Thursday, March 28, 2019

Chrysler Farm - watercolor

watercolor, 2018
available, 11"x15"

      Milton's rusty old Chrysler hasn't run in 50 years.

      There's a fair amount of dry-brush on this one. I also used some thin acrylic gesso to wash out corners.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Peterson - watercolor

watercolor, 2018
available, 8"x10"

      I've never seen Peterson without a pipe in his mouth. Sometimes in the summer he would wear his overalls to church because he'd already put in a few hours of work and had to get right back at it after lunch.

      The reference photo for this is actually from a photograph taken as part of the Federal Art Project, which was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and 40s. I believe the photo is of a New England farmer taken in the early 1940s.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Castle Roche - watercolor

watercolor, 2018
available, 11"x15"

      Castle Roche is a 13th century castle in County Louth, Ireland. 

      Painting so many landscapes - especially of Ireland - has forced me to come to terms with my issues with green. I think I'm getting somewhere; at least, I'm seeing more natural greens. I'm especially happy with how the modeling worked out here showing the undulations of the ground. 

      The tree and some of the rocks are done with a technique often called dry-brush using paint almost directly from the tube with little or no water on the brush. This allows the normally transparent paint to be opaque so I can paint light over dark and build texture.