Setting Sun

I'm doing a series on Youtube about color choices for beginners. Last week's video was about the reds I use. I did a demonstration on painting a sunset with a few different reds. It wasn't intended for it to be a finished painting, but I liked how it was going, so I finished it up off camera and posted it on my web site.

Evening Glow

Painted this quick demo as part of my latest Youtube video on watercolor choices for beginners. Anyone interested can find the video at at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeoS4QBSfWc

Desert Sunset

Back to glazing again. I love painting layers and layers of thin watercolors to create a glowing effect. I also love painting sunsets, which lend themselves to this layering effect. I used new gamboge, transparent pyrrol orange and a new color for me, permanent brown, all of these are Daniel Smith colors. Permanent brown is actually a lovely deep red color. I painted this on Saunders Waterford cold pressed 140lb paper. I really love the way this paper takes color.

Solitude

This is a place in Cumbria, England called Grange Over Sands. The photo below is courtesy of a cousin. I liked the peaceful scene but wanted to change the colors to create a more atmospheric feeling to the place. Hope I achieved this. Artistic license is a liberating feeling.

Fall Glory

I know it's not yet that time of year, but I wanted to experiment with a combination of yellows and oranges for a course I am creating on the site udemy.com on how to paint a fall landscape. I am pleased with these particular color combinations and think I will go with them. It's paradoxical that fall leaves create such a beautiful site in their dying throes. I used Daniel Smith's new gamboge,  golden ochre, cadmium red mixed with new gamboge and French ultramarine mixed with burnt umber for the few darks in the leaves. For the ground area I dribbled sepia ink over the watercolors for texture.

Low Tide

My first painting of 2015. Our house overlooks Richardson Bay and a spit of land called the Strawberry Peninsula.  I've wanted to paint an atmospheric watercolor of this scene for some time. I watch the tides come in and go out daily and it makes for an interesting subject. I was trying out some new Daniel Smith colors, particularly perrylene violet ,which dominates this painting. I  could have included some yachts but wanted to keep it a more quiet peaceful scene. I'm still thinking of maybe adding a few yachts though.

Marsh Evening

I haven't painted in a while. However, having sold nine paintings in the month of December, I figure I had better get busy again. For anyone wondering how to go about selling their art, I have had a lot of success with the online gallery zatista.com.  They sell my paintings regularly - this year I sold 19 through them. They also have a store on amazon.com and list all of the paintings in their gallery on their amazon store, where art seems to sell quite well. The downside is that zatista takes 45% commission on each sale. But then, if I didn't have my paintings on their site, I probably would still have them in my inventory, which is one way of looking at it.  I have sold all of my sunset and marsh paintings so wanted to paint another in the same series since the subject appeals to me. This is probably my last painting of the year so I wish all my fellow bloggers happy holidays and a fruitful painting new year.

Twighlight Hour

Another watercolor using multiple glazes to achieve the effect I was aiming for. I'm going back to glazing for now because I enjoy building up a watercolor with multiple glazes and slowly seeing the depth of the piece come to life. I sold a number of watercolors this month using this technique. They all also are paintings of sunsets, dawn and sunrise. For this watercolor I used raw sienna, indanthrone blue,  transparent red iron oxide and burnt umber. Size is 12.5" x 9.5"

Dusk

I did multiple glazing for this watercolor to achieve the depth you can only get through this method of painting. The piece was inspired by scenes of the African Savannah, with it's vast unspoiled areas of grassland dotted with acacia trees that are indigenous to the area. For those who follow my blog on a regular basis, you know by now that I love to paint tonal landscape scenes depicting dusk, sunrise, sunset or dawn. I love the light at that time of day. I was rather pleased with the end result of this watercolor.