Monday, May 30, 2016

WHITE TIGER WOODBLOCK PRINT



I have been interested in woodblock prints for many years and still very much enjoy the ones in my collection that I purchased some time ago. So after doing a lot of research and practicing on a few scrap pieces of wood, I decided to try and create a woodblock print from scratch. The close up of a white tiger shown above is the result. There should be a bit more variation in the greys but I'm still not quite up to speed with the printing aspect so will have to experiment a bit more until I am able to complete a full print run. This one was the best of the few that I did but it is only on cheap photocopy paper so should get better results on proper printing paper. I'll document the whole process in the next post. Size is 5" x 6.5".

Sunday, May 22, 2016

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT


Spring brings it's surprises and early one morning I went down to the lake to find a pair of Double-crested Cormorants there. They had obviously spent the night at the lake so I quickly set up and began sketching and painting through my telescope. The bird that I concentrated on was sitting on a slightly submerged branch and with the mist gently floating over the surface of the water, was an irresistible subject. The morning sun added a wonderful element to the scene and I whiled away the time working in my sketchbook. After a few studies were completed, I began the painting seen here. Most of the painting was finished in the studio where I was able to more easily control the multiple washes of color on the paper. Size is 15" x 11", watercolor on Saunders paper.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

EVENING AT LAKE ANNA



An older painting that I'm thinking of doing a larger version of. The scene is at my local lake over in the reserve just as the sun goes down. I was captured by the orangeish evening light and the reflections in the water contrasting with the darker tones of the landscape. I find much enjoyment in trying to capture a quiet restful mood in scenes such as this. Size is 9" x 12", oil on canvas. Private collection.