Painting Old Wood

Old and weathered wood is the background for this painting and takes up the majority of the painting while acting as a subtle backdrop for the old lock.

Painting old wood is easy to do using a mix of different muted colors.

Here's how:

Wet the wood area with clean water and apply a place wash of yellow ochre, Payne's gray, and sepia. Drop in the colors in various locations. Some areas can even remain without color. Since the area was wet before the paint was applied, the color will run and blend.

Let this dry. Using a 1/2 inch flat brush with the bristles fanned out slight, dry brush in wavy grain lines with a wash of Sepia and Payne's gray.

Let this dry and use a fine liner brush or a watercolor pen and draw in a few lines to further indicate the wood grain.

Don't forget to deepen the color in the shadows under the lock.

The example above shows the first step in painting the weathered wood background showing one section left unpainted. Note in the painting at the beginning of the blog, the direction of the wood grain showing the door in the center and the siding on the left, which is running horizontal rather than vertical like the door.

Next time, the lock!! Until then...

Happy Painting!
Karen

Which View Do I Paint?

On a recent visit to Ft. Loudon Historic Area, I took my camera to snap a few photos for future paintings. Since we were at the area to hike and visit the fort, I did not bring my watercolor painting supplies with me, but I always travel with my camera. I found many great subjects for paintings and wounds up with around 50 photos...some of which I can discard, but some of interesting subjects to paint.

When taking photos for a painting, look at all sorts of subjects - including the weed growing along the trail as well as the "big" subject, which in this case was the fort itself. Above is a photo of the fort showing the line of soldiers' sleeping quarters.

Below is a close up of the barracks zeroing in on my subject for today's painting.

Look at things from a different perspective to find some interesting topics for paintings.

I'll cover how to paint weathered wood and rusty locks in this painting. But, to get started, below is my sketch.

Next time you are visiting interesting places, look for the unusual subject.....you will have fun painting it!

Next blog, I'll start on the wood! Until then......

Happy Painting!

Karen

Bright Sunset

The watercolor above was painted from a photo taken at sunset on a clear day at Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains. Clingman's Dome at 6,643 feet is the highest elevation in the Smokies and is often found shrouded in clouds. An observation dome offers a 360 degree panaroma of the park peaks in both Tennessee and North Carolina.

I love bright colors, so this landscape was fun for me to paint. It is not necessary to sketch in your painting; however, you might want to plan the horizon before you start. Be certain to keep the horizon uneven.

How to Paint the Sky
I started at the horizon and painted a wash up to the top of the painting. I used my darkest orange shade first and worked up dropping in yellow in the center. Before the sky completely dried, I dropped in Indigo as well as Payne's Grey. The sky area must dry before you start painting the mountains.

How to Paint the Mountains
Again, I started at the horizon, but this time I worked down to the bottom of the page. I first mixed all my paint using a mix of Indigo and Payne's Grey, but varying the intensity using the lightest at the horizon. I washed in the first range of mountains at the horizon and worked down. I let each wash dry before applying the next so that the mountains retained shape rather than blending together.

How to Paint the Foreground
There are faint outlines of spruce fir trees in the foreground. These were painted using the deepest color mix and adding a little Sap Green. Using the edge of a flat brush, the branches were painted in. Keep these light and uneven.

To finish the painting, I used a flat brush and some yellow paint to brush down from the clouds to give a sunny glow to the sunset. Use a light hand on this.

I painted this one in my small watercolor journal to get a feel for the colors. I like the results well enough to refine it for a larger painting! Dig out those paints and get started! Until next time.....

Happy Painting
Karen

Gallery at Main Street Exhibit

The exhibit was held on Friday and was a great way to meet some of the art community in the East Tennessee area. There were many talented artists showing their work in various media. The exhibit included oil and acrylic artists, as well as metal sculptors, wood carvers, textile artists and potters.

This was one of many exhibits planned for the first Friday of each month. This month the exhibit highlighted floral compositions and upcoming months will include landscapes, Tennessee themed work, and an exhibition of talented works created by some very gifted young artists.

Now, to get busy and create a new painting......

Happy Painting!
Karen

The Gallery at Main Street

The Gallery at Main Street will be exhibiting art by local artisans on June 1, 2012 at the gallery located in First Baptist Church, Knoxville, TN which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The address is 510 West Main Street, Knoxville, TN.

This month's exhibit is titled "Graced with Floral.". Exhibition hours are 10:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m.

The painting above is one that I will have on display at the exhibition. The following is a link to the artists who will be exhibiting: http://www.galleryatmain.com./index.html

If you are in the area, stop and enjoy the exhibit!

Happy Painting!
Karen

A Special Painting of a Special Building!

The watercolor painting above is First Baptist Church Fisherville. I have been planning this painting as a surprise for our pastor there since we moved from that area last summer. I was given a photo CD with various shots of the church building, but when packing the CD for safe keeping during the move, I did too good of a job of packing it and it took me awhile to "find" it.

Often painting a building can be difficult simply because it does not allow for "artistic" interpretation, but for an accurate representation of the structure. However, there are aspects of the painting that allow for an artist's personality and style to show through. For instance in the painting above, the photo selected was one that emphasized the angles of the roof as well as the steeple. The steeple itself points heavenward and the top of the steeple is not seen in the painting which implies that it goes infinitely to heaven. The stained glass windows allowed me to show my Impressionistic painting style by implying shape and design rather than photo like detail.

Working from a photo is a great way to try one's hand at painting buildings....take several different photos from different angles and let your creativity show through.

