A blast from the past - Blacksmith's Shop

In the beginning I painted a lot.  I was fascinated by the intricate detail of all the tools in the shop and how the light from the window lit the room.  I loved the monochromatic tone of the entire piece and the sense of history it hinted at.  I think this image it tends to be a little too dark for most but I LOVED painting this piece many years ago. 

 

"Blacksmith's Shop"
Fort Vancouver

16" x 20"
Acrylic
Private Collection

Plein Air: 10/14/2014 - Looking West on a Rainy Day

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I messed up on this one unintentionally breaking the cardinal rule of composition by placing the sign right in the middle of the drawing.  That's where it was where I was sitting on the side of the river.  I didn't realize how much it commands attention until I went to add color to my drawing.  I find I actually like it so it turned in to a happy accident.  

 

The weather is turning in to typical Oregon fall rain so the days of painting by the river may be coming to an end soon. 

 

Reference: The Columbia River

In a private collection.

A discussion on process and Plein Air - 10/7/2014

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This post is more about process than anything else.  Every Tuesday I walk down to the river and work on a plein air piece in watercolor.  No, I'm not a watercolorist.  Far from it.  The purpose of learning [the most difficult medium on the planet] watercolor is to serve as an underlayment for my colored pencil drawings.  It used to drive me crazy how the white of the paper used to peek through my colored pencil drawings, especially visible when scanned.  I tried all kinds of blending techniques, each with varying levels of success but none were very good until I found a simple answer.  Watercolor goes under everything and in the process, the quality of my drawings exponentially increased overnight because I can focus on what I love the most - the drawing.  This is one of those pieces.  I went down to the river, took a picture so I could reference back to it later and then painted the scene before me.  I took the painting home and began to work on it in colored pencil. Water is my nemesis. It doesn't matter what medium I'm working in.  Water is difficult. It's going to take a lot more practice to figure out the secret to create that illusion well.

5" x 14"
140# Arches Hot Press cotton rag paper
Prisma Premier colored pencils - 95%
Senelier's watercolor (underneath) - 5%
Reference: The Columbia River

American Rabbit Breeders Association Annual Convention

Arts and Crafts Contest
November 1 - 4, 2014

I have two rabbit pieces entered in this show. 

Will Rogers Memorial Center & Facilities

3401 W Lancaster Ave, Fort Worth, Texas 76107