Value Study - Cup and Bottle

I enjoyed painting this small study very much.  I was really trying to be as accurate with the values and the drawing as I could.  I have much to learn!

Arrangements of Ginger Jar and small vessels

Two studies of a favourite ginger jar that I have.  The top one uses a palatte of Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Orange and white, while the bottom one is painted with Ivory Black and Titianium White. 

Value Studies - White Cups

For the dark value in this and the previous study I used burnt umber, which is a nice warm dark.  It is fast drying so don't leave it on your palatte over night or you will be like me and scraping it off  the next day.

Value Studdies

I'm continuing with my work emphasising values and improving my drawing.

Value Studies

A couple of more views of the same white cup.  I am realizing how important is brushwork and accuracy.  I also realise now how the loose brushwork and casual look of many of the paintings of artists that I so admire look that way because the artists have great drawing skills and the ability to make their works look simple and easy.  Behind that loose, easy facade is a firm, hard body of knowledge and technical skill.  Kudos to all those who have spent hours, and hours on learning how to render simple, true objects.
Thank you to readers of my blog who  have returned and continued to follow me after my hiatus through my internet troubles and through the busy holiday season when I didn't post for a while.  I was so happy to see a comment, I can't tell you.

Value Study Series - 2

This small white cup is a favourite of mine.  Marina and I were in New York State at a workshop given by Carol Marine, when we found these sweet little cups plus some other things to paint in one of the stores in the local mall in Greenville.  I have been using the cup in quite a few of my value studies exercises in the past couple of weeks.  I felt that the cup handle came out pretty well in this painting. I find that the handles are tricky to paint, to get the orientation right and the thickness of the various sections of the handle correct.

White Cup

It is great to be back on my blog again!  Ever since my email got hacked I have been experiencing lots of techical problems, including not being able to post any pictures to my blog.  I have been continuing to paint though, and have spent the past few weeks working through some exercises suggested by Liz Wiltzen, specifically painting value studies. It has been really useful, I have learned a lot and have enjoyed the process.

Lily Pond-October

On Barron Canyon Road are many beautiful spots along the way to Algonquin Park, and this is one of my favorites.  I have stopped here and painted several times and photographed the scene at many times of the year.

Late Afternoon, November

This has been an interesting week, I had my email hacked into and then received all sorts of phone calls from friends asking me if I needed money.  The hacker used my email address, changed the user name slightly and solicited money from people on the contact list from my email.  I hope no one has fallen for the scheme, and have recognized it was not me who wrote the request.  Now I have the challenging task of notifying people of my new email address.  Oh well, all in a day, in this techno world in which we live.
The sketch is from a trip up the Ottawa River a few weeks ago, I seemed not to have time to post it until tonight.  The light was extremely warm, as it was late in the day just before sunset.  It got really cold moments after the sunset and hot sweet tea brought by Marina was so appreciated.

Near Tofino

This is a much larger piece than I usually paint.  The inspiration was from a photograph that Marina took near Tofino this summer.   We decided to do the challenge of Gloria Zucaro this week, to paint in the style of a famous artist and since we both admire Lawren Harris we chose the same reference to see how we each would be influenced.  It was really fun to try to paint like you "think" somebody else would have done.  We both learned a lot and and had a wonderful afternoon.  To see Marina's painting of the same subject go to her website from the link of my blog list.

Toaster

And now for something completely different.  Shelly Ross suggested painting your toaster for this weeks Daily Paintworks Challenge.  It is a great idea, the really reflective surface of the metal was exciting to paint.  I was surprized when I looked at the toaster at all of things in the room I could see including the pink stripe on the corner which is me.

Birches at Crooked Slide

I painted this and had some trouble again with photographing.  When I have a lot of blue in the picture the camera seems to add even more blue to places where it really dosen't belong.  Despite the slight squew to blue the colours are fairly accurate.  I love painting the landscape in Ontario, it is so unbeliveably beautiful here.

East of Meath Hill

This sketch is from the same painting day as the Snake River sketch.  Marina and I drove down some back roads looking for interesting compositions.  It was the beautiful yellow poplars against the dark forest interior that caught our eye on this one.

