Art blog » watercolor

Buffalo on the Prarie

april — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 13:06:55 +0000

Last weekend, when I went to the American Museum of Natural History, I had a sit-down (much to the excitement of the masses of schoolkids wandering through the building) to do this painting of these taxidermied Bison. It was a challenge to do a small watercolor painting of such a large visual, especially with the distractions of the museum around. I find this one quite a success.

Fuji in the Mirror

april — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:43:33 +0000

After having not taken up the watercolors for a few weeks, I braved them again with this fruity still-life. I mostly focussed on the drawing, which is my excuse for explaining why the colors are so washed out. If I were to do this again, I would try to get the brightness of the apple to shine more. Perhaps it would work nicely in oils, from which I appear to be taking a break, currently.

Curves from Behind, again

april — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:43:10 +0000

Here’s another piece based on an old reference photo of a model from one of my art classes. Unlike the first piece, this one is watercolor (not pen and ink).

To see the whole image, click here.

Buddy

april — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 14:50:54 +0000

From an old photograph of a little pug I used to know. This painting doesn’t quite capture his extra-buggy eyes, but his look is focused and his ears are cocked.

See full picture here.

In a Funhouse Mirror

april — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 20:47:43 +0000

I’ve been wanting to do more drawing practice recently, as I am feeling a bit rusty with regards to drawing; it’s not needed for papercutting or metal sculpture. So I went back to one of my oldest tools – drawing something that’s upside down. This is supposed to work especially well for human faces. In this case, it came out a bit warped. Very interesting. I kind of like it, though I may tweak the colors a bit before I call it done.

Fritz on a Chair

april — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 22:06:40 +0000

Seen from above, this is Fritz, one of Else’s cats, relaxing on a green chair and leaning on a white pillow, with natural light coming in through windows to the right. It’s an unusual angle from which to see a cat.

See the full image here.

Berlin Pics

april — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 19:41:22 +0000

These two small paintings are of the Berlin cityscape as I saw it last month from the top of the Reichstag, the parliament building. In one, you can see the Fernsehturm (TV tower) which has been painted as a football. In the other is one of the Reichstag’s four towers, with the German flag flying. And clouds.
Fernsehturm (TV tower)
Tower with Flag

South Germany Lanscapes

april — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:25:37 +0000

These two small paintings are from references photos I took while in south Germany visiting my “grandmother” Else. The first is of these huge, solid-looking clouds of which I saw so many while there; they were quite captivating. The other is of a field covered with little yellow flowers with a white horse hiding in it.
Here are today’s two paintings:
Clouds in Traifelberg
Field with Flowers and Horse

Sad (Blue) Bananas

april — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 12:50:29 +0000

These bananas are sad because they are on blue and because they are pale.

More info here …

Near Else’s House

april — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:19:24 +0000

While I was staying with Else, in Traifelberg, I did two small plein air paintings. It was quite chilly, so I only had a little while before my fingers got too cold to paint any longer. One is of the wall of her house, with a red flower, and the other is of a tree-lined road near her house, looking towards the mountains.