To prevent my brains from turning into liquid mush because I’m sooooo bored at work, I had to perk up and do an emergency nature sketch. Hold all calls please….
Armed with a yellow pad and a blue bic pen, I sketch two basswood leaves I picked up in the parking lot during lunch.
It was an emergency. I felt shakey….nature withdrawal.
I feel much better now.
Posted in art, Artwork, nature, Nature Sketching, sketchbook
Tagged basswood leaf, basswood leaf sketch, bic pen, Christine Kane Art, ckane, emergency sketch, nature withdrawal
Field Guardians - watercolor
I did this quick sketch the other day after work and before night school. The three deciduous characters are my field guardians. They loyally stand in place to take account for all that enters the field. Who will be deemed worthy to sit on their shoulders? Perhaps a red-tailed hawk may, to seek the mouse that runs below.
A little story for your sketch can never hurt.
Here is the actual reference photo. It is a little hard to distinguish the individual trees because all of the color values are so similar. That’s when as an artist, you have to take things in your own hands and assign colors and values. At first you may feel timid, but it gets easier with practice. I promise.
There is no doubt that humans have contributed to the out of control rise in carbon dioxide especially within the last 100 years, unless that is, you are a business man or politician. Scientists say right now the atmosphere contains 387 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide. That’s too high! Glaciers are melting, sea level is rising, and the climate is beginning to become unstable. What is a safe upper limit level according to scientists is 350 ppm.
This next step-by-step watercolor painting is completely made up. I have been under the weather for several days now, a week actually, and I just was not healthy enough to get outside. While I may be sick, I’m never too sick to pick up a paint brush…he, he, he…
I did this painting last week when here in Chicago it was cold and rainy for several days. I actually like that kind of weather because there is a stronger contrast between the bright autumn leaves on the trees and the dark mean sky. So brilliant!
There is no reference photo for this one, I think I had an older painting in mind, Day Lit Moon, when I was doing this, I can see the similarities.
Step 1: On hot press watercolor paper I made a rough sketch of three trees in a field. I applied masking fluid to cover the trees so that I can work on the background. Because I am making this up, there are two things I want to make sure I do: #1 Make the trees different heights to look more realistic and #2 When applying masking fluid, leave some holes of open paper so the sky can show through. Nobody will guess we made it up!
Step 2: Let’s paint that mean sky! Yes! I used three colors: indigo blue, alizarin crimson, and perm. sap green. I did not wet my background first, I just laid on the paint.
Step 3: While the background was still wet but not shiny, I used my same mixture plus a tiny bit of sepia to make a zig-zag pattern in the sky for some serious cold and saturated clouds. Then mixing some more crimson in my mixture I painted the distant trees.
Step 4: Paint the field sap green with a touch of raw umber. While wet, make a few more distant trees and scrape out branches with something sharp. You have to scrape while wet or it will not work.
Step 5: When completely dry, remove the masking fluid. Paint the left side of the trees winsor yellow(or any yellow you like) and while wet, paint the right side a mixture of yellow and burnt sienna. Let them come together. Easy.
Step 6: When your trees are dry, paint a few leaves. I painted some cad. orange leaves and crimson leaves. Don’t forget the ones on the ground, you can even have fun by painting one leaf actually falling from the tree in mid air. Next, I painted the trunks and made a few exposed twigs with sepia and indigo blue. I did not use a micron pen with this painting.
Step 7 Final: I did not paint in this step but discovered something important. I took a pre-cut mat and realized that I like the view to the right of the trees much better than the view left of the trees. The sky has more of a story to tell with the layering of clouds, and the field has greater distance than before. I found this out by just moving the field of view around, it looks completely different now and I like it.
“Autumn Cold Rain”
image: 6.5×4.5
off white mat outside dimensions: 10×8
I hope you enjoyed this made up watercolor painting of autumn trees in cold rain. Please find time to enjoy autumn while it is briefly here.
Posted in art, Artwork, Landscape, nature, step by step painting, weather
Tagged Christine Kane Art, ckane, cold rainy autumn painting, how to paint autumn trees, how to paint cold rainy day, painting demonstration, paiting weather, watercolor autumn trees, watercolor painting, watercolor step by step
White Oak Leaves - Watercolor
After work I stopped at the Palos Woods North and just sat in the parking lot. I stepped out of the car and pick up this tiny branch from the parking lot floor. How I love autumn leaves. This twig measures 6 inches exactly.
When I started to sketch the white oak leaves, I did not want to squish it in my frame. My perimeter is 3.25×5.25 inches. It did not fit. Nor did I want it to fit.
Sometime I feel as if I “don’t fit”. Matter of fact, I feel it a lot. I feel like a leaf with eaten bug holes and everything else not as perfect…
But that’s what makes a person beautiful.
You are valued, bug holes and all.
Here is the actual composite of leaves and my sketch. To study from nature is to learn about our surroundings and to learn about ourselves.
Happy Discoveries.
Verse of the Day
