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
Category: Epiphany
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. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.32 I don’t know if the Cleveland Museum of Art recently had it restored, or if the photos just simply can’t do…… 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 was surprised to find this exercise result in some pretty neat little paintings. 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…… 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. See that bloom in the middle? I thought it looked like a bridge… so I made it a bridge.…… 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
Back Porch: #1-3
Joseph Zbukvic is my favorite watercolor artist right now. (I know – how original.) Because I admire his work so much, I watch a lot of videos of him painting whenever I find one on YouTube. I have heard him say a handful of times, “There are no bad subjects, only bad paintings.” I also…… Continue reading Back Porch: #1-3