Autumn along the river

It is finally feeling like fall weather here in Sacramento! Yesterday was a sunny but crisp morning in the 40's and normally I would not venture out in the cold this early (8 am on a Saturday) but my daughter had an appointment to go to, so after dropping her off, a headed down to the river near the Sunrise Blvd river access along the American River. I had most of my painting supplies with me but was only inspired enough to take a few pictures with my phone due to the cold. The leaves of the trees along the river are starting to turn their many colors, and the river, although very low due to a very dry year, was peacefully reflecting those colors. An egret, which was actually sitting in another spot along the river, seemed to be enjoying the early morning calm as much as I was, so it seemed fitting to place him in the painting.

Walk along the beach

At first glance, you might think I'm back to painting more scenes from Maui, but actually, this is based on a photo I took at Santa Cruz back in June. It was rainy today so I decided to look through my "art idea" file and see what project I should work on and this one struck me as a challenge! The photo was taken of a couple walking along the beach, but I thought it looked a lot like my wife and I (although I never wear my baseball caps backwards!). It is extremely rare that I put people into my landscapes, so this was a challenge for me, but at least their backs were toward me, so that made it a little easier. I had snapped the photo after they walked past me on the beach one morning. I wish the painting captured a little more movement in their walk but overall I think I portrayed the scene well.

Hummingbird study in watercolor

Hummingbirds are my wife's favorite bird and with a feeder right outside our window, we see them all of the  time.  Hummingbirds symbol enjoyment of life as well as being the only bird that can fly backwards. They are facinating creatures. This particular painting was inspired by a photo posted on the G+ community Group Watercolor Painting.

You rarely see the wings of a hummingbird in focus since they move so rapidly, but, as in this photo, if you have a fast enough shutter speed, it can be done. I made the colors in the flower  reflect in the hummingbird's feathers to create a continuity between them, but for some reason I really struggled with keeping a smooth background color.