CE and Mary's Lake House

Watercolor on Arches 140lb Cold Press 18" x 24"

Spring 1997. My wife's grandparents had always wanted a painting of their house. I decided to give it a try and at this time - it would be the largest painting of any kind I had ever attempted. I was very accustomed to working in small format watercolor and was prepared for how quickly to add more or additional colors to a wash before it would get too dry. This one was entirely different. I was still trying to work with the small brushes I was used to and I found that to be difficult. They would not carry as much water and pigment that was needed. I am happy with how this one turned out. I believe it may have been among the last paintings I have done in this very tight style. I am also surprised that it worked as well as it did considering that I was very close to overworking it with those small brushes. 

Rainy Beach Shoreline

Watercolor and Arches cold press  6" x 9"

August 1997.  It seems now when I go back to look at all these "experimental" watercolor paintings that I did during this period of time I had the notion that a beach must be a great landscape for painting. It is also possible that I was waiting for this supposed perfect time to paint when I had alot of time and nothing to interfere. This is not a favorite painting but does bring back these images of a time of transition for me as a painter. It reminds me of the things I used to worry about while painting that I now do not even consider. I am not sure if that is good or bad - just an observation.

Light House Shoreline

Watercolor on Arches cold press paper 6" x 9"

Summer 1997. This painting was just a grouping of scenes from photos I had taken in various places. It started as an attempt to make more interesting cloudscapes. I remember being very happy with the depiction of the sky and then decided to add the other elements. In retrospect, I never did any actual planning of what composition would really make this work. This is another of the early paintings that I do not like now. I still like the sky.

Surf Fishing

Watercolor on Arches cold press paper 6" x 9"

Late Summer 1997. Another example of early plein aire watercolor painting. I do not like this one but in going back to look at all the early stuff I noticed that this may have been the first time I had ever used a knife to scrape out highlights. I believe that this was done during the time I had been reading alot about Winslow Homer and JMW Turner. I was amazed at all the different techniques they would use to get a desired effect. The knowledge gained made it into this one in the spray of water from the fish and in some of the wave crests. This painting is interesting to me now in that I was very much struggling with how to use watercolor for quick outdoor studies. I had previously been very accustomed to doing everything at home where I could take as much time as needed to prepare and plan every brush stroke. This was sort of a "freeing" moment for me when I made the step to not worry about these highlights and just paint. I had alway had the impression that I must preserve every highlight in advance - so how would I ever be able to doing anything without alot of pre-planning?

Painted Paper Airplane

2010 Watercolored Paper Airplane - Ok, not sure this should really be included on the art site, however, I had been "warming up" getting ready to do some watercolors. I was using just a normal sheet of paper from the printer to just play around with different brush strokes and the layering of transparent colors. This is when I recieved the urgent request to show how to fold a paper airplane. Well, this sheet of paper had already served its purpose so it seemed a likely candidate for the job. It flew fantastically! Must have been due to the proper application of added essential drag to the top surface from the rough pigment.

Watery Sunset

Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Hot Press  6" x 9"

Summer 1996. From balcony of Apartment in Hendersonville, TN. It was done in a late summer evening and I remember the heat and humidity. It was one of those days where it seemed that the air was heavy and still - like everything was pressing in on you. This painting has annoyed me ever since I finished it. That pine tree on the left with the curving top is my main problem. The actual tree and horizen did look like this but I wish I had not depicted it literally. It reminds me of the art in a Dr. Suess book. This reminds me that it is sometimes a good idea to adjust the composition - I think the problem is knowing that while you are still working on the painting.

Late Afternoon at St. Pete's in August

Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press paper  6" x 9"

August 1997. This was another early attempt at plein aire painting. Did this while sitting on St. Pete  Beach in Florida looking west in a late afternoon. We were there for a week and this was the build up for a quick rain storm that popped up every day at this time. It would come in fast and dump alot of rain then clear out to make way for a fantastic sunset. I never did get the darks - dark enough to make everything else pop on this painting. I remember planning to try it again the next day - don't remember if I actually did. 

Moo with Shell

Watercolor on Arches 140# Hot Press  4" x 4"

Summer 2003. This was a small study done from a photo taken while on vacation. She was balancing on her feet on the beach in a very shallow pool of water. Great reflections in this shot, however, I never did get that far with the painting. I was not happy with her face - it worked as a painting of a small girl but did not quite capture even a likeness of her. I think that is why I abandoned this one at the time.

Birds eye view

Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Cold Press paper  4.5" x 15"

August 1998. An early attempt at plein aire with watercolor - in fact, I believe this may be my first. I was on a family vacation to St. Pete's Beach in Florida and was trying to capture the true color of the water so that I could be more accurate when working on the actual painting. All work, at this time, had been done exclusively from photo's I had taken. I was surprised when this turned into doing an actual painting. I do not remember enjoying this process of working from real life very much at the time. The lighting, contrasts, and color seemed to be changing much too quickly for me to use my normal process.

