Boat On River Lesson 14

After adding another very faint wash to the background water (it seemed too disjointed before), and a few little touches here and there, like the very tiny line of shadow under the right edge of the boat where it meets the water, well,…I am happy. I think this little piece is complete.

If you enjoyed this lesson, please let me know by posting a comment. f you would like to paint along with this lesson, go to my etsy online shop and click on the Online Class icon. For $5.00 I will send you the reference photos and the prepared drawing in a pdf file format via email. Then, you can paint along each day as I describe with photos and journaling, how to paint this little picture.You can go the older posts, print them off and use them as a workbook.

A new lesson will be posted soon. Become a Follower and you won’t miss the new things coming up!
Thanks so much for visiting.

You can see my work at the Art & Antique Studio Gallery in the Eau Gallie Arts District (EGAD) in Melbourne, Florida.

Lunch Line

This is my newest painting, which I call “Lunch Line”. These birds were all lined up on a board walk near the marina here in Melbourne. I couldn’t resist painting them. I really liked the rhythms and patterns of the birds, the shadow of the railing and the ripples in the water. It was also fun to create the soft textures in the birds and to try to give each one a little personality.

We matted and framed the piece with a wooden frame that is very complimentary to the wood in the dock and palm trees. The overall dimensions with the frame measures 36 inches tall and 28 inches wide.  Let me know what you think!

 

A new lesson will be posted soon. I was in Michigan for a two week vacation, so I am just now catching up. I have a lesson painted, and photographed, but I need to work on the descriptions. Stay tuned and you can paint along as we work on some “Sunlit Coconuts”.

To see more of my work, please visit my website and my etsy shop.

Flamingos Lesson 11

Now it is time to start to tie it all together!

I have used a mixture of Sap Green and Quinicridone Gold to glaze over some areas of the water. Near the foreground left, I used Olive Green and VanDyke Brown and Permanent Alizarin Crimson in the foreground right.

I used some of the Quin Gold on the orange areas of the flamingos, as well as on the branches on the right.
I used a very wet mixture of Olive Green and Quin Gold to glaze over the leaves and the entire background. I want to be sure they aren’t too detailed and compete with my true focal point.

Flamingos Lesson 5

Using very wet paint, and softened edges, I applied some French Ultramarine Blue to create some of the areas where I want to have some darker values. Even though I am starting to build darker values, the paint application is very wet.

In this detail you can see where I have washed over the green line that I painted in earlier. Each wash glaze will soften the edges of the previous wash, and, if kept transparent, the glazes will build rich, intense, colors.

Palm Tree on Indian River Lesson 9

The final painting.

This was a fun piece. I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned as I will be posting a new lesson soon! If you would like to work along with a lesson that was posted in the past please email me. Let me know which lesson, then you can order the reference materials via my etsy shop.

 

Thanks for visiting!

Palm Tree on Indian River Lesson 8

Now I will work on the clouds!

I used a very clean, wet, number six round brush with very soft bristles. Making a small circular motion, I lifted and softened the edges with a very light touch. I used a paper towel to gently lift the wetted area. I used the same technique, only with more pressure, to lift the whiter, lighter areas of the clouds. When working on this section, note that clouds have a light and dark side, especially if they are somewhat thick and billowy. The edges should be rounded, soft and irregular. Let the painting lead you.
Don’t overwork this stage, just stand back and see where you think the cloud should be lighter, here and there. If you have clouds in the sky today, take a close look at them. Notice where the lights and shadows are. Notice how the shapes look. Clouds are very forgiving and fun to paint because you can make them up as you go.

When this is dry, mix a tiny bit of French Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna in wash that is about 90 percent water and 10 percent (or less) pigment. With your number six round brush, apply a tiny bit of this mixture to shadow areas of the cloud and immediately clean your brush and soften the edges of the wash with a damp, not wet, brush. Be careful not to apply shadows that are too dark or too uniform. Clouds don’t really have sharp edges, so to make yours believable, you have to have subtle edges, shapes and values.

Evaluate your work.

Hold it up in a mirror to see it with a fresh eye. If you have overworked any areas you can do some softening and lifting. During my evaluation of this painting, I felt that I had over worked the foreground, which took away from what I wanted to be my focal point (the boats and palm tree). I mixed a very wet, pale wash of Sap Green and Burnt Sienna and washed it over the foreground, making sure I used very little pressure on my brush and not stroking the area more than once. I used a number 16 round brush to keep from over working and blending too much. I liked the softening effect this had on the area. I still had some texture and value changes, but it was less focused and thus brought the eye back to the palm tree.

Palm Tree on Indian River Lesson 6

I have used a Masking Fluid Pickup to remove all the masking. This tool is wonderful! It quickly and cleanly removes all of the masking without smearing or smudging your painting. You can purchase this tool at most art supplies stores, and also online at CheapJoes.com.

 

 

Using French Ultramarine Blue I have added some shadows to my palm tree trunk, and to the boats and bridge. Even though we are not painting the minute details of the bridge, the direction and value of the painting in the shadow areas is very important. Notice the little angle of the shadow on the pillars under the bridge. Also notice that the shadow directly under the roadway is a different value than the pillar shadows.

Use care when applying the shadows to the boats also. I try to pay attention to value (lightness and darkness) and shape. It helps to squint at your reference photo to see the values and shapes. When these elements are given attention, even a single, tiny brushstroke will make your element believable.

 

Palm Tree on Indian River Lesson 5

At this stage, if the masking is completely dry, I can begin to apply more green values to my palm tree and to the foreground. Some colors used were Hookers Green, Quinicridone Gold, New Gamboge and Earthen Green. Because I have used the masking, I can work very wet dropping in a variety of colors and allowing them to flow and intermingle. I dry the work with a hair dryer on the cool setting (to prevent the masking from baking into the grains of the paper). Then I mask areas where I want to save this stage of greens, golds and browns.

I continue with the masking and wash process until I am happy with the value range. Mask, dry, paint, dry, and repeat. For the final values on the green areas I used Perylene Green and VanDyke Brown. With a number 6 round brush, I added soft brush strokes to the very darkest, shadowy areas.
Finally, I added some Earthen Green to the tree line in the background. While this application was still moist, I softened the edge of the tree line with a clean, damp brush to take away the crispness. I want a soft edge along this area so that it appears that the atmosphere is softening the elements that are far away. Dry thoroughly.

Palm Tree in Watercolor Blog Class

For those of you who may like to paint along with my blog, this piece, Palm Tree On Indian River, will be posted this weekend. For $5 you will receive the photo reference and the drawing via email. You can then follow along as we paint this picture together. The focus is going to be on how to do masking, and a short lesson on clouds.
To order your references, visit my etsy shop and choose the online class icon. Hope you can join us.
My Etsy Shop: http://watercolorgirl.etsy.com

River Scene In Watercolor No.5

Here I have used some Burnt Sienna, Quinicridone Gold and some of the green mud on my palette to work along the bank of the river, add the lily pad shadows (not the pad’s details) and to add a little more textured glazing in the water.

Using Perylene Green and Hooker’s Green, I have added more detail work to the lily pads, the bank, the trees and the reflections in the water. At this stage, I also decided that the first application of French Ultramarine Blue in the trees was a bit overwhelming, so I used a synthetic brush to moisten and lift
(also using a paper towel to gently lift off the excess color). This softened and lightened the blue so that it is not so heavy and will be more transparent for subsequent layers.

To see the previous steps to this painting, please visit my last few postings.