Half dome revised

So I have taken my painting of Half Dome and have tried to "fix" some of the problems that I saw, mainly that Half Dome was not the main focus of the painting.
I started with a simple fix: cropping the distracting foreground out (not actually cutting the paper here, just electronically editing).

But then I took it a little further. To actually fix the foreground instead of just cropping it out, I darkened the foreground, and created some layers to draw your eye toward the cliffs. Since the color of the sky and Half Dome were so similar, I also decided to take the sky a little darker...ok, a lot darker, downright stormy. And what would you expect with a storm at Half Dome? Lightning, of course. Using a very fine brush to apply lumpy masking fluid is a challenge but I was able to get some fine lines to create the lightning.

At this point, I have not done anything to the cliffs (although the exposure of the photo made them look more yellow).

 Ok, it seemed like the lightning is a little too much, drawing focus away again, so let's take a little bit of it out but continue to darken the clouds a bit. Hmm, maybe too much?

At this point, I have over-worked my paper and will call it finished. Sometimes I just have to push my comfort zone and keep working a piece, but sometimes I have to know when a painting is finished. Either way, I have learned a few things in the process, so I think I will have to revisit this subject and paint Half Dome again soon.

Half Dome in Mist

So my third Yosemite inspired painting... Half Dome. This one is still a work in progress. I'm taking a step back to figure out where to go with this. My foreground trees are taking too much focus away from Half Dome, as it gets lost in the mist.

It's a nice painting at this point, but now I have to take some risks to bring the focus to Half Dome. Since I don't have a "revert to last saved" button, this painting will only be saved here as I attempt to problem solve.

Yosemite Falls, watercolor

Here is another Yosemite inspired painting. I am still working from some photos that I took during my visit there last month. Yosemite Falls is always one of the most impressive year round, but with its spring flow, it is even more so.

The cliffs surrounding the falls are quite impressive too, but next time, I think I would crop it down so the focus is more on just the falls and not keep so much foliage or cliffs in the painting. I decided to not use the masking fluid to keep the falls white as I did with my Bridalveil Falls watercolor, but was mindful of where I was painting. These falls are so massive and thick, it just didn't seem necessary.

Sonoma Valley Vineyard, watercolor

Sonoma Valley Vineyard, 11 x 17

This piece had been sitting as a pencil outline sketch for almost a year, and it called to me this weekend to be painted. There was an original reference photo that I had copied the outlined sketch from, but after a year, I had no idea where it was. I did my best to remember some of the details, but I also pulled up some other photos to help with color and more specific shapes. I feel that my grapevines turned out to look more like trees but other than that, I really like the way this turned out.

Shannara Chronicles watercolor

One of my favorite shows this season has been the Shannara Chronicles on MTV. It had it's season finale last week so I thought I would do a painting. The reference photo I used was from a screen shot from the second-to-last episode, where Eretria says "my blood is the key".

I have not done a watercolor portrait in a while so this was challenging. Now I have to wait at least 6 months for the next season...ugh!

Sunrise pedestrian bridge watercolor

Although this doesn't seem like much of a Valentine's day post, the Sunrise pedestrian bridge is one if the places I took my wife on our second date almost 24 years ago. She has always loved this bridge, so I thought I would dedicate this painting to my wife.
 I based this painting on a photo I had taken on the same outing as I had taken photos for Autumn along the river, so the color palette is very similar, and I love the reflections on the calm water of the river.

Quetzal watercolor

The quetzal is the national bird of Guatamala, as well as being on their flag. The more colorful one, shown here, is the male. The reason that I decided to paint this though is because my nephew's daughter is named after the bird. She is graduating in June and I thought a painting of her name-sake would be a cool present.

This painting actually took longer than most because I got "stuck" several times. It started with having to alter my reference photo because it was too long for my paper. I curled the tail feathers to accomodate it all. Feathers have always been a little intimidating, but I think that I depicted them quite well. Then the background got too muddy, but I lifted some of the paint to create a jungle backdrop. Now my challenge is to find a frame that this odd sized painting will fit into.

trees

I first started this "creative journey" of mine back in 2012, and every once in a while, I like going back and looking at some of my older work to see my progress. I came across my painting of "trees" in one of my friends' living room. He had purchased it from a silent auction that I had donated it to. I had never blogged on this painting, but I remember it well. I painted this in February 2013 plein air along the American River. It was a quiet spot at a bend in the channel by the islands near Rio American HS. (Right around the corner from where I had painted plein air painting small rapids almost a year later, one of my favorite areas along the river!)

