Beach Runners - Watercolor Painting of Sandpipers Running On the Sand

This is a painting I did of some little sandpipers that were at a beach on Long Island Sound. I watched these birds scurrying on the sand at the waters edge. I did a few sketches and took photos and painted this watercolor in my studio. This painting is 15"x 29" overall and is framed in a whitewashed frame that compliments the painting nicely. This first photo above is a closeup of the painting. I used a nice bright blue for the water and added texture to the sand. I painted the birds realistically and showed them in different running positions.
With the long horizontal format of the painting I was able to include several of the birds. The painting is double matted in acid free mat board and comes with a off white/biege driftwood like frame. Price: $450. Contact me with any questions about the painting or purchasing the painting. Thanks, PJ

Creating textures in watercolor

My class wanted to work on textures so this weeks lesson was how to create various textures in watercolor. The brick wall above is easily achieved by varying the color of each brick and using a light grey wash for the mortar between the bricks. An important step is putting a shadow under each brick. I used a shadow on the left and bottom of each brick for the light coming from the upper right of the picture. I used cobalt blue for the shadow color. Brick comes in different colors, just look around and notice all the different shades there are of brick. Add detail with dry brush and smaller detail with a small round brush. One of the members of the class stated " this is fun!" while painting her wall. I have always enjoyed painting brick too.

The next texture was a metal watering can. The texture was created with salt. While the paint is still wet add some table salt to the area that you want texture and wait for the paint to dry. Do not use a blow dryer, let it air dry, you don't want to blow all the salt away! Once the paint is dry, brush all the salt off and continue painting the bucket. You can glaze over the texture area with more paint and add shadows and detail.

Clay pots was the next texture that I demonstrated using salt. It is not necessary to use salt everywhere just put on select areas of the pots. After the paint is dry continue modeling the clay pots with different colors and values for variety.

I used a Arches watercolor paper that was 140 lb. in a rough texture. I like to use that type of paper when I want texture. Try different paper and you will get interesting results. Consider new ways of painting and your work will improve and you will grow as an artist.

Till next week,
P.J. Cook