Happy Painting!
Karen

Amapolas Roja (Red Poppies) - finished at last!

The poppies are finally finished! As you can tell from the painting above, I finished this painting. I completed the second poppy using the same techniques as the first one and then added a little greenery. I put only a small amount of greenery in this painting allowing the focus to remain on the colorful poppies. After a final review, I decided against doing any additional painting on the brick/tiles. Again, for the same reason.....I wanted the focus to remain on the poppies, not on the background.

The stems and leaves were painted using several shades of paint. I used green mixed with brown, blue, and yellow to achieve a variety of shades of green to show shadow and light. I used the brown/green for the stems, the deep green/blue for the shaded areas and the yellow/green for the green areas reflecting light.

I found some interesting facts about poppies to share (in case you are a fan of Trivia Pursuit):

-The California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is the state flower of California.
-In Mexico, Grupo Modelo, the makers of Corona beer, used red poppy flowers in most of its advertising images until the 1960s.
-A poppy flower is depicted on the reverse of the Macedonian 500 denars banknote, issued in 1996 and 2003. The poppy is also part of the coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia.
-Poppies (Amapolas in Spanish) are commonly featured as the central flower in Puerto Rican weddings.
-Artificial poppies (called "Buddy Poppies") are used in the veterans' aid campaign by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which provides money to the veterans who assemble the poppies and various aid programs to veterans and their families.
-Canada issued special quarters (25-cent coins) with a red poppy on the reverse in 2004, 2008 and 2010. The 2004 Canadian "poppy" quarter was the world's first coloured circulation coin.
-Poppies are often symbolic and can symbolize the sleep and peace. This symbolism was evoked in the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which a magical poppy field threatened to make the protagonists sleep forever.

Enough facts....pick up that paint brush and finish your painting! I'll see you in my next blog with another fun painting to create!

Happy Painting!
Karen

Back to the Poppies!

Back To the Poppies!

With a few interruptions in my work, I am finally back to working on my poppies. The background was completed first. After looking at the background, I have decided that I am satisfied with the results and will evaluate after my poppies are complete whether to do any additional work on the background brick/tiles.

Now for the poppies.......

First prepare your palette with all the colors you will need to blend to execute the painting. I used several colors of red as well as orange, yellow (both light and dark), burnt sienna, black and white.

There are two ways to paint the poppies:
-Paint the entire flower first with a base coat of color and then work in highlights and shadow or,
-Paint a few petals at a time, completing the petals as you work.

Both ways are good ways to paint, just find the one that works better for you.

-Using a paintbrush that is smaller than the area you are painting, dab the tip into your mixed paint and rub the excess off of the sides of your brush. Paint the petal or the entire flower this color, except for the stem and any pollen areas. You will want to add shadows to your flower as well as light sources. Figure out where you want the light to come from. Add a little bit of white to your base color for the highlights and a little bit of darker base color and/or burnt sienna for the shadows.

Layering the colors on the petals will give texture and a realistic look to your flowers.

The center of the flower was base coated in a yellow ochre. The surrounding stamens were dabbed in burnt sienna and black.

The painting above shows one of the poppies completed. During the next session, I will finish the one remaining poppy and give instructions on the leaves and stem.

Happy Painting!
Karen





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A Small Detour!

As you know, last weekend I took a hiking trip in the Smokies and photographed several wildflowers. And, I just had to try my hand at painting at least one of them. I'll get back to my acrylic painting that we have been working on for several weeks soon. Sometimes, one must take a detour along the way.....such as this. I usually have more than one painting in progress at the same time. The photo above is the flower I have chosen to paint. The photo of my painting is shown below.

I used watercolors for this painting and a small watercolor journal of 140 lb paper (5 x 7). Instead of my usual tube watercolor paints, I used a pan set of Windsor & Newton.

I lightly sketched my flowers first and then washed in my background. The background was painted by dropping in shades of green, Brunt Umber, and some of the lavender/blue shade I used in my flowers. I wanted a very blurred background so that my flowers would stand out.

After the background dried, I painted my flowers by wetting the petal and dropping in the color at the bottom of the petal and allowing the water to pull the paint up to the top. At the top of the petal, I dropped in a little lemon yellow. It takes a little time, but each petal has to be painted individually to keep the flower from looking like a large "blob"!

I painted the stems last using Sap Green and Raw Umber and dropped in Crimson at the top of the stem where it attaches to the flower.

Any details on the petals were added after the painting was dry.

Look in parks and in your yard for wildflowers...and try your hand at painting what you find - even weeds are fun to paint!

Happy Painting!

Karen

Well, sometimes...........

OK - where is my usual watercolor painting blog? Well, sometimes one needs to look for inspiration!


This is a perfect time of the year for wildflowers. Since my husband and I like to hike, we decided to hike of one the trails in the Smokies known for its wide variety of wildflowers in the spring. So, we took a day hike in the Greenbrier district of the Great Smoky Mountains. Of course, I took my camera so that I could bring back some ideas for future paintings.



Today's blog is going to be a little different than my usual blog. I decided to share some of my ideas for future paintings with you and give you a little info about hiking in the Greenbrier district



The out and back Porters Creek Trail is an 4 mile round trip which can be reached from a 6 mile drive (most of which is on a gravel road) from US 321 outside of Gatlinburg. The road and the trail runs along the Little Pigeon River.



We found several varieties of wildflowers blooming with beautiful display of Lady Slippers. Scattered throughout this blog are a few of the photos from yesterday's hike. These may give you an idea for a future painting.



Now.......next week.....I'll try again to work on my painting!



Happy Painting!

Karen