Double duty value

Loose portrait work, playing with value...this is basically done with two values, but with color changes.  The base washes were done with siennas and oranges and once they were dry the top washes were done much darker with sepias and purples to define the details of the face.

show shipping

I just found out that this painting was accepted to the Adirondack National Exhibition of American Watercolors in Old Forge New York at View Arts Center.  So framing, packing and shipping will be happening soon around these here parts..  She is titled "Burdened".

Red Hat

I've been practicing my portrait painting and decided to continue along my Vermeer tribute...this time painting the "girl with a red hat".  Learning from the masters....may some of their genius rub off!

Goldilocks spring

Finally it's starting to green up around here...it seems in the last several years we've been saying "oh everything is two weeks early"...or "wow we are so late this year in the garden"...but it seems this year we are right on time...a Goldilocks kind of spring.  My little tree tribute to everything popping up.

Scales

 

These two little sketches were done at our annual watercolor meeting.  The b&w photo was taken after painting the color one to double check values.  This was done with my phone and in the camera application you can convert to grayscale....pretty handy these tools we have available today..

Florals

Just a quick reminder as we head into May...I'll be teaching a 3 day floral workshop in Landgrove, Vermont June 12 - 14.  Come join me as we explore all the colors of florals and have fun painting posies.  Here is the link for the awesome Inn where we will be dropping pigment onto paper!

two steps

Hollyhocks in two steps...It is hard to stop and photograph along the way...Once I'm on a roll with a painting it is difficult (plus I forget) to stop and take pictures of my steps, but I will try harder.... here you can see how I build up the layers of negative painting to emphasize the foliage of the plant, especially in the lower left.

"Morning Stroll"

A more traditional looking rooster..by that I mean that the colors are more like ones found in nature and not "invented" like I sometimes do.  This fine fellow is 15"x11" and is out for his morning stroll to survey his vast estate!  Join me at the Vermont Art Event this July 22nd where I'll be teaching a 3 hour class titled "Birds of a feather"..and we will paint a portrait of one of these colorful crowers.

Fellow Dutchman

After a week off from my blog..here is my tribute to Rembrandt...trying in watercolors to imitate what he did with oils so many years ago.  Not really possible, but a fun project nonetheless.  The next step would be to set up a mirror in the studio and do a proper "selfie"....

#4

Here is the final installment in the lily series of works in progress...I guess this one could still be considered in progress, but at some point you have to put the brushes down and see if you like it..either like it enough to leave it, or like it enough to tweak it...in other words "step away from the painting" and assess.

third round

Here is stage 3 of the lily painting...you can see the changes, but they are more subtle...small tweaks as the painting nears it's completion. I often get asked the question, "When do you know it's done?"...for me personally it's when I start "picking" at the painting and adding blobs and bits that aren't helping the overall cause...so when I start "fussing"..it's time to put the brush away for a while and just live with the piece.

Stage 2

 The second stage in my lily painting.  Here I've worked with more of the background and started with the other blossoms and buds.  This piece was done with my new color palette and I am figuring out how the pigments interact and which ones I like and which ones I'm not too keen on...For those of you who have asked about the brand of paints on my new palette...I've updated my earlier post to list those.  Click on this link to go directly to that post.

let it mingle

Here is a start of one of my latest paintings..I have 3 more pictures in progress and I'll post those in sequence.  I start with a contour drawing without any shading or extra graphite...I've been known to roll a kneaded eraser over the paper to pick up extra graphite. Then I try to work with connected shapes and allow the watercolor to touch and mingle letting it do what it does best if we just let it!

Test run

I was asked to list my new palette colors from my post the other day, so here goes (starting top left): Permanent Yellow Lemon, Imidazolone Yellow, Cad. Yellow Dp (DV), Isoindolinone Yellow Dp , Brilliant Orange, Quinacridone Rust (MG), Vermillion (R), Pyrrole Red, Perylene Maroon, Pyrrole Rubin, Crimson Lake, Bright Rose, Quin. Violet, Permanent Violet, Horizon Blue, Turquoise Blue, Antwerp Blue (WN), Indanthrene Blue (DR), Anthraquinone Blue (MG), Indigo (WN), Bamboo Green, Shadow Green, Marine Blue, Viridian (S), Olive Green, Neutral Tint, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Imidazolone Brown, Gold Ochre (DV), Green Gold (DV), Naples Yellow (WN). I am currently playing with these colors and testing mix combinations etc...already drawing some conclusions, but it's too early to tell for sure...the above piece is my homage to Vermeer and a test run for the new palette. (All are Holbein unless otherwise indicated) ( DV DaVinci, S Sennelier, MG M.Graham, WN Winsor Newton, R Rembrandt, DR Daler Rowney)

New colors

I spent the better part of a day last week putting together a new to me palette.  I have my regular tried and true palette, but decided as a challenge and to spark some excitement to clean up a Holbein white plastic one and squeeze out colors that were all new and different for me from my vast collection of tubes.  I also divided the larger wells on this palette using glue from a glue gun to create a "dam" so I could fit in more colors!

Spiky leaves

 It's about that time for spring thoughts and tulip dreams...but alas dreams they must remain since we are going to get walloped by a Nor'Easter!  So I'll huddle in the studio and occasionally come out to shovel some heavy wet snow.  And in the meantime I'll focus on negative foliage painting like these spiky tulip leaves.

Schedule

I have the schedule for the classes that I'll be teaching at the Holbein Vermont Art Event this July.  It is as follows:  Tuesday 7/22 Birds of a Feather 8:30-11:30am (paint a colorful rooster), Wednesday 7/23 A Passion for Portraits 8:30-11:30am (paint a unique portrait), Thursday 7/24 The Many Shades of White 4:30-7:30pm (paint a predominantly white floral), Saturday 7/26 The Colors of Summer 9:00-12:00pm (floral composition).  Here is the link for their Facebook page..Hope to see you there!

measures

This will be my figure of the month painting.  For those of you who don't know...I have a sidebar on my blog where I post a monthly figure painting.  Sometimes I will post the painting here first...but not always.  Thanks as well to all of you who responded to my last post's question.  All valid suggestions.  My ongoing inspiration and/or jump start when I'm feeling a bit uninspired is to go to my figure session..it always sparks me to look and see in a new way..especially light and shadow and to measure, measure, measure!