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.

A new Start - Cherry Blossoms revisited

This is a small study for a possible new commission.   It will be of the DC Cherry Blossoms near the Washington Monument.  The Cherry Trees line the tidal basin and some of the other areas around DC.  There are two small pagoda like monuments near the tidal basin and this is one of them with the monument in the back ground.  This is the very basic block-in of the initial colors.  I have not added the Cherry tree or any of the blossoms yet.  I just wanted to get the basic design in and the perspective on the foreground pagoda right.

Pine Cone Sketch

My eyes were bothering me after a day at the regular job, so tonight's post is a Pine Cone pencil sketch.  Just something easy and relaxing with no eye strain.