Gathering dusk and AZ. rock

I liked the quick colorful way that the rock turned out. One of these days I'll trust myself to use BIG watercolor paper; I have 2 pads an 8" X 10" and a 12"X 14" but I keep "saving" them for something special...duh.

The other painting was again just a quick splash of paint on paper as the dusk was gathering, 10 minutes later the whole sky turned beautifully orange!

Another of the Rio Grande and a meadow

Here's the larger version of the eariler quick painting I did of the Rio Grande. The other one is just a quick painting of a meadow that I took the dogs for a walk in one morning.

Barn by Mancos, CO

Gosh the gaps in my postings are awful! I just haven't had Internet service! I know I can go into almost any library and post, I'm just lazy!

This was a barn that caught my eye off the side of the road. I loved the erratic fence posts and the yellow trees.

Spruce Cone

I picked this Spruce cone (pretty sure that's what it is) up this afternoon. Loved the curl of it and the blend of lights and darks in the seed sheaths. The photo came out really blue, I should have just re-shot it in the morning but it was done and I was tired, so here it is.

Up on the Rim of the Rio Grande looking down

I did this quick sketch one afternoon, sitting at the top of the trail leading down in to the gorge. Yep, took the hike down, not a problem, now the hike back up was a whole different story! Although this was quick and I didn't catch a lot of details, I was pleased with the feeling of depth that it captured. If you find yourself in Nothern New Mexico and have the time, a visit to the Wild Rivers BLM area is well worth it! It snowed the last day we were there after being in the 80's a few days eariler.

Down on the Rio Grande River

Spent the past 3 weeks on the Rio Grande River these are a couple of quick sketches that I did while we were there.

The first one was done with Tombow watercolor brushes. I forget sometime how different and fun they are to use! The second one was just a very small (maybe 3 X 5) impression to use for the larger one I did the next day. I haven't gotten to getting that one ready to post.

Plays of light and Shadow

I looked out the window one evening and loved the play of light off the golden grasses and the silver foliage as the sun was playing hide and seek through the gathering storm clouds. A few minutes after I finished painting this the storm started in earnest.

Impressionistic Aspens

One evening at sunset I went out to paint a bit and noticed that the Aspens were just starting to turn. Thought I'd try out a bit of scraping back the paint and a bit of wet in wet. Just quick and simple.

Another view of the Pit River

Spent another couple of days up at the Pit River. I thought I'd try another view using stronger colors this time. I really liked the purple for the deep shadows on the ground.

Will be traveling again today and I won't have inter net for a couple of days so won't be commenting on anyones art or posting anything but I will be painting.

Summer Storm Brewing

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth; but I haven't had inter net access for several weeks either.

I painted this early in the morning int he high plains desert of Eastern Oregon a few mornings ago. There was a summer storm moving in and the lighting cause the darkness on the hill in the foreground. The contrast with that against the bright green of the grass along the reservoir caught my attention.

Trumpet Vine and Shed in Vineyard

I've had stuff going on the past couple of weeks and just haven't seemed to be able to get out and paint like I would like to. I painted this Plein Aire this morning. I loved the rambunctious tumble of the vine over the roof of the shed.

Pit River

We spent one night camping on the Pit River in Northern California. The campground was small, 8 - 10 sites and primitive, no water available but one of the most picturesque campgrounds that I've been in.
I did a 2 page spread, the page on the left is an eddy that the main river creates where it divides off and runs down in 3 small waterfalls before it joins back up with the main flow; shown on the right page. Again my river appears to tip off toward the edge of the page; it doesn't in the actual painting, it has to do with the curl of the page and the crop.

I saw a River Otter pop his head up out in the eddy while I was sitting there painting.

I am going to try to get a little more consistent with my painting and posting in the future. But we'll see how that goes. I thought with traveling, I'd have all kinds of time to paint but I'm not finding that to be the case. Some of the best views that I see to paint are going by, out the window, at 55mph! May have to start practicing painting from memory more often.

His Majesty and a couple of the Girls

Don't know what it is about chickens that I find so cool but if they are around, I've got to spend time with them.

My friend, Dee has a flock and I gotten to spend some time getting acquainted with them. I loved the way the he came out, the Girls, well not so much...But a good time was had by all, so there ya go.

a sketch of Dee's garden

I helped my friend in her garden planting and mulching with straw. After we were finished working, I pulled out my paints and painted the scene. The rows all looked so neat and clean and I loved all the different colors and textures. I did run into a bit of a problem drawing the wheelbarrow but pressed on regardless LOL.

Old barn in Kettle Falls, WA

The sunlight bathing this old barn in soft colors drew me in. My perspective painting is getting a little better but after a short time, I can see where my lines are still off, although this barn was starting to bend just a little at the knees. There are so many barns and farm houses up here, just a delight for photographers and painters!

I'll be in a spot the has wifi for the next few days so hopefully can catch up on some of your blogs!

Lake Roosevelt

I did this sketch of Lake Roosevelt the other morning. My daughter and her family live up on the side of the hill above the third cove. An easy drive for a swim but not close enough to walk.

Rim Rock

Spent a few days in the high plains desert in Washington not too far from the Grand Coulee Dam. I find this area, although so totally different from the coastal range, incredibly beautiful. The horizon seems to be endless miles away. The skies were grey and cloudy while I was there so there wasn't a time when the light on the rocks was at the "OMG, how beautiful" stage, that I know it can be.

