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Egret in Wetlands: acrylic painting
Read more: Egret in Wetlands: acrylic paintingRecently, I decided that a smartphone was not adequate for taking bird photos, so I decided to buy a DSLR (Canon) with an extender lens (until I can afford a real telephoto). I then became a bird stalker. Specifically, I began stalking one of the egrets who stays around a nearby marsh. Day by day,…
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Plein aire sunny day study: Garden Statue
Read more: Plein aire sunny day study: Garden StatueIt is a sunny day in Northern Michigan, so I decided to do a quick acrylic study of my friend’s garden statue. The daffodils are up; but my acrylics dried really too fast (even with a Stay-Wet palette). So, there were a few lumps in the paint in the end. But I love the garden…
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Plein Aire study: Birch Tree
Read more: Plein Aire study: Birch TreeI decided to paint a beautiful birch tree that is only a few feet from the beach at Lake Huron. This study was done in acrylics. The day was hazy and a bit grey, so the colors are quite different from the previous sunny day study. I used my usual palette for this painting.
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Learning to Paint Impressionism: Lilac blooms
Read more: Learning to Paint Impressionism: Lilac bloomsA few days ago, I set up a still life in my studio with a lilac sprig that I took from the bush outside. I wanted to paint my impressions of light and color, following the Hawthorne method as best as I could. Because of the late afternoon sun, there was a lot of golden…
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Painting Impressionism: color block study
Read more: Painting Impressionism: color block studyI have been reading an outstanding book by Lois Griffel, who follows the methods developed by Charles Hawthorne at the Cape Cod School of Art (where some of the outstanding American impressionistic painters have studied). She shares the importance of doing studies with color blocks, so here, I will share how to do a simple…
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Hope
Read more: HopeI decided to paint a friend of mine in a meadow (I love meadows, and am currently on a kick painting them), portraying the emotion Hope, which is what I am calling this painting. It represents the need to take time to look up, and see that there is hope during this time. This was…
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Boat on the Beach
Read more: Boat on the BeachI love the water, and boats, so I decided to do this painting of a boat at sunset. I went back to oils for this one; it is still wet, so the glare prevents the colors from being fully true (too much yellow in the highlights, etc.) As usual, I went with a fairly limited…
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An image of Hope
Read more: An image of HopeLast weekend, I was doing art jam with my friends, and this pen and ink picture came out. I had been dealing with some worry about the stay-at-home order, and this picture really comforted me; it is so true. I hope it blesses you, too!
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Quick Goose sketch
Read more: Quick Goose sketchI was visiting a friend on Lake Huron last week, and saw geese and seagulls everywhere; I did this very quick plein aire sketch of a gander watching over his mate while she fed. The white dots are seagulls in water. I had to do the sketch (in acrylics) in 5 minutes, because he was…
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World’s Strangest Looking White Flower
Read more: World’s Strangest Looking White FlowerI decided to give myself a challenge, and paint a white flower that really does look like this. Okay, some of you will think “Darn, that’s an ugly flower” (like my friend did), but it was a great painting challenge, with lots of lights and darks. I used a limited palette (titanium white, ultramarine blue,…
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Titmouse revisited
Read more: Titmouse revisitedSince I am learning acrylics now, after years of working in oils, I decided to re-paint my titmouse painting in acrylic. This was a fun project, and I learned some things about acrylics doing this. As usual, I used a limited palette (titanium white, hansa yellow, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, burnt umber and burnt sienna).…
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Trees in Winter
Read more: Trees in WinterBecause it is winter time, and there’s lots of snow on the ground, I decided to paint an acrylic picture of trees just as the snow has stopped and the sun is getting ready to come out. Trees in Winter, acrylic and sand collage, 2/24/20 painting As usual, I used a limited palette: yellow ochre,…