3-21-13 The Hay Barn 2

Some paintings are easy from beginning to end but this painting was a challenge from the start when I took last weekend and helped my son move into his new home. Then our Jeep was totaled by a family member during a snow storm the next day so we have spent some time searching for a new vehicle. Also during the week I was unable to post my progress because I couldn't upload my photos.  But finally this is the finished painting and it turned out great. It measures 6x16 inches painted on 140lb water color paper.

Work in Progress

Still working on the latest painting but having some trouble adding a picture with my memory stick. I may have a easier time tomorrow.

work in progress

In this stage I block in the major colors. I really don't look at the objects as barns, trees, or grass but as rectangles, squares, circles, etc. and lay down color with that in mind. In the next stage I develop the actual scene. My style is to keep the water color paint very dry for most of the painting except the sky- the sky drips with excess water until I feel it is right and let it dry.

Work in progress

This is the first stage where I put in the sky which took several attempts to get a sky that pleased me. Then I draw in the pencil sketch of the barns and get ready for tomorrow nights sessions.

3-10-13 work in progress

 

This sketch is the beginning of a commission that I am working on this week and hope to finish by the end of the week. I start with this pen sketch and work out any composition problems and then transfer the drawing to a sheet of 140 lb. water color paper where I first lay down the sky and build the painting on top of that.

Mallards white Barn 3-16-12

Here is a painting that I started tonight at 6:30 and finished at 9:10. It is so much fun to get it all done in one setting. I can't imagine using another medium that takes days to dry enough to move on to the next stage. This painting is set on a crisp fall day when the cool wind is blowing the ocre colored grasses in the pasture.

Leo Kerr Family Farm 2-24-12

From these two photographs you see the work in progress and the finished product. I started this painting at 5:30 and finished it at 8:30 this evening and that included a dinner break.

Glenn Winton's Calf Barn 2-24-12

I really enjoyed painting this beautiful little scene. The calf barn is the central focus as the trees on the left and the darker barn on the right keep the barn framed in for the eye. If you would like to buy this painting please go to my etsy sight. You'll find the link at the right of this page.

Finished

Here is the finished and delivered commission paintings. I really enjoyed painting them and looked forward to the challenge.

Work In Progress 2-14-12

I needed to take a break from the large commission painting so I moved on to a small commission. The first photo is the base painting with a couple of initial washes .

This second photo is the painting with further development on the barns and the first white wash to represent snow in the foreground. As I was explaining to a friend these farm scenes are small abstracts using basic building blocks-squares, triangles, rectangles, etc. placed against strong angles-horizen, foreground snow field. Once the painting is finished it all comes together to represent and beautiful winter farm scene.

Work in progress 2-12-12

This is the barn stage , I am getting the red down and the snow on top of the roof, it is looking really good and coming together just fine.

work in progress 2-9-12

The next stage of the painting requires some planning and elbow grease. I determine where to place the building, draw it in with pencil, and begin to scrub off the paint that is in the sky area. This leaves a shadow of the building in the paint that is already laid down but greatly helps when painting in the red tones of the barn. I don't need extra blue pigment trying to change the color of the new next layer of red paint that will go down. I let this stage dry for a day or so then this weekend I'll begin the barns.

work in progress 2-4-12

This is the pallette I'm using for laying down the sky washes on my painting. The pool at the upper left is ultramarine blue, top right is paynes gray, and bottom left is raw umber. Applying them at the right time and amount is where some skill and experience are your best friend.

The trip we took to see family in Nebraska was cut short when we left early to avoid the huge snow storm coming our way. We traveled just ahead of the storm and avoided the 6-10" of snow and now we are sitting in our warm house playing with Charlie our grandson as the snow finally caught up with us.

This photo shows me pointing at the area of the sky where I applied some Prussian Blue into the Paynes Gray. I had two brushes going at once, one in each hand.

The commission painting

The first wash of the commission painting. I am laying down lots of heavy paint to make the sky dark. I will be out of town until Monday, February 5th visiting family.