Again, I lost all the delicate greens and greys in the foreground. It's an ongoing frustration using my camera instead of a scanner. If I'd remember it at the time I'm painting, I could adjust for it but the painting came out pretty close to what I had in mind. I must admit, I tossed it off into the corner as a "no go" several times so it did come out a tad over worked.

Stuart Range

I painted this yesterday morning from the rest stop we were in. I couldn't get the balance in blue and greens in photoshop to balance the same as the real painting. The band of greenish "fog" is a soft blend of light blues and greens that reads much nicer in real life. The lighting on the mountains is nicer IRL too.

This range is the largest outcropping of granite in the U.S.

River by Copalis Beach, OR

ARRGH! My river slopes downhill! I think part of the problem is with using my camera instead of a scanner; the crop is never straight with the edges of the paper. It didn't look that sloped in the actual drawing. Anyway, I did enjoy painting it and will watch those bank lines closer in the future. That funny looking dark object over the water was a Blue Heron that flew by while I was painting.

Copalis Beach, OR

We've been traveling so I haven't had consistent Internet access to post or comment on posts lately. I painted this yesterday in the early morning. Painted quickly just trying to capture the essence of what I was seeing.

Memory's Home

I spent the last week in San Francisco with my Mom; when I got back my neighbors Rhododendron's and Lilac bush were all in full bloom. Yesterday morning I sat down to record the beauty. I did run into a bit of a problem with the shadow under the eve, I probably should have left out the vent but I liked the way it looked.

a couple of quick Plein Aire sketches

These were just a couple of quick paintings that I did Plein Aire a few days ago. The bear is one of a set of two that stand at the entrance to the old Highway 101 bridge across the Klamath river; the original bridge was washed out in a major flood in 1964, it's been closed off and left as a historical land mark. The flood not only washed out the bridge but the old town of Klamath which had been flooded and rebuilt in the 50's. After the '64 flood the town site was abandoned and since then a newer, smaller and much less interesting town has been built farther inland.

The painting of the cliffs I painted the same day, sitting on a high bluff overlooking the sea. I had started painting it and had gotten so frustrated with the greens and blues being the only colors that I just started slopping the purple around; I liked the result. The brown smudges in the ocean area are dog prints...as soon as I sit down they have to find out what I'm doing!

Lost World

I've been browsing around on wet canvas quite a bit of late and found an old link on pouring. It sparked an interest. We did a bit of pouring and using of salt and saran wrap, last year when I took a painting class from Jana. At the time, I was trying to learn more techniques for photo realistic painting. Of late, I've been trying to get away from such controlled and detailed painting, so the pouring on WC grabbed my interest.

In reality, I started out way too dark for a first pour but my "images" popped out and for me, were in the right places anyway, so it worked out fine. Looking at it last night I was going to paint on it to bring out what I see, but decided it would be more fun for the viewer to fine their own things...It was fun and did take me off in a different direction. I may try another one soon and see if I can "control" the out come a little more. Gawd! I get away from control, just to try and recapture it! LOL

Rock and Gulls

I liked the way the gull in front of the rock turned out, the one over the water, not so much. I'm not pleaded with the composition, was going to add another couple of rocks in the back ground but it had turned windy and cold so I finished the water and left... I have found that trying to add things later, even if the pigment is dark enough to cover, muddies up the painting, so here it stands.

The horizon line is straight in the painting, during the shooting and cropping things go askew...

More Practice Sketches

Here's more practice sketches; I'm going to try adding the url's for them but not entirely sure what order they will load in. I'd like some feed back on what I've done right, what I can improve and how. Thanks in advance.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=59366&cat=57

http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=24593&cat=55

http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=78777&cat=55

Practice people sketches 2

Here are another couple of practice sketches I did, again, using photos from the Image Reference Library on Wet Canvas. If I keep at it maybe one of these days I'll be able to "read" the important defining lines and get them down quickly enough to do "live" sketches and get at least fairly accurate representations of the people that I see around me. That's the plan anyway.

Great Blue

On a hike with the dogs the other morning, I looked across the water and spotted this Heron looking for something to eat...He stayed in the same position for long enough for me to quickly grab a sketch of him...

forgot to leave enough white of the paper to suggest waves...I need someone to follow me around and remind me of all these little details...LOL

practice people sketches 1

One of the things I want to learn to do is quick sketches of people. Today I spent a few minutes practicing sketching from some of the photos in the Image Reference Library at Wet Canvas. Was trying to work quickly, pull predominant lines and capture some of the shadows. I had a difficult time working with a pen. The gentleman in the lower left corner had dark skin but was closer in age to the other gentleman sitting with him than my sketch shows. Some of them came out better than others. Pushing out of the comfort zone, it's what's it's all about...

Just playin' with color

The idea here was to just stay as loose. I wanted to do something colorful but I didn't want a lot of detail. This didn't come out quite like the picture that I had in my mind but I did manage to stay fairly loose. I painted and I had fun, that's the important part, right?

Crooked Little House

We spent a couple of days at Harris Beach, Oregon. I went for a walk early one morning and did a this sketch. I took a lot of artistic liberties with this one, at least as far as the house is concerned...I am sure the owner would love to be the only one on the bluff and with his own private stairs to the beach. Instead his neighbor has the stairs and his house is in the second row back, it is also much larger than it is here, though. The landscape is pretty accurate and I enjoyed painting it, that's the important part.