DAISY'S BICYCLE

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There was no reference photo for this painting. I had seen some renderings of wicker baskets and wanted to give it a try. A bike basket was an easy way to start. I masked off all the flowers. It took a long time, but the result was worth it as I was able to put the underpainting of green in with several washes using long strokes and a large brush. I kept going back in to make the underneath colors darker and darker.
After painting the fence and the background, I painted in the bike saving the basket for last. I decided to mask off the lightest of reflective color on the wicker and then, after putting a wash across the whole basket, added the darks and finally removed the masking to reveal the reserved whites. I eventually toned down the white on the wicker but left enough contrast to give the basket texture.
I do like the wicker basket, but I also like the way the background fades out into a misty, foggy distance. I'm also glad I let the foreground fade out as well.

GEISHA CAR WASH

I've had the idea for this painting for several months, but couldn't quite conceptualize the composition. I finally could see what things would look like and started two weeks ago. I sketched in the whole composition and then painted the car first. Layers of indigo and van dyke brown paint later I was satisfied with how it turned out and especially the front bumper and the headlight.

With the two geishas I wasn't quite as happy. I'm not sure why the figures and the car don't really mesh. Maybe the size is wrong on the geishas aren't quite three dimensional enough. But after working this over for two weeks I'm finished, or in this case, I've stopped painting.

ABUNDANCE OF HOPE

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I envisioned this painting one evening when I was emptying my pockets. The next day I took some reference photos to see what the composition would look like. I added a few things to the painting that weren't in the reference photos including the faux crochet table cloth.

I put about 12 hours into the painting including a lot time making black squares. I like the 3 dimensional nature of the objects and am happy with how the foil gum wrappers turned out; but I think the keys get lost in the crochet.

WATERCOLOR PENCIL PORTRAIT SKETCHES

I'm taking a watercolor pencil class. Our first assignment was to draw, color and add water to a portrait. The portraits were imaginary and not from photos.

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Tim

EMPTY JARS

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I'm not real sure about this one. I tinkered with the composition and wonder if leaving the background blank would have made a better painting. I started with the front jar and didn't take into account that the larger jar would be blue/green. . .in fact the reference photo didn't show it as blue/green. But I liked the idea of blue/green glass reflecting light. I should have had more blue/green in the small jar. Live and learn.

I like how the top of the larger jar turned out. Maybe i can just cut this one up into a smaller painting :-).

RUST BUCKETS 2

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Several years ago I created a painting of these two trucks . The reference photo was taken by a friend. The trucks are in the back yard of the friend's father-in-law. This is a different angle on the trucks than the first painting.

I used just a bit of masking on this painting for the whites in the headlights and the reflections off of metal. I also masked off the weeds in front of the left truck's grill as well as the bullet hole in the windshield. What I was hoping to achieve was the effect of the sunlight coming from the right as in a later afternoon sun.

I like the way the painting turned out. My favorite part is the Chevrolet logo on the front of the red truck.

Postcard Art

After seeing a gallery show of Artists Trading Cards, Carolyn gave me a pad of watercolor postcards. These 4 x 6 cards are heavy weight watercolor paper and are marked on the back like regular postcards ready to write a message and an address and adhere a stamp.

I'm hoping to send out some art work to friends and family.

HERE COMES THE SUN

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Last summer I took a series of sunflower pictures at the farmers' market in Eugene. I finally got around to creating a painting from these reference photos.

I started by layering in a bright yellow for the entire sunflower. I gradually darkened the shadow areas. I used a cut q-tip and masking fluid to cover the yellow that would be come the stems in the dark brown center. I painted the dark brown/burnt sienna centers then removed the masking fluid. I was surprised by how much dark brown and burnt sienna I needed to get the three dimensional look of the flower.

The leaves are a bit abstract. I used a lot of blue green colors.

I like the composition of this painting, but my favorite part is the yellow dots and the shadows across the center of the flowers.

WATERCOLOR SKETCHES WITH A WATERBRUSH

Retired University of Oregon art professor Ken O'Connell introduced me to a waterbrush. The brush holds water in the handle and, when squeezed, drips into the brush hairs. This is terrific for including in a travel watercolor kit. I took the waterbrush, a pencil, pen, 8-10 watercolor pencils and a Moleskin sketch pad with me on our trip to LA during Thanksgiving. I drew the image, inked it, losely added some color with the pencils then used the brush to soften the colors and move them around. Here are some small sketches I did with the waterbrush:

PORSCHE

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24" x 18" on 140 lb. cold press paper

I created this painting as a commission for a colleague who will give it to her husband as a birthday present. I took about 20 pictures of the car in a shopping mall parking lot and then created the background separately. I wanted the background to add some color but not overwhelm the composition.

The challenge with this painting was how to create a painting when the subject was a silver/gray color. I mixed some indigo and van dyke brown with a bit of cerulean blue for the car color. It may not look like it, but I did about 6-8 layers of color on the darker parts of the car. Just when I thought I had enough color, I added some more. I added the yellow parking lines, and their reflection on the car, to include at least some color on the car. There is the Porsche hood ornament and logo on the wheels, but it still is a silver/gray car.

The other challenge were the headlights. There really isn't much content or contrast there with the exception of a few reflections.

My two favorite parts are the rear wheel area and the license plate.