Painting Pink Lily's In Watercolor, Warm and Cool Colors

When you compare the previous posts studio.pjcookartist.com/2011/01/next-step-in-lily-flower-watercolor with this one you will notice that I have added more and more detail to the background and the flowers and buds. This is a large painting so it will take some time to complete large detailed areas.

As I am painting I keep in mind that I want the right side of the painting to be warmer than the left side. The light source is coming from the right and I want the painting to reflect that. I have worked with thalo blue and cobalt blue on the left side of the watercolor painting to keep it cool. The leaves with brighter yellow color is sap green. The warmer light of the sun is hitting them and I have accomplished that by having cool areas and warm areas in the painting.

Sketch For The Laughing Gulls Seascape Painting

This is the sketch of the laughing gulls that I did in the same size that the finished seascape painting will be when it is finished. I am painting these laughing gulls on a Ampersand board in 12" by 16".  I did this drawing of the birds the same size they will be on the board.

You can see where I started each bird with a basic oval shape for the body and another smaller oval for the head. From there I refined each bird, adding more detail while trying to keep the initial gesture or pose for each bird. The other important step is keeping the birds to scale. I want these shorebirds to be fairly accurate in my painting so I pay attention to all of the gulls features.

I have created distance by reducing the size of the birds as they recede in the scene. These are some of the preliminary steps that I take when planning a painting. If you take the time to do these steps the outcome of the painting should be better.

Starting Watch Hill Sunset with Carousel Oil Painting On Canvas

This is the start of an oil painting from Watch Hill, Rhode Island with the famous flying horse carousel. This is a large painting, the size is 40 inch by 40 inch. I started by painting this burnt sienna color right on the the large canvas, laying out the compostion. This also helps with the values or the light and dark areas of the painting. I want to keep this a warm painting with yellows, oranges, and brown colors throughout the entire painting. I will be showing my progress here on my blog so check back for the next step of the Watch Hill Carousel on the big canvas. Thanks

Image via Wikipedia

Painting Textures In Acrylic Paint Demonstrated In this Maine Shore Painting

Here is the finished acrylic painting of the Maine Shore. I used the texture techniques that I demonstrated in my previous post and you can see a closeup of that in the photo below. This painting had many textures from wood, rock, sand and grass. This painting is on a gallery wrap canvas thirty inches by thirty inches and is on display at the Artisans Harbor on Main Street in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Painted Cottage Furniture - Next Step In Painting A Beach Scene On A Corner Table

The next step in my painted cottage furniture project is to continue glazing thin layers of acrylic paint. Glazing is painting thin translucent layers of paint to build up depth in a painting. It can be done using oil, acrylic and watercolor paint. With acrylic paint it can be thinned with water or a glazing medium.

This decorative corner table has a crackled white finish and would look great in a beach cottage. I am adding more and more detail to the seascape painting as I paint each layer. Check back to see the finished painted cottage table.

Sketching the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT

This is my pencil sketch of the Florence Griswold Museum located in my hometown of Old Lyme, Connecticut. In the spring when the daffodils were in bloom I carried my chair and sketchpad to the front lawn of the museum and made the sketch shown here. The daffodils complemented the colorful yellow house with green shutters so I wanted to include the flowers in the drawing. I spent some time getting all the interesting details of the building. Recording these details would help when I started my painting at later date.

The museum has an interesting history, follow this link to read about the artist colony that started here in 1899 www.florencegriswoldmuseum.org/thestory.   Many famous artists spent time here including one of my favorites Child Hassam.

This week I will start a watercolor painting from the sketch I originally did this past spring. Check back to follow along as I start painting. After I complete this first watercolor I have plans to also paint the museum in oil on canvas.
Thanks, PJ