ARCH IN ITALY, PART 1

 

  I started this drawing after coming back from our trip to Italy a few years ago. Quite a bit later, I transferred the image to a larger sheet of watercolor paper intending to complete a painting of the scene. Well, the work sat around in my studio for quite some time until I decided to finally begin painting. Hopefully this time around, I will be able to continue working on it until it's finished.

WINTER MARSH II

 

This small cattail marsh is just across the way from where we are staying and I often spend time walking around observing the many birds, animals and insects using this area. Now that it is winter, most of the birds have migrated and for many days, the water is frozen over. Still the place retains it's special charm so that one evening after the sun had set, I looked across at the pines and marveled at the contrast between them and the sky which had taken on a purplish hue. The cattails were lighter accents in the foreground but I kept them subdued so that they only filled that section of the painting and didn't distract from the tree/sky relationship. Size is 10 x 8 inches, acrylic on board.

LATE FEBUARY

 

When we lived at our old house, we would walk most evenings to a nearby hill and watch the sunset. Sometimes I would do quick sketches and small watercolors trying to capture what I saw. The sky and mood changed so quickly, I often had only a very short time to get anything down. The painting shown here was one such an evening as a few minutes later, almost all of the color had faded from the sky. With what I had seen firmly in my memory, I later did a smaller study of the scene when I got back to the studio then modified it a little for this larger painting. Attention is drawn to the farmhouse by the single light shown in one of the windows but I was careful to keep this subtle. Size is 12 x 9 inches, acrylic on canvas.

OLD BOTTLE

 

I found this bottle on one of my walks and decided it was interesting enough to try painting it. The glass is actually a very deep orange so over a dark purplish background, I started with some cadmium orange modified with burnt umber and a touch of black to lay in most of the bottle's shape. I then added highlights - the label was the most difficult and I had to let the off-white dry before adding any of the final details. I do plan on keeping this bottle as I'm sure that I will do more paintings of it! Size is 10 x 8 inches, oil on panel.

MOUNTAIN SHADOWS

 

I am still exploring ideas using mountains as a main theme hoping to recreate some of the scenes I saw in Alaska. Like so many of my experimental works, I kept this one small and concentrated on heavy side lighting that meant most of the mountainside was in shadow. I completely repainted the darker bluish parts of this painting twice as I wasn't happy with the contrast between these areas and the lighter rocks that were in sunlight. I think I got there in the end though. Size is 7 x 5 inches, acrylic on panel.

SUGAR FACTORY NOCTURNE

 

I painted this small acrylic nocturne while looking over the boat marina next to where we were staying in Baltimore. I liked the way the lights of the huge Domino Sugars sign was reflected in the water along with the dimmer factory lights below. Various other lights appear amongst the boats giving a little more life to the work - I spent many happy hours out there observing and painting scenes like this. Never thought I would enjoy living in a city like this! Size is 5 x 7 inches, acrylic on board.

CRAB BASKETS, PART 4

 

After completing the rest of the basket lids, I completely repainted the background as I wanted it to be slightly darker and a little more uniform. When all the paint had dried for a couple of days, I began selectively darkening some areas and cleaning up a few more details here and there. Some of the shadows were also darkened in an attempt to bring the painting together as a whole. I think that I am mostly finished with this one for now but will as usual, put it aside for a bit then take another look and see if there is anything more I want to do to it. Size is 27 x 27 inches (69 x 69 cm). Oil on board.