Bruges Urban Sketch

This was fun to sketch and paint.  Working on 3 phase sketching.  First pass is the scribble, then the calligraphic ink line drawing, then either adding the blacks or in this case, watercolor.  

Hot chick with Tats #1

Sushi

Snowy Cabin at Night

My effort for today.  I used salt on the sky wash to create texture and dripped color on top in an attempt to create a galaxy effect.  Splattered white paint on for the stars.  The cabin looks cartoonish.  I've noticed that I tend to paint things that way.  Not sure how to improve that - maybe just a lot of sketching with the intent on realism.  

Snowy Pines #3

I'm happy with this one.  Tried something different and I know some would say taboo but I added the snow on top with white paint.  I'm learning that it's often more about suggestion and subtlety than trying to strong-arm photo realism.  For the closest pine, I used a #1 brush and some black paint to add a few lines here and there to reinforce the outline of the snow and branches.  This added a sense of detail that really made it pop.  I'm learning that foreground objects are darker and have more detail while stuff in the distance fades to an ambiguous blue-gray blob.  I also flicked white paint off my brush to create the look of snowflakes falling.  

Original Watercolor by Johan Lootens

This weekend I was in Bruges for my birthday and I was able to purchase an original watercolor by Belgian artist Johan Lootens.  It's beautiful and I'm looking forward to framing it and using it as something to aspire to for years to come. Here's a link to his fb page where you can see more of his work:  https://m.facebook.com/Johanlootenswatercolour/

Here's one of his prints that his girlfriend gave me for free for purchasing an original:  

Snowy Pines #2

A little more realistic.  Used a purple gray as underpaint for the snow shadows.  Then added a dull yellow for highlights on the branch tips.  Followed with successively darker green layers to create a sense of depth.  Tweaked the snow with some gentle purple shadows. Could use a bigger brush for my sky but I actually like the effect of a small brush.  Makes it looks like coloured pencil.  

Snowy pines #1

I love the look and feel of snow on trees.  I want to really focus on winter landscapes in the future.  Painting snow covered pines is fairly easy.  Here's my first attempt.  Will keep practicing.

Series #1 - Attempts to paint loose

Brace yourself for some really crappy landscapes.  I did a series of three and went progressively more loose with the painting.  The main thing I learned is that I suck at landscapes and I need some hardcore practice.  I have no problems painting up close objects like apples but when it comes to the finese and delicacy of washes and stuff then I'm screwed.  I suppose mastery will come with time but for now it's frustrating.  Here's the series.  I apologise for the crapiness:

Landscape Watercolor #2 - Pitztaler Glacier

I'm happy with the way the sky turned out but what I'm really struggling with is the ability to accurately represent shadows.  Need to find some YouTube videos on that.  Also, I feel like I might be using too much paint, layering it on too thick instead of relying on loose washes.  It's a delicate medium that requires a lot of finese.  Every piece I do makes me happy because I feel like I'm learning more and becoming more comfortable with the nuances of the medium.  

Apple Watercolor #2

Studied an apple again and played with under painting to create value coming through the local color on top. I think this one looks more realistic.  Don't be afraid to go heavy with the under painting is the lesson I learned.

If you look close you can see the bluish gray under painting.

My Sketchbook

I started a sketchbook with the purpose of documenting my travels and studying some urban scenes in and around Europe.  There's so many beautiful cities here and I'd love to be able to capture some of it.  I prefer to use pen and ink and watercolor and urban sketching is really new and challenging to me at this point.  I much prefer watercolor but for now this is what I've done with pencil, ink, and coloured pencils.

Practice Painting Trees with Watercolor

Today I practiced painting trees.  I start by painting some light undertones where the dark areas will come through.  I've found that a light gray blue is good for this.  On top of that, I add some bright yellow for the highlights.  Then I start to layer on successively darker layers of green paint, being sure to pay attention to my light source.  To finish, I end with black to create some contrast and add additional value.  I don't know if there's a better way to do this - I only know what I've learned from watching youTube videos.  Anyway, here are what my trees are looking like at this point:

First Larger Landscape Start to Finish

Although I'm happy with the results, I can see that I rely too heavily on the use of primary colors, and that I still have a long ways to go in developing more subtlety and realism in my paintings.  It's exciting to see the quick progress I'm making though considering I just started painting about 6 weeks ago.  I used masking fluid on the mountains here.  I think my wash for the sky was too wet, since I had some pooling in areas.  My reflections are getting better, as well as my use of value.  Still, the painting comes across as a bit muddled and dark.  I know with time and patience I'll improve though.  I went ahead and framed this one for Christiane.  She hung it up so she must like it.  Here it is step by step:

Using Underpainting to create Value

Tonight we decided to have a paint off and see who could represent an apple best with watercolors.  I like Christiane's style here on the left.  I tried to create some value using under painting.  I need to keep working with this technique along with proper color mixing.