Category: Successful Paintings
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Farm Road: #32 (2019)
I started painting with watercolors last year, toward the end of July, or in August. I painted a few very simple pictures, and did some exercises with learning how to put down a wash, but didnt start in earnest until I decided to paint this photo of a farm house on a road near Berlin,…
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Cliffs of Dover: #1
As Ive been working on drawing, Ive also been watching videos of tutorials. In one an artist recommended some drills to practice drawing, and followed it up with but dont spend more than 50% of your time on drills. With the other 50%, spend time drawing just for fun. I almost immediately smacked my forehead.…
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Zbukvic Farm: 1
Today, I decided to buck up, puff out my chest, and try a painting from Joseph Zbukvics Mastering Atmosphere and Mood in Watercolor: The Critical Ingredients that Turn Paintings into Art. This book is out of print, and the only used copies available for purchase cost several hundred dollars. So, I printed the book from…
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Beaver Creek: #1
This past weekend, Rachel took the girls to Pennsylvania to see their cousins, and I got a weekend to myself. Alone time is medicine to me. I decided to take advantage of the alone time, and tossed my easel, my inflateable kayak, a tent, a fishing pole, a blanket, a pillow, some left overs, and…
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Back Porch: #4
Im a glutton for punishment. I was curious to see what this painting would look like if I used packing tape as a frisket to paint the shadows and chair. So I repainted this chair on my back porch. To start, I sketched the drawing, again being careful to measure perspective. I wanted a lot…
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Harmony: #1
I wanted to paint something tonight that ushered a different emotion. So many of my paintings are landscapes at the golden hour, and they feel trite because they are often exercises or nostalgic memories. But memories go two ways. I have hurts and darkness in life, and its less than authentic for me to ignore…
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Lowery Two Color Exercise #1
A while ago, I bought Arnold Lowerys book Start to Paint with Watercolors. I read through the first forty-odd pages and tried to recreate some of what he talks about in those pages as simple drills a while ago, but didnt take on the first painting exercise until tonight. My first reaction is that this…
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Surowicz Abandoned: #1
This is my finished painting from Rick Surowiczs podia Abandoned. This podia was another very helpful course for me from Rick Surowicz. My final painting doesnt have the same sense of disarray that Rick captured in his painting because I focused much too tightly on the house when it came time to paint it in.…
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con-science: debating the flat earth
I have recently become pretty much addicted to watching videos of people attempting to debunk the Flat Earth idea. The more I found myself watching these videos, the more I started to wonder: Why do I enjoy watching these so much? Why do people actually believe that the Earth is flat? What would it take…
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Rocks in Stream: #1
For this painting, I wanted to try to capture the shine that can be seen on wet rocks, and the glare on ripples of water. I found a photo online that captured these elements, and tried to paint that photo. I didnt end up capturing the photo as well as I would have liked, and this…
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Rachel Flowers: #1
Rachel wanted me to paint her a picture of purple wildflowers. She sent me a bunch of photos from the Internet with pictures she liked, and we discussed what she liked about them. Then, I made a few very quick sketches of this in my sketchbook before painting. From that initial discussion I gathered that…
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Weir: #3
My friend is a big Grateful Dead fan, and when he saw the painting of Len, he asked if it was Bob Weir. He then posted a picture of Bob Weir, and I decided to paint a portrait of Bob for him. I did an initial value study, and a first-draft (in which the eyes…
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Len: #1
I wanted to do two things tonight: 1) Paint something from my mind. 2) Experiment with a looser style. I decided to try to paint a figure, because I need practice. Painting figures from a reference photo is a crutch of sorts, because I end up measuring and measuring again, and I learn more about…
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Grace Rose #1
My friend Linda asked for gift ideas for her Grandmother, Grace (who is?!) I offered to paint something, and she agreed to let me take a swing at a painting of a Peace Rose that Linda has in her yard from her Grandmother. I was intimidated by the photo for a few reasons: 1) I…
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Leaf: #4
I found a nice red leaf in the park yesterday. The snow is starting to fall, so I might have trouble finding leaves soon. I should have a few more tries though before they all turn brown. This one stood at an odd angle on the paper, which made the shadow difficult for me. I…
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Leaf: #3
So, today I went in search of a leaf with a little more color. Maybe its too late, I didnt find many maple leafs in my front yard with much color left, so I resorted to one that had at least a little bit of green left. Sketching this one was difficult because the…
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Leaf: #1
I wanted to try something photorealistic tonight. Since its fall, I figured Id try a leaf. I grabbed this one from the driveway because it was the first whole leaf I saw. I started by painting the shadow in moonglow. Then I painted the stem since itwas darkest I figured I could mess with color…
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Blue Hen Falls: #1
I tried a take on the Blue Hen Falls paintingRick Surowicz Watercolorposted a tutorial of. There are some things I like, and some I dont. I particularly like the rock in the foreground, and the water current in the lower left. I wanted some brush inthe mid ground, but it was too distracting, so I…
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