Light on the Yuba

 

I have had an obsession with light ever since I can remember. I wanted to keep a minimal approach with these paintings, it is all about the light and feeling of the river. I painted this rather quickly because I had to run multiple fans in my art room. This is on Arches 300# a quarter sheet.

I also painted this one quickly because the paint was drying super fast. Again a minimal approach. Also from the same area on the river. This is on Fabriano Soft press, and I am in love! Until I get more Lanaquelle paper that is.

This painting was started last week and I fished it today. It was painted about 80% saturated wet on wet and I finished it up wet on dry. I used Saunders Waterford I think.

I have discovered that I can post from my tablet easier than from my computer, and it is fast!

**A word about photos. The paintings and photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.

North Yuba at Indian Outpost

 

On Schut Noblesse 140# cp quarter sheet

 

I started this painting yesterday and finished it today. I didn’t bother with photos showing my progression. This paper is fairly new to me, not sure if I care for it or not. I like a paper to push back at me, it seems too “mushy”, it doesn’t have a response that I like. Corrections are difficult and you have to be careful because very wet washes will congeal in some spots and try to lift up in places you don’t necessarily want it to. I don’t mind a paper that puts me on the edge of my seat but I like a little teamwork.

I’ll might soften up some edges of that bush that leans over the rocks.

colors used: Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Quin. Gold, Aureolin, Indigo

*A word about photos. The photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.

Morning on the North Yuba

 

on 200# Saunders quarter sheet

Oh my I am so picky today! I am thinking that I need to stretch my creative muscles and go for a really loose painting. I keep picking the above painting to bits. I have a problem with all those rocks, maybe it is my picky mood. So I started another Yuba river painting but more loose and carefree.

 

layer number 1

I always love starting out a new painting, so exciting! I started out with wet on semi-wet here.

 

layer #2

I often will bring the background to a certain stage than move onto the middle or foreground. I don’t like to complete a background because often it takes a back and forth work to bring a painting to the correct feeling or value.

 

layer #3 or more

I started to move on those rocks and the back trees on the left and gradually brought the water up slowly. I used a wax crayon to protect the whites.

I do believe that those rocks were my enemy and yet I loved how a lot of them  presented that special glow that I saw that morning. In the final stage I did lump some sections of the rocks into a more concrete mass. All in all, not bad but I am missing my wild and loose and fancy free approach. I need to go bareback on that wild pony!

colors  used: Aureolin, Quin. Gold, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Tiger’s Eye Genuine, Prussian Blue, Cereluen Blue

 

This is the reference photo of that morning on the North Yuba….beautiful, don’t you think?

*A word about photos. The photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.

 

 

 

 

 

A Peaceful Day at Little Bear Lake

 

my first photo of my sequence of layers

I was asked to take photos of my process of painting. This is a painting of an area that I love up near the Sierra Buttes in Sierra County.  Here is a post from one of my plein air trips up to this area:  Bear Lakes Loop- World Watercolor Month #2

I planned this out carefully with a value sketch (yay me!) color swatches (yay me, again!) and then proceeded to get the job done.

When I started taking photos, at this point I believe that this was my second or third layer. I painted the background wet on dry though I did use my sprayer to help feather the paint to help create some branches, to loosen things up a bit.

Here I started on bringing up the depth of the water, etching out those falling trees in the water, working on the foliage in back of the rocks. Another layer on the rocks I believe.

 

completed painting on a quarter sheet 140# watercolor paper

 

This is basically finished. I do believe that I lost some vividness of the color on my last photo, it matches more with the second photo. I soften two of the rocks on the far right, scratched in some sparkles on the water, soften the edge of the water on both the background and far right. As I look at this painting. I feel that I need to clean up the top of one of those rocks where the foliage is, it looks lumpy.

I decided to go tighter this time around because now and then I like to go slow and detailed just to teach myself some order and especially to take my time. I can’t always go like a bat out of hell working through my watercolors. I do believe that I managed to make that far rock on the top left my focal point but wonder if I made all those rocks too closely related, a big lump of rocks. Next time I think that I will bring my designated rock to completion and leave the rest a little uncompleted.

colors used: Quin. gold, Aureolin, Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Raw Sienna

*A word about photos. The photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.

 

 

Early Morning on the North Yuba

 

on Arches 300# cp quarter sheet

Sorry about the paragraphs not having any space between them but WP is acting up for me and I can’t seem to correct it.

     This painting is from a photo from last year when the temperatures were dropping. The morning that I arrived, the sun was just creeping around the corner and the mist was so beautiful. Here is the same scene but in pastel and on en plein air:  Frosty November Morning

     I have painted this scene at least 5 times. Those bushes across the river is so darn difficult to capture correctly. I didn’t worry about trying to get it to look like the photo, what is the creative fun in that? None! I did the tree section in the background wet on wet and had to go back at least three times to darken and bring up what features I felt would give the scene the correct nuance.

Colors used:  Aureolin, Cobalt Blue, Prussian Blue, Quin. Gold, Ultramarine Blue

*A word about photos. The photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.

 

Another View of Goose Lake

 

I had a difficult time getting  my photo to marry up with my painting but I tried, keep that in mind.

 

Goose Lake on Lanaquarelle 140# quarter sheet

I have been working on multiple paintings and this one is pretty much finished though I might put in a few dark sections in the back woods. Goose Lake is up in the same area as the Sierra Buttes and for some reason I am intrigued with this view. Here are my previous posts of Goose Lake: Goose Lake in Sierra County and Pastel of Goose Lake and last but not least Acrylic of Goose Lake.

As I worked on the above painting, I kept to an over-all feeling and gist of Goose Lake and tried not to rely solely on my reference photo. I like to imagine myself at the scene, hearing the birds, feeling the environment as I paint. I usually listen to music that helps me to imagine that I am there, in this case Native American flute music. Often when I paint a forest scene, I will listen to nature and bird sounds or lately Chinese music.

Again I truly feel that it is important to paint what you know and love, but that is my own personal prerequisite. I worked on this painting (as I am accustomed to do) when I am in the zone. Once I feel my artist eye or view wane, I step away. The sky, backwoods were painted wet on wet. I went back in to put in some calligraphy. I took more care with painting the trees in the front.

Lately my goal is not to be precise or detailed, I want the essence of a scene, there is something appealing to me about this approach.

Colors used: Aureolin, Cobalt Blue, Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Quin. Gold, Moonglow

*A word about photos. The photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.