Thursday, August 25, 2016

Angie #31 sketch 2 - pencil

pencil, 2016
nfs, 8"x11"

      This is just another sketch for a painting based on a particular reference photo. I've been putting off starting the painting while doing some color testing as referenced a couple weeks ago. I'll get to the painting eventually.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Trade Street, Asheboro - watercolor

watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"

      There isn't much to say about this one. It's from a photo I took a couple years ago. Until recently I didn't think it had much to offer as a painting. I'm glad I proved myself wrong.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Pearl Earrings #1 - watercolor

watercolor, 2016
nfs, 7"x11"

      My favorite model again in what were her favorite earrings and one of my favorite outfits ;) This one is small because it was meant to be a color test to check a particular color combination for flesh tones. It worked so well - and I got so caught up in painting my wife - I ended up with a very polished, finished portrait. Not a bad couple hours.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Heddal Stave Church #1 - watercolor

watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"

      I guess I'm a glutton for punishment with all the angles and shapes on this church in Norway. But I couldn't pass it up for Virtual Paintout this month. Of course, there are things I'd modify - but only slightly. So, I'm pretty happy with this one, especially since I seem to have hit most of the British Impressionism buttons.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

41 Farm Truck - watercolor

watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"

      The fashion now is to restore old trucks especially, but some cars, as well, to good running condition but leave the exterior paint and rust alone for a "vintage" look. These usually are sprayed with a few coats of clear-coat to arrest any further rusting or paint loss. I wasn't aware this was a thing until I saw it done on one of those car restoration "reality" shows. I have to admit I like the look - and it makes for a lot of great subjects to paint. My only problem is that the clear-coat makes the rust shine, which looks odd because rust doesn't shine. At least, it doesn't have to shine on my paper. This one worked out nicely, though a little darker than I meant to go with it.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Angie #31 sketch - watercolor

watercolor, 2016
nfs, 9"x12"

      I'm trying a new technique that I've admired for years but never spent much time trying to figure out. It involves layering colors in what on the surface seems abstract. But each layer and each color adds to the development of the image. In a way, you could say that description is accurate for a lot of watercolor. But this method is different. If you isolated just the yellow ochre in this piece, it wouldn't look anything like a portrait; that follows for most of the other colors. I'll consider this one fairly successful, though it's obvious I used cheap paper. But it is a sketchy experiment.