Today's Painting

My artist buddy, Leo came up today and we painted together in my new studio space. He did Watercolors and I did Acrylics ( shown here - 12"x16" ) from a photo reference I'd had. I think I'll title this, "FOREST RAYS". Last week, I hung a display at a local hospital ( 20 pieces ) and 2 have already sold, so I think I'll use this one to take up one of the missing spaces.

My original intent was to underpaint a portion of this with Acrylics, then lay Oils over the top. Once I got rolling, however, it just felt right to keep going with the Acrylics. At least now I won't have to wait and let it dry before hanging it.

"Days Gone By"

I had a large class scheduled at a "local"school ( local?-35 miles away ) today, but the weather is terrible and school closed early. So, we re-scheduled for next week. Therefore, I ended up with some unexpected "paintin' time", which is always a welcome opportunity.

Since I love to paint old barns, it wasn't hard to pick a subject. Initially, I had thought of a winter theme, but after looking out the window at the blizzard taking place, I reconsidered. The "greens" in this one let me escape for a couple of hours. lol

This was underpainted in an Acrylic "grisaille", followed by Oil glazes and opaque passages. ( similar to my Dvd techniques ) It's a great way to get extra detail when working wet-in-wet.

I'm a firm believer in having a strong focal point in a painting, so I tried to emphasize the corner of the barn where the light and shadowed sides meet. Making this spot brighter and more dominant brings the viewer's eye to that area and "into" the painting. The tree limb in the upper right helps to frame everything in, as well as lead the eye to the subject.

Maybe next time I'll do the "winter barn".

"January Afternoon" ( Watercolor )

Lately, I've been getting more and more requests for Watercolor classes. Though I've done a fair amount of those in the past, it seems like Oils are the more popular medium and have pretty much taken over. Personally, I love Watercolors too, so I've started scheduling some of those classes again.

Although it's not (and wasn't meant to be ) a "carbon copy" of such, it was definitely inspired by some of my recent snowshoeing hikes. I wanted to try and capture the crisp Winter air, along with the evergreens and birch trees.

The only 3 colors used for this were Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre. Careful mixing gave me every hue and value I needed. It doesn't get any simpler than that!

"Final Delivery"

I've been kicking around some ideas for possible painting projects for future classes. Although I've done some "old trucks" before, I liked the thought of an old delivery-type of vehicle.

Scenes from "yesterday" and bygone eras are always popular subject matter. Remember when............?

This one is titled, "FINAL DELIVERY" and will be a 6-hour workshop. The truck is underpainted with Burnt Sienna and Mars Black acrylic, over which oil glazes and highlights are applied. A little drybrushing really enhances the "rusty" texture.

On the Trail

Glenda and I went snowshoeing on Monday afternoon, since she had the day "off". ( MLK Day )

We'd had new powder since the last hike, so we were breaking new ground again. Whew!!

It's definitely a great experience to get out and enjoy Nature. We took a few photos along the way.

I had my class in Amsterdam, N.Y. yesterday. ( Tuesday ) It makes for a long day as it's more than a 3-hour drive down there. So, in short, I left at 6:30am and returned home at 6:30pm, with about half of that being "travel time". But, I have a great group of folks down there and they're fun to hang with. I have another class scheduled there next month.

Southwestern Scene

After talking with a longtime student last night, the topic of a "southwestern scene" was requested. It's been quite some time ( a few years ) since I've approached that sort of subject in class. So, I figured it was time to "resurrect" that idea. Here's what I came up with after doing a little "research" of Monument Valley. I've titled it, "ODE TO THE SOUTHWEST".

Busy Week

I haven't checked in since last Friday, as I've had a lot going on. Classes in Albany over the week-end, dropping off 20 pieces for an exhibit at a local hospital on Monday and another class on Tuesday. It's been extremely cold the past couple of days, with the highest daytime temperature around 4 degrees above zero. Looking at possibly 20 BELOW tonight! I did manage to get out on the snowshoes yesterday afternoon. Although I didn't take the camera this time, I did see a few painting ideas that I may eventually put down. Actually, I have a Watercolor in mind which was inspired by this hike.

Here are a couple more recent paintings. The landscape was done last night, and the "moonlit seascape" was just completed this afternoon with the thought that it may wind up being a class project. Very few colors in that one; Cobalt Blue, Ivory Black, Cadmium Yellow Pale and Titanium White. "Values" are pretty close in a night-time scene, so actual color becomes much less "true".