My friend had told me he had felt a connection to this painting because another friend of his had created a similar watercolor, based on a poem that he had written. Here is the poem that my friend had written:

And here is the painting that his poem inspired:

Champagne watercolor revised

As a New Year's resolution, I have decided to take more chances with my art, and not worry about ruining it.  So I decided to revise my painting of champagne in watercolor by adding black to the background. Now I hear watercolorists say they don't like using black, but with the background wash, it really isn't black. The previous background still shows through to make it far more than just "black". I think it really makes the bottle and glass stand out better.

Original

Happy new year, champagne watercolor

 Happy 2016! Since I planned on staying warm and cuddling with my wife for a calm and mellow New Years Eve, I had some rime to start this painting. I actually didn't finish it until this morning though.

I'm not sure about the background that I put here. It seems to wash out the bottle and glass. I actually put the background after I sketched it but before I started painting the bottle and glass. I had another case of "paint first, plan later".  Maybe I just need to go darker on the background? I really like the effect of the bubbles I got in the champagne glass but the bottle still seems unfinished...
Another effect of my paint first, plan later is the question of "Where did the champagne in the glass come from if the bottle isn't open yet?"

Untitled landscape

This landscape painting was originally inspired by a screensaver photo so I don't know who to give the photo credit to, or even a location that the picture was taken. It just captured my eye because it seemed so peaceful and serene.

I really focused on the shadows on the mountains, trying to keep a consistent color.  Payne's grey does a great job with this, creating a shadow but letting other colors shine through. I also used it in the clouds. I'm not sure about the dark strip of grass in the foreground, though. It feels out of place. I think I need to tone it down a bit so I blends more. 

I'm still not sure what I should title this piece...any suggestions?

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.

The poisoned apple

This painting was based on a photo posted by the G+ community Group Watercolor Painting. I took some artistic license with it since the apple was originally green, and had LOTS of water drops on it. Since this was the first time attempting water drops, I decided to limit it to just a few, and I just prefer red apples. I painted the apple with a gradient wash to make an obvious light source, and once I had a beautiful red apple,

it was time to "poison" it with my attempt at water drops. Painting these drops feels so awkward with the darkest part near the light source and the lighter part away from it, but after searching images online, I think I have a handle on it. I rarely use it, but the highlight was created with a dab of Chinese White, right out of the tube. I just need to work on thewater drops being more smooth and round.  It's not really a Halloween themed painting, but if I call it a"poisoned apple", it just might be!

Pumpkin harvest

This painting is based on a photo I took while visiting a local nursery having a harvest festival. They had piles and piles of pumpkins ready for carving.  I really focused on the shading to create texture on each pumpkin as well as to keep their roundness.

Study of hydrangea in watercolor

Here is a painting based on a photo posted by the Group Watercolor Painting community on G+ Of a hydrangea. The hydrangea has a ball with hundreds of flowers, so I tried experimenting with detailed areas and less detailed areas...

Then I thought I would do the same with the leaves. I don't think it works with the detailed leaf next to the less detailed part of the flower, so next time I would plan my placement out more ahead of time. I tend to paint first and plan later.

Iao Needle and stream

Iao Needle, located within the Iao Valley State Park is one of the most recognizeable landmarks in Maui, not only for its striking natural beauty, but also for its historical significance.  It was here in 1790, that King Kamehameha battled with Maui's army in his quest to unite the islands. Even with the Iao Needle serving as a lookout point, Kamehameha defeated Maui's army in a ferocious battle that ultimately changed the course of Hawaiian history.

OK, enough with the history lesson...there are so many shades of green in this valley, and trying to capture the beauty of this place is challenging. I used stippling, lots of dots, to represent the leaves of the trees and to give the painting some depth as well as texture. The bridge brings out a nice architectural contrast against all of the foliage. To the right of the needle, I was trying to capture the look of the clouds descending into the valley...was I successful?

Honu - Green sea turtle watercolor

Honu is the word Hawaiians use to refer to the green sea turtles that come and hang out all around the islands. The are so graceful as they swim through the water, and since they are protected by the endangered species act, they seem to have no fear of humans. Partly inspired by my personal video while swimming with the turtles, I have tried to capture the gracefulness as it effortlessly glides through the coral reefs.
I started painting the turtle by laying down a warm background color, then I left that as the negative space as I painted in the shapes around it. The colors of the coral reflect the same colors I used for the turtle.

Surf's Up! Wave in watercolor

Hawaii is known for its waves...and after being out in them for a little while, I needed something calm and relaxing to do for a while so I could drain the salt water and sand out of my ears. Time to paint of course.