Idyllic

This will most likely be my last studio piece of 2013, and for the first time in a long time, I feel I am making progress and showing growth.  The sky turned out how I wanted.  The mountains, for the most part, as well.  I was able to layer colors down (successfully), one on top of the other, to give this painting a more complex  look and feel.

                        Watercolor on 140lbs watercolor block 9x12

A Sleigh Ride Together with You

It is a bit muddy in parts, but I finally achieved that "atmospheric" look I have been attempting to do.  Still need to work on a consistent and cohesive composition, but I like this quite a bit.

                            Watercolor on 140lbs watercolor block 9x12

The Long View

Another day, another quick sketch.  These sketches are good exercise for my brain; they help overcome the inertia of the blank page.  I can envision a day in the future that I carry this little book with me and do sketches as I wait for a lunch meeting to arrive, just needed 5 minutes to capture the world around me.

In this picture, I particularly like the how the water spots creating tiny points of interest.  I still need to use more paint but I am getting better.

                                   Watercolor and ink on paper 5.5x5.5

It is good to see the Pocket Palette getting so much use.  This picture shows to me that I do not organizing my mixing palette by warm/cool like most real artist do but randomly where ever there is available space.  I will need to add paint to the pans before I head out on vacation.

 

Does your cat play guitar?

End of year is always crazy and leaves very little time for painting or sketching.  But I have decided not to let that stop me.  I am trying to do a small sketch a day in my little moleskin travel watercolor book (look back tonight or tomorrow for the next one).  

This is a quick, rough sketch done without a pencil under drawing, so directly with my Faber-Castell XS pitt pen.  The goal was to work fast and I like the energy of this piece. I used a photo reference from an Entertainment Weekly article on the new movie Inside Llewyn Davis.  Either Llewyn or the cat plays folk guitar, not sure which.

                                  Watercolor and ink on paper 5.5x5.5

Final Hike of the Year -- Washington Valley Park

December is not going to be a very productive between end of year work, Christmas and (hopefully) vacation.  Even if I do get to paint on vacation, chances are I will not post them until January.  So, here is me beginning the month in earnest to keep the goal of four paintings per month.  

This tiny postcard was done on my final hike of the year in the various NJ parks I have recently rediscovered.  I had the overly ambitious idea of doing a series of postcards in the Fall but was only able to get this one done.  I am not completely satisfied with it, but it is a unique reminder of a great day.  As I continue on this journey of painting, I feel these little watercolors provide more vivid memories than digital photos ever could.

                             Pastel over Watercolor on 140lbs postcard paper 6x4