Before Dusk - done

The finished version.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on hardboard

Work Shops, Stables and Sheds

Finally done. My original plan for this week was to paint the same scene twice, once in my watercolor style and once in my oil style -- both of course being done in acrylics. However, seeing how unimpressed I am with this piece, and having played around a bit with an oil style version this afternoon, I don't think that is going to happen, though I am not quite ready to give up just yet. I'll do that tomorrow morning.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on watercolor canvas

Work Shops, stables and sheds 2

Above are the thumbnail sketches I used to design this scene (the final one is inserted in the upper right).  I use only small 1"-2" sketches to develop a painting as it is the fastest and most efficient way to explore options and ideas -- and I'm not good at big drawings... Somehow they seem a whole lot cozier than the full sized painting, which is still not quite finished, below.  Though they have led me sadly astray, I'm trying to make the best of it.  The final version will not be much different from this; only a matter of adding a few more details and lines, and a few people and such. It is always a question of how much time should be devoted to project where it does not seem that any significantly improvement can be achieved.

Work Shops, Stables and Sheds

It seems that there always comes a time during the painting of a picture that I have to wonder just what was I thinking when I though this idea would work. I'm finishing work on today's piece at that point in the process. Right now it is hard to see how I will be able to generate any sort of mood at all with this scene. Stay tuned.

Creek trail begining

My original idea was to do a moon lit scene. I'm having second thoughts about that, but at this point I don't have to decide. The rocks are in and the trees will be tomorrow's work. We'll see how it goes: I'll start with a day scene and then consider making it moon lit (basically adding a lot of blue shadows...)

Passage to Northwind Close -revised

The great thing about using watercolor canvas is that you can scrub things off and redo them -- in this case I cut down the wall on the right hand side of the passage: it just cut off too much of the scene and tended to dominate the scene without adding anything to it.

The difference in color is just due to how I processed the photo -- the last one was too red, this one is more accurate.

Passage to Northwind Close

One of my strengths as a painter, I think, is my ability to construct a realistic scene without having any material to work from. The key is to be able to use perspective and I am pretty good at that.  So while things worked out pretty good for this painting, it has the mood I was looking for, I am not all that happy with my lines. The passage twists and turns and I don't think I have the perspective quite right. I did a lot of alterations after I traced on the original design, and I don't think things worked out quite right, though I guess, good enough.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on watercolor canvas 

Bakers Court

I worked on this piece yesterday and today, I just didn't get around to posting where I was yesterday.  This is another scene from the back alleys and lanes with old stables, sheds and barns converted into residences.  I like the  informality of this type of scenes vs. the more formal  and regular street scene, and the fact that these alleys are narrow means that I can more easily paint both sides without a great space in between is an added advantage. I also don't run much of a risk of being run over unlike painting in the middle of a street...

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on watercolor canvas

A'Top Lili Hill

Here is the finished version of A Top Lili Hill. This is the style of painting I did for more than a decade before moving to the thicker oil and acrylic paints some 6 years ago -- mainly because I was looking to sell paintings and watercolors do not command much of a price in the market, not to mention the expense of framing them.  I started using colored inks and moved on to watercolors because of a concern that inks would fade too fast. At the end I switched to acrylics on watercolor canvas like this painting because I could get the ease and brightness of ink without concern for fading. Working on canvas also allows for corrections to be made and they can be framed without glass.  All these paintings are scenes of an imaginary country and are painted from imagination in this rather folk art style.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on watercolor canvas

At the Top of Lili Hill -- in progress

This is today's work -- a new acrylic on watercolor canvas scene  in the 18x24" format.  Pretty much in the middle of the process -- the color of the buildings has to be built up some, figures and trees put in, shadows put in, etc. So far, so good...

Coach House Mews, Snowy Afternoon

This one is acrylics on watercolor canvas, my preferred combination. I wanted to paint a rather moody piece, but this did not turn out quite as I had hoped. Not sure what went awry.

18x12" 45x30cm acrylic on watercolor canvas

Manor Farm

The last of this week's experiments with watercolors and acrylics on paper. As I may have mentioned, I haven't painted on paper is probably six years. I must admit, I don't like it.  Next week I will move to watercolor canvas, which is what I switched to six years ago, at first because it gives the impression of being more durable than paper.  When I switched from watercolors on it to acrylics, I gained the additional advantage of not needing to put the picture behind glass, which some people object to because the reflections hide the picture. I like it because I can make changes and corrections, which you pretty much can't do on paper. 

18x12" 45x30cm acrylic and ink on 140lb Montval paper

Market Town Wharf

Making changes one variable at a time: today I did this one in acrylic paint rather than watercolors.  It is still on paper, however.

18x12" 45x30cm  acrylic and ink on 140 lb Montval paper