Autumn Stream

This is a test!

Great Horned Owl in coffee

The project today...I am doing Paint Nature in Coffee at the Gorman Nature Center on April 30 for the Wildlife Weekend. We will be painting an owl in coffee. This is one of mine. A definite challenge. Coffee doesn't behave like watercolor. Try it for fun! You have to use really strong coffee. It is done by layering.

The Rooster

This is the DPW challenge this week. Chicken! I decided to do a rooster rather than copy the chicken. Another challenge...Color choices, trying to do color changes with each stroke. He is a cocky challenge!

Farm House

This was this week's homework: to do a landscape with green and trees. I have followed Johannes rules, but my next landscape will be toned red if I am going to have greens in it. Began using the Yellow Ochre Pale and hardly any bright yellows. Trying to remember all the rules. To marry colors, to not put the grass the same as the trees, hard and soft edges to make the trees round, make each tree have character, warm and cool, values oh and fit fun in there!!

Leo

Finished up this acrylic on Yupo paper that I started last week. I am still controlled and need to loosen up some more to get the effect I want.

Spring's Promise

Another challenge. Spring trees. I did not realize until Johannes's classes how much I clone everything, trees, tree limbs, mounds in the water, everything! Even after I finish and photo, I see clones. It seems when I fix the clones I even clone the fix with something else!! I am learning so much. I still feel my work is not as dramatic as it has been..perhaps when I get the basics down, I will start getting to the one color per stroke. Maybe need to make more dramatic value study. I think I am so worried about not going over and 8 on the value scale that I end up making everything mid tone.

German Road After

Much happier with these changes. I feel it is more vibrant and colorful. I am still trying to stay within Johannes guidelines and I did post it on Daily Paintworks Challenge

German Road Before

I worked on this DPW challenge yesterday and just was not happy with it. It seemed bland and boring.

Coastal Pine After

So I did change the shape of the small peninsula and changed the shape of the rectangle at the bottom.

Coastal Pine Before

Before.Johannes recommended to work on the shape of the peninsula that looks like the Concorde airplane and that the bottom of the painting is a rectangle and needs to have a better shape.

Winter Lake

Decided to send in my homework early to be able to get some criticism! I had used the modeling paste and painted without the Gesso. Definitely needs Gesso. I am learning a lot, to not use the photo as photographed but to do the value sketch and stick by it. To change the shapes to abstract, make more interesting shapes and lines. I wanted this to be a moody painting and I feel I accomplished that. So much to think about, hard edges, soft edges, where to put them. I am sure Johannes will find many things to work on.

Edges Homework

This week's homework! Difficult! Johannes wanted us to paint a group of trees with soft and hard edges, using all the tricks and secrets on how to make a tree an abstract shape. My pines are not abstract enough and keeping to the mid values makes the painting seem dull with no life. Last week I went high value with my maple tree, this week mid value. I am not excited about it at all.