Autumn Berries - Finished!

Well, the idea was to post a lot of progress shots along the way.....um, I got one more and then I finished it! LOL

Here is the progress shot, with the first wash on some of the leaves.



Then, since it was such a yucky, rainy day, I did nothing but paint. I had the house to myself (Pat was at a Chili cook-off),I had the music blaring, and I proceeded to overwork that one leaf there. (The dark one)

Overall I was fairly satisfied with most of this painting, there are parts I really like and some not so much.

Anyway, onward and upward!

Berry Fun!

Slowly working on the berries...I do a few, take a break, do a few more, take a break...etc!
This afternoon we are planning on taking a drive to Rondeau Provincial Park, so I hope to come back with even more reference photos to have on hand!

Weekend Watercolouring...

Seems like the only time I have (or have the energy) for painting is on the weekends. Lately they have been busy with family Thanksgving and visits, so I haven't been in the studio much. Now that the weather is turning cooler, I look forward to more of my favourite pastime!

Today I decided to go through some of the photos Pat and I took while out on a nature walk a couple of weeks ago. There were some beautiful red berries that caught my attention, so decided to give them a go.



Using the photo as reference, I did a very quick pencil sketch. I then deepened some of the values and will use the sketch as a guide. I loosely traced my sketch onto the backside of some Arches 140 cp paper. (My favourite!)



Here is my studio set up. I am mostly using my sketch as a reference and only peeking at the ref. photos occasionally. There is my one and only brush that I will be using! You can see an open book by Ann Blockley that I have out as inspiration. Love her work!



I'm loving the reds of the berries so far!

Hare's Lookin' at You, Kid!

This is based on a photo I took of a very friendly rabbit that came to visit while I was staying at a cottage recently. He was very bold and at one point jumped right up on the deck with us. Okay, I screamed when that happened, I don't know why, but I've never seen a bunny do that before!

This is watercolour and coloured pencil on the back side of Arches 140 lb CP paper, and the size is approx 8" X 10".

Make Hay While the Sun Shines!

I had a sudden urge to paint something with acrylics yesterday, so I dragged a canvas out of the closet, and dug out the acrylic paints. I had taken some pictures of the hay bales that were sitting in the field behind our house so tried to compose a picture using them as a subject.
I still have a lot to learn about acrylic painting, but I really had a lot of fun doing this! One thing I probably need is some kind of proper palette, instead of the back of an old margarine lid...or not, but those darn paints really dry out fast!
Anyway, here it is.

The View from my Backyard

It was such a pleasant morning, I thought I'd sit out in my backyard and do a little sketch before they take the wheat off. We live right on the edge of our town, and each year we enjoy the view of the field right behind us to the west. Most of our weather comes from this direction, as well as a nice breeze. Today, sitting beside the field, it was downright windy! I had trouble keeping my moleskin open, but it sure kept me cool. A little moth decided he would like to keep me company and sat at the edge of my ultramarine blue for most of the painting.

I also sketched some more flowers today. I'm trying to decide if I like the pen and wash for my flower sketches or pencil and wash...what do you think?

A Visit to my Sister's

Last weekend, my mother and I took the train up to Belleville to visit my sister. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! Fairly cool, yet sunny. On Saturday we took the Belleville Garden tour. We saw many gorgeous gardens and flowers...kind of makes you want to take the rototiller to your own garden and start over! Of course I forgot to take the memory card for my camera, and only got a few pictures.
On Sunday we headed over to Prince Edward County, which has a wealth of galleries, wineries, artisan cheese making, wonderful homemade chocolate, and beautiful scenery! We sampled some lovely (and not so lovely!) wine, cheese and chocolate.
I brought my sketch book, but only had time to do this quick sketch from Janet's sunporch on Sunday morning while everyone was getting ready to go out for the day. Her neighbour has a dairy farm. Those little black and white things in the sketch aren't large dogs, they are supposed to be cows! LOL

Finished!

It's been a cool and rainy day today, so I finally finished this painting! I think I like it...but am trying to decided whether to crop off some of the top and left hand side.

Wednesday's effort

Worked some more on this yesterday, and I hope to finish it today. Will take Lauren's suggestion and leave most of the bottom right white. I had already painted some of it, but won't do much more.

And today...Robin's Nest WIP

Today, I tried to work more on the nest and a bit on the background and bird. On the nest I did some more negative painting and a bit of positive using some white watercolour, sometimes mixed with other colours. Lots of work yet to do!