Birch Trees in Progress

I wanted to show one of my paintings in progress (36" x 18"). The orangish under-painting serves two purposes. First, it gives the background a more tonally neutral color (white can be too bright)against which I gage all the image colors I will be using and two, as orange is opposite of blue on the color wheel (a complimentary color relationship), this will add a bit of warmth and depth even though the viewer may not actually see the orange when the painting is finished. The sketches for this particular painting of winter birch trees were completed this past winter. Sometimes I prefer to mull over a scene in my mind for a few months before beginning a painting. I find this sometimes allows me to be somewhat more creative with color, though prefer to work outside directly from nature.

I will post the finished piece soon.

A Good Beginning - Beach Stones

For this large scale watercolor, I used two large full sheets of arches watercolor paper (22x30) and put them side by side for a total size of 30" x 44". I took a photo of the rocks and pebbles on a Cape Cod beach and thought this image would be wonderful for a large scale piece; it is simultaneously realistic and very abstract, which I love. That duality in painting is always exciting to me. I've posted the finished image later in this blog - showing the two side by side.

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