbukvic’s Mastering Atmosphere and Mood in Watercolor: The Critical Ingredients that Turn Paintings into Art. This book is out of print, and the only used copies available for purchase cost several hundred dollars. So, I printed the book from… Continue reading Zbukvic Farm: 1