Daily Painting - Prime Fruit
Prime Fruit
I thought I'd try an oil painting for a change. It's been a long time since I worked in oil. To me it's a whole different set of painting muscles then watercolor.The first one I tried was a wiper (a painting that you wipe off the canvas with turps). I think it will take a few more (like another 100 or so) before I'm comfortable with them again. When you say it out loud it sounds very daunting, but when I think about for a few minutes it's really not that bad. With daily painting, or close to it I can easily get to that number before the new year or there about. When I wasn't as discipline with my painting time this task would have taken me a year or two at least!
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 5 inches x 7 inches (canvas panel).
Medium: original oil
Matte: none
Availability: Click here to go to ebay auction (Till Jul 03, 201020:45:08 PDT)
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Lemon Coaster
Lemon Coaster
I don't know why, but the name "Lemon Coaster" came right to mind when I thought about what to call this one. I guess I still had yesterday's name on my mind (Cherry Ride).
Overall I'm pretty happy with this one except for the surface the plate is sitting on. I think my colors got a little muddy or maybe just a little too grayed. Either way I have some ideas on how I would approach this again, so I might do another arrangement on it soon.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches on (approximately) 3.5 inch x 4.5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: Click here to go to ebay auction (Till Jul 03, 201020:43:12 PDT)
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Cherry Ride
Cherry Ride
I painted this one free hand, no drawing first, just picked up my brush and started painting.Of course it helped I had just tried painting this set up right before hand. That one didn't turn out so well I wiped it off. You don't often hear of watercolor paintings get wiped off, it's really more of an oil painting thing. Take a little turp on a rag and presto your oil painting wipes right off the canvas. With watercolor it doesn't work out so well because the pigment stains the paper, but it still feels just as good to get rid of that bad painting. Painting like this is a real challenge. I found I had to think much more about where things were going to go and how much space they needed. Next time I do a painting without any drawing first I need to remind myself to slow down and think things through. Actually that's something good to remember for any painting.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches on (approximately) 3.5 inch x 4.5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: Click here to go to ebay auction (Till Jun 01, 201020:24:10 PDT)
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Musical Cups
Musical Cups
I called this one Musical Cups after the kids game musical chairs. See the apple in the front got caught without a cup when the music stopped. That's what I thought of when it came time to name this one.
This is actually my second attempt at this arrangement. The first one didn't fair so well. Though I did learn a few things that I applied on this one. I also changed my approach from the first one. With this one I used masking fluid to mask out the lightest values., After me first wash of mid values dried I applied another coat of making fluid over the next couple of lightest values and did one more darker wash. Once that dried I took off all of the masking fluid. I thought this would force me to do 2 things that went wrong with the first painting. I thought it would force me to keep my value range in check and not have the whole painting get too dark and It would force me to have more variety in the edges in masking fluid has a really hard edge. I did end up going in with more opaque paint towards the end to correct the apples and get the highlights on them. I don't think this approach was successful, but I do like the over all painting.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 10 inches x 8 inches on (approximately) 11 inch x 9 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: Click here to go to ebay auction (Till May 28, 201020:03:55 PDT)
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Orange Slice
Orange Slice
This is an orange I got from the farmers market. These aren't like the oranges you get in the store or at least not like the ones I get. The peals are a lot thinner and easier to peal off. They are much smaller in size and every slice has a seed in it. I ate this one after I painted it. It got a little warm under my lighting in the studio, but it was still very good.
I didn't really plan on the complimentary color scheme when I was setting this up. At the time I just liked the way it looked. Once I started painting it hit me and I really had a lot of fun with it. I had to be careful with my washes so they didn't bleed into each other and grey out the colors.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches on (approximately) 3.5 inch x 4.5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Catch Of The Day
Catch Of The Day
I called this one Catch Of The Day because these pelicans would sit in the water waiting for the fisherman on shore who was cleaning fish to throw his discards to them and they would catch it.It was a lot of fun to watch. I took a few photographs of the whole thing thinking it would make a good painting. This was painted from one of those photos.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 4 inches x 6 inches on (approximately) 5inch x 7 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: Click here to go to ebay auction (Till May 26, 201018:18:57 PDT)
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Cross Your Tea
Cross Your Tea
Sometimes it's fun to paint the insides of the fruit rather then just doing the outside. Besides the inside is usually more interesting.These aren't the same lemons as yesterday. This is one of the smaller ones from the grocery store.