Grey Day on the Snake River

This post has been a long time in coming, we have had a lot of cloudy weather and I have had difficulty in having enough sunny days to photograph my paintings.  I admire those painters who have solved their photographing difficulties and who consistently post great shots of their work on their blogs and Daily Paintworks and other internet sites.   Enough with the woes!  Marina and I went to the Snake River east of Pembroke and I very bravely drove our old Dodge Caravan down the railway line where the tracks had been lifted a few months ago.  We stood on the old railway bridge and got these great shots up and down the river.  It was a very atmospheric day, gloomy and haunting.  When it was time to leave Marina said to me where are you going to turn around, knowing there was no place I said I'm a great backerupper, and we backed up down the old railway line at least a half a mile. I know she was very glad when we finally reached the gravel sideroad. Another wonderful painting experience!

Dusk - Variation 1

This sketch like the one before it was painted very quickly from the photo that I took on the way home from Crooked Slide Park,  I really like the image and have enjoyed exploring different ways of portraying the sky and water at this time of day.  I would like to take more time and do several large paintings using the ideas from these sketches.

Dusk

The sun had gone down and Sue, Marina, and I were on the way to the Wilno Tavern on a Tuesday evening when we saw this beautiful sunset.  The sun was already below the hills and although the sky and water were still very bright the trees and land in the foreground were dark,dark, dark.We stopped and aahed, unable to paint anymore that day being cold and tired.  I took some photos to remind me of the scene with the intention of working up a sketch and maybe a larger painting during the winter.

On the way to Crooked Slide

Today my painting buddies Marina and Sue are on a workshop in South Carolina given by Ian Robarts.  I am missing them and am posting a small landscape I painted from a photo that I took when we all went to Crooked Slide Park together just after Thanksgiving.  I know that they are having a wonderful time out all day painting and learning valuable lessons from Ian.  Painting is such a joy, and to have friends to share this joy with is truly a blessing.

Grey Day, Petawawa

Sue and Marina and I went out painting again on Wednesday afternoon to Petawawa Point.  By the time I arrived the others had set up their easels in front of this ready made composition.  We had another terrific day together painting and critiquing each other.  Tomorrow we will all be back at our usual activiteis.  Until soon.

Crooked Slide

This has been a busy, busy month!  I was fortunate enough to meet Marina and our friend Sue from Toronto on Tuesday for an afternoon of pleine aire painting.  Marina drove us to Crooked Slide Park near Wilno where we spent the afternoon painting in the most glorious weather.  I managed to produce 3 sketches this one being my last and favorite one.

Maple Saplings

This week Ann Feldman posted a challenge to paint a fall theme.  This little painting is of  Red Maple saplings that grow inobtrusivly along roadways and woodlots and come into their glory for a few days in autumn.  What a joy to be out of doors on a beautiful fall afternoon painting - heaven on earth.

The Black River

Marina and I went on a reconnoitre to Quebec on Tuesday to the Black River where we are going on Saturday with a group of painters.   We wanted to see the lay of the land and get an idea of how long it would take to drive there etc.  After a 40 minute drive on a gravel road after we left the main highway near Waltham we arrived at the first open area where the Black River passes under a bridge.  It was a perfect fall day so we set up our easels and had a truly blissful time painting this view looking east down the river.

Anemones

This week challenge from Daily Paintworks was a value study using only four values.  Harder than you might think.  I picked some of my late blooming amemones and set up a still life in my shadow box.  The challenge was posted by Liz Wiltzen, a very talented painter from Western Canada.

Pigs

My entry for this weeks Daily Paintworks Challenge,

Corn Field at Smith's Farm

Marina and I out painting again on another cloudy day. The field to the right is a corn field full of glorious ripe corn cobs. The abundance we have in this country is in direct opposition to those who unfortunately live in areas of drought and starvation. It doesn't seem right for us to have so much and so much of the world to have so little. Thanks to David and Carol Marine for their efforts to help artists to help others in times of need. This painting will be posted on the Daily Paintworks Challenge page and if it is sold the money will be given to a charitable organization who can use the money to help those in need in Africa.

The Ottawa River at Jennings Road

This was a very moody cloudy afternoon when Marina and I painted this scene. We had plans to go to this location for nearly a year but never made it until last week. We both had a great time and discovered the benefits of painting when it is cloudy. The landscape stayed the same for the whole time, there were no moving shadows, and no changing light. What a treat for landscape painting.