Apple Tree Sketch

A little pencil sketch of an apple tree.  Enjoy some artistic variety as I continue to practice and experiment.

Dry Fly - Royal Wulff

This is the block-in of an experiment oil study of a Dry Fly Fishing Fly.  I have put in the basic colors and will add fur, fuzz, and texture to make it more realistic.

Sunset over the Bay - Sketch

Tonight I blocked in a sunset study of the sun setting over the Chesapeake Bay.  This is a small 5 x7 oil study.  I will need to add a lot more depth to the sky and the water.

Brook Trout - Watercolor Pencils

My Dad had hand and wrist surgery last week, so he won't be fishing for a bit.  I sent him to this Brook Trout as a Get Well card.   I used Watercolor pencils to lay out the colors and then I used a brush and water to blend and intensify the colors.  I used an ink pen to outline and add the necessary detail.  I figured he needed something to cheer him up until he can get back out there.

Day of the Dead Tradition

My honeymoon was in New Mexico, so the tradition in the house is to do Day of the Dead cards for Birthdays and Anniversaries with the Wife.  I did this card for her Birthday in July and I did not post it then.  I don't remember why but realized the oversight and posted it tonight.  So Happy Belated Birthday my Love!

Sunset Parachute Jump - Block-in

I have been in a little painting rut and I have not done much new.  So tonight I blocked-in this sunset study.  I will add some depth of color and then add some parachutists getting near to landing.

Pagoda, Washington Monument, and Cherry Blossoms

I worked on this today.  I started adding the blossoms to map out their positions.  I worked the background trees, monument and I started the water but the water will need a rework, as I am not happy with the colors and the angles on the reflections.

Live Oak Sketch

This is the Friday night sketch done with wine and pencils.  Seems a proper way to finish the week.  A simple sketch with a dark leaded pencil and a paper stump to blend the graphite.

Cypress Pine Sunset study

This is a block-in of a study of Cypress Pine tree at sunset.  This is not my design, but I wanted the challenge of trying to paint the variegated color sky and then the foliage colors.   I initially painted the colors too thick which impedes the ability to go at it in one application of paint so this will require follow-ups.  A lot of paints aren't finished so much as they are abandoned.

Prickly Pear Cactus - Sepia Ink

Tonight is a little different as variety is the spice of life.  This is not an original design, but I did this little sketch in sepia ink of Prickly Pear cactus with blossoms.

Cascading Water study finished up

I finished this up over the weekend.  I changed some of the water detail and worked on the water over the rocks and improved the rocks.  One more small study in the march towards 10,000 hours of work to get closer to mastery.  Though the nice challenge of art is you never really get mastery you are always challenging yourself to get better

Delicate Arch Milky Way Nocturne - Part 3

I worked on the Delicate Arch today by adding the detail to the Arch and by darkening the sky.

Delicate Arch with Milky Way Nocturne

I worked on this some today.  I will need to darken the sky more before adding stars to the Milky way sky.  I added some red to the sand stone.  I will need to go back and refine the darks and details on the sandstone but I like it so far.

Cherry Blossoms, Pagoda and Washington Monument Update

I worked on this last night but could not post it or paint more on it as we had a three hour power outage for no apparent reason.  No storms, no wind, nothing but power just out till after midnight.  I intend to completely block this in over the weekend so no canvas is exposed and then I can start the process of adjusting and adding detail and depth.

New Project - Cherry Blossom Pagoda and Washington Monument

This is the start of the new project, this is a 16 x 20 inch painting of the Cherry Blossoms at the tidal basin with the small Pagoda Monument with the tidal basin and the Washington Monument in the background.  O have just started and this was all I got done this evening.

Irises - Finished

This post gives you an idea of how I developed this painting from the basic block-in to the continuing refinement of the image.  This is more detailed than I normally paint but this is a more detailed subject.  I did this from a photo I got from another source, but the goal is to paint something like this from life.  That won't be possible until I get done with the current cubical monkey job.  I will continue to practice in the mean time.

Beech tree study - Part Two

This is one of the things I worked on this weekend.  I refined the details on the tree, the forest floor and added the small sapling to add the depth to this study.

Mountain Moose in colored pencil

Today is another experiment day.  I did this from a photo from out of a book.  The medium is colored pencil on tan paper.  If you ever see these beasts in the wild they are impressively huge, odd looking and dangerous if it is the rut.

Bighorn Sheep in Gouache

This was a little bit of an experiment in opaque watercolor or gouache on tan paper.  I dabble in watercolor sometimes for fun and a switch, but usually it is the transparent watercolor most people are familiar with from their childhood days.  The gouache is similar in some ways to oil but drys very fast and is good for a quick piece of art or an experiment.

Lodge Pool Pine tree - part 2

I am at a stage of wanting to finish up some of my starts of these small studies.  I modified the clouds and then I added details to the dead trees to add interest to the trunks and added branches.  I modified some of the foliage to try and make it more convincing.  I have been reading a philosophical book which encourages tinkering and making as many small mistakes as possible.  I thought that was an interesting corollary to the recommendation to artist to paint often and all the time to improve.

Pine Tree change

Some times when I come back to a study, I don't like what I see and it bores me.  So when I came back to this one I did not like the tree and thought the sky was a little boring.  So I changed both.  I added a little to the foreground and made some adjustments to the back ground.

Larch study - part 2

I worked on this over the weekend.  This is what I mean by adding depth.  I darkened the underside of the branches, highlighted the tops with an off white, tinted with yellow.  I redrew the branches and then I darkened the green beside the branches to push the background back.  I worked some color into the foreground and re-did the trees to the left side.

Irises - Part Three

I worked on the Irises again today.  The photos are in reserve order but you can see the progression.  I think one more session should finish them up.

Water over Rocks - Part 2

I worked on refining the study of water over rocks in a creek.  I have tried to add depth and texture to the water and to refine the rocks to give them a more structural, i.e. rocky look.  I will probably hit this one more time to get it set better.