Not a lot of time to blog tonight. I've got a few other thing to take care of. We've been working hard on our on-line presence and I hope to share all that my wife and I have been working on soon. In the mean time, I'm now listing on The Arts Map (http://www.theartsmap.com/index.php). It's a very cool page. If you haven't seen it, check it out!
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 2.5 inches x 3.5inches on (approximately) 3.5inch x 4.5inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - Lean On Me
Lean On Me
A couple of nice lemons from our local farmers market. These are so much larger then the ones we get at the grocery store and cheaper! We don't get to the farmers market as much as we would like to, it's about 40 minutes away from us, but my wife and I sure do enjoy the produce when we are able to go.
Painting wise, this was pretty straight forward. I started with the lightest yellows of the lemons. Once that had died I quickly laid in some color in the background trying to loosely create the pattern in paper they where laying on, Then I went in and painted the mid and dark values on the lemons and the shadows. This one came pretty close to just falling off the brush. An enjoyable change to the feeling some of my previous attempts from last week left me feeling.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 4 inches x 6 inches on (approximately) 5 inch x 7 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - Aransas Bay Dock
Aransas Bay Dock
Another one from Port Aransas (TX). All of the fishing boats where out when I took my reference photos of this building. I really liked the long shadows the sun was casting from the overhang on the roof and how they contrasted against the white of the building.
If I could have just one brush stroke back with this painting it would be the one that made that front most post. I started the stroke and then realized mid way through it that I didn't know where it was going to end. I had originally thought it would be in the back ground and just sort of end in the back ground trees, but I really wanted to tie it to the building in the foreground so I carried the stroke further down the paper. That's when I realized I didn't have any good spot to end the pole. I just can't look at this and shake my head. How I wish I had thought that though before hand because other then that silly pole I really liked this one.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 8 inches x 10 inches on (approximately) 9 inch x 11 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - Port Aransas (TX)
Port Aransas (TX)
This might have been too much to try to get into such a small painting, but it was fun to try! Mostly I was trying to get more into the sky and clouds. It's something I've really been trying to work on this week. That's very typical of the way I work. I pick out something that I want to work on, like skies, trees, water, anything that I think I need to improve my efforts on and then I try to paint it in as many situations as I can. I've noticed over the last few years that this exercise really has helped improve my paintings. It's a constant push to improve.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 3.5 inches x 2.5 inches on (approximately) 4.5 inch x 3.5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Yellow Texas Wild Flower
Yellow Texas Wild Flowers
One more of these yellow wild flowers we have blooming here right now.I don't know how much longer we are going to have them. The weather is starting to really warm up and it seems like summer if moving in quickly. I've been doing a few searches for what these are called and I think they are Coreopsis.
The flower is painted from life, in fact it's the one of the same ones I used a couple of days ago. The other flowers didn't make it to today. I made up the background, trying to keep it lighter then last time (my wife's suggestion). I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I used a little bit of white mixed into my watercolors to make a few opaque colors that I dried brushed over the transparent washes. Mostly in the lighter green bits.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 3.5 inches x 2.5 inches on (approximately) 4.5 inch x 3.5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Docked At Seadrift (TX)
Docked At Seadrift (TX)
I actually combined 2 different photo references I took to create this so don't go looking for where this is! The buildings are from Port Aransas, TX and the boats are from Seadrift, TX. It was fun to try, but I really had to pay attention to which reference I was looking at because the lighting was different in each one.
I chose this because I had a few ideas for approaching skies that I wanted to try out. I have felt that my skies where a little weak in some of my paintings and needed some work. I'm not sure that I got there with this piece, but you never do. It takes practice, lots and lots of practice. That's really one of the biggest advantages of painting daily. Everyday you get to practice!
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 6 inches x 4 inches on (approximately) 7 inch x 5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: Click here to go to ebay auction (Till May 19, 201018:51:50 PDT)
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - Wild Natives
Wild Natives
The wild flowers are still blooming here in Texas. Right now we have a lot of the yellow ones who's name I need to learn and these indian blankets. I picked a few of them to paint back at the studio. I thought this would be a good exercise to do since I want to paint a few others from some photographs I took. I can't wait to see what blooms next!
