Alaska Fjord Waterfall Pencil Study

I did this pencil sketch of an Alaskan Fjord Waterfall as a value study for a painting.  I wanted to do a basic layout and to try out the composition before committing to canvas and paint.

Colorado, Fall in the Foothills - Closer to the finish

I worked on the Fall in the Foothills today.  I added the start of the horses grazing in the Meadow, which is what attracted me to this scene.  It has been challenging for me to paint, as I have attempted this three times before getting to this which I am mostly happy with as a painting.  I feel like I need to adjust the cottonwood tree foliage and I will add some small detail to the horses to give them more structure and depth.

Sunset over the Bay - Finished

Tonight I finished Sunset over the Bay.  You can see the progression from Block-in to developing the atmosphere of the sky, water and the foliage.  I finished with toning down the water and adding the flying waterfowl.  The Chesapeake Bay is the major east coast of the US flyway and many ducks, geese, and swans over winter here as we are usually south of the freeze line.  The hall mark of fall is the chorus of honks and quacks of our visitors from the north.

Devil's Tower update

I worked on the Devil's Tower painting.  I had blocked in the tower wrong so I expanded it to make its proportions better and more realistic.  I changed the foreground to make it a better composition.  It will need some more work before it is finished.

Hand Sketch

A quick hand sketch with pencil.  I switched up from painting and trees for a little different work but still progress to the goal of improvement.

Happy Birthday James

Today would have been James's 30th Birthday.  This is a sketch from a photo from James' birthday in 2006 when we got him his Scuba lessons.  You are not forgotten.

Colorado, Fall in the Foothills - Progress

I worked on this over the weekend.  I reorganized the foreground and worked the edges to better represent the grass.  I greyed the middle ground shadows to push them back and I added the start of the foliage and branches to the trees.  Next I will add more foliage and I will block in the horses grazing in the meadow.