Fountain

Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press  4.5" x 4.75"

Summer 1996. This was a purely play exercise. It was done with no planning as to what it would even be. I was just attempting to work with allowing the burnt sienna and french ultramarine to blend as wet wash a keep the center area as a retained negative image. I guess it turned into a fountian like thing. I was doing alot of experimenting with things like this - mainly to just see what the paint would do. It has helped alot with the confidence needed to allow things to happen. It is a reminder to me to keep up with these type of activities.

Shells

Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press paper  3" x 4"

August 1997. This one was done from a photo I took while walking on a beach in Florida during a family vacation. It was meant to be a study for a  much larger painting, however, I never did get back to that. It works as a small example of the style of watercolors I was doing back then. I was moving away from trying to control how the paint would flow while painting and more just letting it do what it wanted.

Child Study 1

Watercolor and Graphite on paper  3.5" x 3"

1996? This is the first in a series of 5 little drawings I did quite a while ago. All 5 were done within a very short time - probably less than 1/2 hour. I was visiting at a child care center and was waiting for a while. I happened to have a sketch pad and one of those small watercolor travel kits with me. I thought I would see if I could capture a likeness of some of the kids as they interacted with each other. It was a play time so they were all running around. It was a challenge to work that quickly. Overall, I am happy with the results of this exercise. Some of them turned out better than I had expected. 

Child Study 3

Graphite and Watercolor on paper  3.5" x 2"

1996? Number 3 in the series. This looked to me to be a painful position to sit in but it didn't seem to bother him. I had more time to get this down than the others. He sat there for quite a while like this.

Child Study 5

Watercolor and Graphite on paper  2.5" x 3"

1996? Another in the series. Sorta liked the expression captured here considering it was done in just a few minutes. Sometimes I think that is the secret to getting a "loose" look in my artwork. If I don't have the time to overwork it - I won't.

Color Pattern 1

Watercolor on Strathmore Imperial 140lb. Cold Press Postcard 4" x 6"

1996?  Okay, so not exactly a good rendition of "abstract art" but that is what I was attempting at the time. I was thinking that anyone could do abstract stuff - just throw some paint down and call it art. I was very disappointed after doing this and realized that my previous conviction was not correct. There is more to it but I am still not sure what the answer is. I decided to include this on the blog more as a personal reminder. I need to do some more investigation into what makes this abstract concept work.

A Knights Victory

Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press  12" x 16"

Completed in 1996 - If I remember correctly. This one is representative of my early days in working with watercolor. I had attended a rennaisance faire in Triune, TN and had taken photo's with the idea that they would be good source material. This painting was one of several I did with those photo's. I remember being pleased with some of the details on the knight but not with the tree line in the background. That part was quickly done without alot of thought. I consider it now to be a good "learning moment" for me. Another issue I have now is that there was little thought to the composition. I think that is what bothers me most is that the painting as a whole doesn't make sense. Oh well ...

Early Morning

Watercolor 12" x 16" on Arches 140lb cold press - November 1996

This was my first attempt to do an entire painting using only two colors. I limited the selection to french ultramarine and burnt sienna ( both from Winsor & Newton ) - then I cheated and added a small amount of cobalt violet in the background in the horizen line area. I guess I just couldn't help myself. I was, however, happy with the cooler look in the background. It makes all rest seem even warmer which is what I was after.

This painting was taken from a photo I took just at daybreak on an early summer morning. There was a light fog in the air that seemed to hide all color. I wanted to capture that feel in a painting. I was reasonably happy with the result at the time.

Reflections - Cade's Cove

Watercolor 12" x 16"  on Arches 140lb cold press - February, 1997

"Reflections" was based on a photo I took while visiting Cade's Cove in Tennessee. I had recently finished reading "Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life". This biography inspired me to complete quite a few paintings and this was one of them. I remember thinking about the time that he had spent around Christina Olson's house trying to capture effects of light through a window or door. I waited until the end of the painting to put in the details inside the window and reflections of the tree branches. This to me was the key part of the whole composition.

Pair 'o' Cows

9" x 12"
Winsor & Newton Watercolors on Fabriano Artistico 140lb Extra White, Hot pressed paper

I enjoy working on hot press paper and this was the first time trying the Fabriano Extra White. I do think that this paper adds an extra glow to any of the transparent colors used. The subject matter was pre-chosen for me. I had never thought of painting cows but an in-law had always wanted one like this. So, just for a change, I decided to give it a try. Having spent a lot of time travelling throughout the mid-west, the subject matter was easily located. I worked from my photo's on this one.

Old Hickory's Place

6" x 8 1/2"

Winsor & Newton Watercolor on Arches 140lbs. Cold Press paper

This is a watercolor that I recently pulled out of a box that I had done back in the mid 1990's. It was inspired from a visit to Andrew Jackson's Homestead in Tennessee. Outside the grounds in a beautifully landscaped entrance area was this display. I liked the way the light caused the nylon in the fabric to glow. This coupled with the patriotic feelings after having visited the site made me want to paint this.