I used a fair amount of white with this one to make my watercolors more opaque and painted thick on thin. Where I could I used transparent colors, mostly in the dark values in the background. I wish I had captured the light a little better with this one. I feel the lights on the yellow pedals are not the correct value. Something to keep in mind with my next attempts.
When I showed this to my wife she commented that she would like to see them on a lighter background, so I think that's something I'm going to try to work into my next study. I think my flowers will keep for a little longer.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 6 inches x 4 inches on (approximately) 7 inch x 5 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - Market Strawberries
Market Strawberries
Some strawberries from the farmers market. I really liked the arrangement of these but fell short on the painting of them. I really struggled with getting the look of these correct. Sometimes it happens, no matter how hard I try I produce a stinker. It's a shame because these where some of the best strawberries I've ever had and I just couldn't paint them for anything. I"m not going to post this one on ebay. It's just not good enough in my opinion. If for some reason you really have to have it, let me know and we can work something out.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 8 inches x 10 inches on (approximately) 9 inch x 11 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: Available
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Onion Bunch
Onion Bunch
I wish I could say these came from our garden, but I can't. These came from the local farmer market. I do have a large batch of onions that we are trying to grow. They have a few weeks to go still so keep your fingers crossed. With any luck I'll have another batch to try some more paintings with.
One important note about this image. The photo is slightly cropped compared to the original. There's a little more room on the right side so that onion that's just kissing the edge is actually about about a 1/.2 inch from the edge. I could get this one to fit on my scanner correctly for some reason. I'll try to get a better image if I can and update this, but for now this is the way it is.
Onion Bunch
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 8 inches x 10 inches on (approximately) 9 inch x 11 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
One more pelican while I'm still having fun doing them. This is from the same batch of reference that I used for yesterdays painting. I wanted to try one with the bird on the water so I'd get some reflections.
This was one of the pelicans we watched a local fisherman throw his scrapes to while cleaning up the days catch. I took a lot of photos of them since I'd never seen that many pelicans in one area. This was one of the few I got of just a whole pelican that wasn't fighting for food. The whole thing was really fun to watch. The fisherman would throw what ever he didn't want from the fish he was cleaning into the air and what the seagulls didn't catch, the pelicans would get.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 3.5 inches x 5 inches on (approximately) 4.5 inch x 6 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Waiting For My Set
Waiting For My Set
When I look at this I think that bird must be looking out over the ocean just watching those waves roll in. Then I thought maybe he's a surfing bird and he's just waiting for his wave to come in. That's when I thought of the title. When I showed this to my wife she commented "How very timely". I hadn't thought about painting this because of the oil spill that's currently washing up on shore, not consciously anyway. I was just enjoying painting birds lately. This just happens to be from the Gulf Coast here in Texas. Hopefully it doesn't get hit too hard with the oil spill, it sure is a pretty place.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 3.5 inches x 5 inches on (approximately) 4.5 inch x 6 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - You Talking To Me?
You Talking To Me?
I don't know why but I can't help to think that if this seagull could talk he would have said "You talking to me?" when I took his picture.I know I mentioned this before, but I never really painted a lot of wild life before. I'm not sure why, it turns out it's a lot of fun to do! I really want to do some others now that I think I've got a good approach on how to do them. It's not that I've discovered some secret formula for painting birds, it's just that I'm more comfortable with doing them so I can approach them more relaxed then I use to. I noticed that if I'm tense when I paint I tend to me more timid with my colors and brush strokes. With watercolor this can be the kiss of death for your painting.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 3.5 inches x 5 inches on (approximately) 4.5 inch x 6 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Paintings - Sailor Wanter
Sailor Wanted
Just a lonely little sail boat sitting on Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day when we where there but I only saw one person out sailing. All of the other boats where docked, including this one out about 200 feet from the shore all by its self. I thought the slightly wider format worked well with this one.
Sailor Wanted
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 5 inches x 8 inches on (approximately) 6 inch x 9 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
Daily Painting - Splish Splash
Splish Splash
These are the water falls in Medicine Park Oklahoma. Right above the falls is one of the deeper parts of the river where you can swim.The day we went there a few kids where swimming and slashing each other. When I was trying to think of what to call this painting the old song "Splish splash I was taking a bath..." popped into my head and I liked the splish splash part. That pretty much solved the title question.
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 8 inches x 10 inches on (approximately) 9 inch x 11 inch paper.
Medium: original watercolor
Matte: none
Availability: SOLD
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.
