trees
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Monday, April 17th, 2017
Work in progress, Stellar’s Jays at Nimkish Lake, Vancouver Island BC, 18 x 24 inches watercolors on 140 lb. cold press. For years I’ve been visualizing a painting that portrays the Stellar’s Jay in various poses, representing general character. My Dad pointed out that Stellar’s Jays don’t usually group this way, which is an accurate view of the broader behaviour that didn’t even occur to me. Interesting! Phase 02 below and detail image – the yellow is masking medium:
Normally I don’t outline anything when starting a painting, which works fine with acrylics because it’s easy to change things throughout the process, but watercolors don’t allow for much room for error, especially if you don’t have much practice with them. Wingin’ it usually works for me because I don’t mind failure in exchange for experience, but mapping out the shapes and arrangement lightly in pencil really helps, and confidence is fundamental to painting well.
Smoky Lake Summer
Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
Smoky Lake Summer, 14H x 20W inches watercolors on 140 lb. cold pressed premium. 20H x26W inches approximate size framed. This is my favorite summertime memory of Alberta… miles of moving shadows across bright Canola fields and expansive, moody skies. The painting started off without the tree but needed a focal point. Detail images:
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Kaniksu National Forest
Tuesday, March 7th, 2017
Kaniksu National Forest, Idaho – 14 x 20 inches watercolors on 140 lb cold pressed. 20H x26W inches approximate size framed. Detail images:
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Clearcut, Tillimook OR
Monday, March 6th, 2017
Clearcut, Tillimook OR – 18H x 24W inches watercolors on 140 lb cold pressed premium. Framed size 27H x 33W with white mat, white wood frame with crackle finish. Detail images:
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Multnomah Falls, Oregon
Sunday, March 5th, 2017
Multnomah Falls, Oregon – 25H x 31W inches framed size, watercolors on 140 lb cold press premium. Dark sienna brown frame. The white of the falls was achieved by a quick, spontaneous application of matt resist medium, removed after the painting was dry.
Clearcut forest, Tillimook OR
Tuesday, February 28th, 2017
Clearcut 01 details, watercolors – work in progress details
Watercolor gestures
Monday, February 20th, 2017
Snow day, Poppy buds, Day Lily – 4 x 6 inch watercolor gestures, no longer than 30 minutes each.
Mt. Walker Rhododendrons
Friday, February 17th, 2017
Mt. Walker, WA wild Rhododendrons, 15H x 22W inches WC on 140 lb cold pressed premium. Details:
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Japanese Maple
Saturday, February 11th, 2017
Japanese Maple, 20W x 15H inches watercolors on 140 lb. cold pressed premium work in progress.
BlossoMania
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Blossomania, 12H x 16W inches oil pastels painted with oil blending and glazing medium on 80 lb acid free premium, white mat
I’ve been admiring the round masses clumped on the Plum tree branches in our neighbor’s back yard for a week or so now. Yesterday and today, pink swirls in the wind inspired this kooky poem
Petals are falling, the sky is blue
They cover everything, old and new
If I sit too long, I’ll be covered too!
Larger image shows the finished piece, 12H x 16W inches, which was cropped from the original size, left thumbnail, 18H x 24 inches. Blogging always reveals a different perspective. If I had not re-sized the original in order to post, I might never have recognized that the cropped portion has a more balanced composition…benefits of blogging!
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