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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 […]
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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 […]
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Buttermilk Falls: #2
I bought the game Parks the other day, and was inspired by the artwork in the game. The cards contain images styled after the WPA posters for the National Parks that were created in the 1930’s. I was enamored by the designs and imagery, so I decided to try making something that fit into that […]
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Spiker Park Bridge: #1 & 2
I drive through a park on my way to drop off Norah at swim practice, and I pass the same park when I take Winne to dance class. After we cross a small bridge, I like to go straight where Rachel turns right. Every time I do, the girls tell me not to, because they […]
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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 […]
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Waterfall at Blackhand Gorge: #1
I took Norah, and Winnie out to Blackhand Gorge last weekend because I couldn’t work in the bathroom (the tile was setting.) I told them about the history of the Gorge, as I got it from Wikipedia. Before Europeans came to Ohio, there was a system of cliff ridges near the Licking River in Ohio […]
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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 […]
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Rocks by a Creek
I am waiting for some paper to stretch, so I figured, what the hell, why not try’s something I’ve never tried before? My brother told me that in Art School he once has to go outside and draw a picture, but he wasn’t allowed to use any conventional tools. He had charcoal, and paper, and […]
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Sometimes, you suck.
Wow. It’s hard to describe the extent of the feelings of defeat I’m having right now. I drove an hour and a half down to Blackhand Gorge State Park today to try some Plein air painting. Dear God, it didn’t go well. I hiked the trails and found an incredibly serene spot just off one […]
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The Ravine: #9
Oh boy… I went for it and painted a full sheet. I have never painted something this big before, so I was a little curious to see how it would go. It turned out that I really, really enjoyed painting this large size. It’s Father’s day today, so I wanted to paint my family. I […]
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The Ravine: #8
I really tried on this one. This is painted on the back of another painting, so I knew starting out that it was just going to be an exercise, but I really wanted to treat it like a keeper. I think I have a good recipe now for the final painting, which I’ll try on […]
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The Ravine: #7
I’m trying again to capture the memory of visiting the Ravine as a kid. There is something playful here which feels right. And I like that the tree back there is a defined focal point. One of the things I have struggled with is defining a focal point. As far as composition goes, this is […]
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Surowicz Rocks: 5.2-5.5
This is the final version of the painting from Rick Surowicz’s Podia Rocks and Water. I am genuinely proud of this painting, and very happy that I purchased this podia. The lessons I learned here are invaluable, and will easily apply to painting more than just this image. I seriously can’t recommend it enough. This […]
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Surowicz Rocks: 4.23-4.28
Here are my renditions of exercises 4.23-4.28 from Rick Surowicz’s podia Rocks and Water. There is a surprising amount to discuss regarding these exercises. Pedagogy I love the way Rick laid out these lessons. At first, I played with a full painting by doing value studies. Then, there’s a “wax on, wax off” moment where […]
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Surowicz Rocks: 4.21-4.22
This is exercises 4.21-4.22 from Rick Surowicz’s Podia Rocks and Water. It strikes me as I type this up that I might need to get Rick’s permission to post these. I’m going to post this, and then ask him-he’s responsive on Facebook. My concern about that is that someone might stumble on these and decide […]
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Surowicz Rocks: 4.12-4.19
This is an exercise from Rick Surowicz’s Podia Rocks and Water. In these exercises, the top row focuses on mixing warm and cool washes, the bottom focuses on those same color variations, but now the focus is on value. Lessons I learned: Stop Stabbing I didn’t notice until I was doing this that I have […]
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Surowicz Rocks: 4.3-4.10
Above are the mixing exercises from Rick Surowicz’s Podia Rocks and Water. These exercises are admittedly basic. So much so that I almost skipped them. But, I’m a student. I want to get better. And if I want to improve quickly, I should be a good student. That means I need to trust the pedagogy […]
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Surowicz Rocks: 3.4 – 3.5
After discussing a bit about composition and source selection, as well as materials, Rick Surowicz starts the lessons for this course by having you create a value study and a color study. I have never done a value study in watercolor before, I have always done them in pencil, so this was a big lesson […]
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Surowicz Rocks: #1 (Before)
I purchased an online workshop offered by Rick Surowicz, whose YouTube channel has been very helpful and inspirational to me as I try to learn to paint. Rick Surowicz’s Podia Rick Surowicz’s YouTube Channe Before I go through the workshop, I decided to give the painting a go, as a pre test. I want to […]
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Knifed Rocks Exercise: #1
After the exercise on painting rough water, Ron Hazell’s book provides instruction on painting rocks. He proposes two methods, one in which you glaze successively richer tones over the rocks, and a second where you knife out the highlights on the rocks. I have never found success with knifing, so I tried it here. This […]
