A New [and Better] Look for the Seiner, and Other Little Bits and Pieces ...

I quite liked the softness of the background colors in this photo. My niece's boyfriend took it at Spanish Banks.

So, I started again - masking the ship, and washing and glazing with aureolin, phthalo blue, permanent rose and cobalt blue.

I did the mountains with a thin w/w glaze of indanthrone, and added some more cobalt clue to the water.

I wanted to compare the look of the two - liked the newer one MUCH better.

Started adding the shadows to the ship ...

... and some of the local color.

More of the same, and added the rigging. 

Then finally the net. I took this photo in early morning light, so it's quite washed out and very blue. My next step will be to do some subtle wave action in the foreground, hopefully leading the viewer's eye to the people, and mast with the netting.

I also intensified the darks around Jules' face. I wet the entire previously painted are, then drizzled in some black.

This is the next project [along with some ducklings, too]. This is Miss Sophia, one of the animals to be added to the huge painting of eight cats. 

My trainer took these photos last week - Bruno and I chuffing around in the back field.  He's got a nice long and  supple topline, is stepping under well with his hind legs, and has a lovely frothy mouth - all signs of a relaxed, happy camper.

I'm getting a lot of painting and drawing done, which is good, but only because I haven't been able to ride. Some nasty flu virus saw me coming, and decided to take up residence, so I've been laid low for several days. I haven't yet quite established a routine that organizes me, so that I have time for Bruno and for art, and somehow Bruno always wins out ... but I'm getting there.

Thank you so much for dropping  by!

A Nautical Painting ... the Basics Are Done

My drawing, with notes on format and direction of graded washes

The NAFCO - a seiner

A photo [taken by Clark Mishler] I found on the internet - loved the local mountains in the background, and the early morning soft colors.

Masked, with initial thin washes of aureolin and quin. rose.

Washes of a blue mixture - cobalt and phthalo blue.

Another wet-in-wet wash of pink ...

... and another of the blues.

Added the mountains with a mixture of indanthrone, aureolin and pink.

GONE! That huge blob of yellow masking was throwing off my eye as to color.

More dark blue washed onto the mountains on the right of the ship.

This is a gift for a friend - one of my sister's boyfriends. He is a manager at the Acura dealership in Langley. He very kindly found a car for me after the accident I had last October.  [My car was a write-off.] The car is a beauty, and was so reasonably priced. I know Gary likes realistic watercolor paintings, and my sister suggested I do one of his dad's fishing boat. I googled the ship's name and found some images, did some drawing, planned a color scheme, and here I am - about a third of the way through. I think the ship will be relatively easy- fussy, but easy.  It's the water that is going to take some thinking and planning.

That's it for now - thank you for dropping by!!

Narcissus: Emergence - a Step by Step Process ...

My model, growing in a patch by the riding ring.

My drawing [and value idea]

I masked out the flower, and applied a thin, graded wash of quin. gold, let it dry, then did a thin graded wash of phthalo blue.

Another, more intense wash of phthalo blue

The leaves done, using combinations of gold and blue. I didn't want them to overwhelm the painting, so they were done with thin washes.

I started the flower with w/w applications of aureolin in the trumpet and reflected onto some of the petals, and phthalo blue on the shadowed areas of the surrounding petals.  

I intensified the shadows on the petals so they were as close as I could get to the value of the surrounding sky. I wanted to create a lost-and-found look - have them seem to emerge from the paper. I added some shadows around the center of the trumpet with a pink/yellow/blue mixture, let it dry, then glazed with yellow and burnt orange to warm it up.

Some thin blue applied to the perimeter of the trumpet ...

... which you can see better in this close-up.

This is drawing of another narcissus I'd like to start soon. I'll paint this one with different techniques and colors.

Thank you so much for dropping by!!!

HAH!!! Another Process ... Rhododendron

My drawing with scribbled notes about how to handle the background [not that I listened!]

After masking the pistils and stamens, I started with very thin washes of aureolin for the leaves and some cool pink for the petals.

Some very thin and loose washes over the background using quin. gold and indanthrone.

Painted the leaves with mixtures of the gold and blue.

Again did the background wet-in-wet, to tone down the look of the leaves - they seemed to be overpowering the painting.

I still didn't like the background, so went over all with a thin wash of indanthrone.

Not liking the blue in the flower shadows, so I will glaze over with some fuschia.

I am here now, and not sure what more I need to do ... something is needed. I will play with the form shadows in the petals with some quin. fuschia, and probably give the leaves a bit more depth.

Thank you for visiting!!

The LAST Cat ... a Work in Progress

My sketch with some values indicated

Masked out two tiny highlights in the eyes, then did a wet/wet wash with aureolin and dropped in some orange. Started the nose and mouth with some black made of orange, violet and dark blue.

Added some pupils.

Some direct painting of the darkest areas on her face, and a thin wash of red-orange in her ears. 

An all-over wet wash of violet, made of quin. rose and indanthrone.

Then a wet wash of the black.

More glazing of the eyes - a thin burnt orange with a dark purply-brown dropped in to indicate shadows and roundness. At this point, I have done about five or six glazes on the eyes.

I had to borrow a photo from the internet, as the one sent to me as reference was almost unreadable. If I didn't know it was a cat beforehand, I wouldn't know what it was.

Another internet photo - this one for the eye color.

This was my first attempt using the photo the owner sent. UH ... NO!

More to come today. I feel I am back in a good place again, especially with painting. I have two others I am working on, and some good ideas for the dog portrait and the seiner fishing boat.

Thank you for dropping by!!!