Painting From Photographs

This is the painting I did for the St. Louis Watercolor Society last night.  There was a big crowd, and I enjoyed teaching them some things I've learned about painting trees.

First, I encouraged them to really look at trees.  So many times people revert to painting trees from memories of their childhood efforts.

Second, I suggested that they do a value sketch of the tree or the scene and then paint from the value sketch.  That way you'll avoid getting caught up in the trap of painting local color.  You get to decide what colors to make the trees.  It will also tell you if your darks are linked in an interesting shape.

Here is the painting.  Thanks to the SLWS for inviting me!

Eliminating Background Elements

Sorry for the absence.  Travelling home, unpacking the car, and breathing problems have kept me from painting.

But here is the last painting I did in Florida.  A boatyard is a crowded, busy place.  In order to focus attention on one boat and the man cleaning its hull, I opted to leave out much of the busy elements in the background.  Instead, I chose a wet-in-wet approach to keep the attention on the boat.  I did include a second boat that juts partially into the focal subject in order to stop your eye.  The third boat is only hinted at because I needed a horizontal element.  Sky, clouds, shrubs and other boats were all eliminated.  As I said in the last post, the rights of the painting come first.

This coming Wednesday I'll be doing a demonstration at the St. Louis Watercolor Society.  That lesson will be on painting trees---what to do and what to avoid.  So look for that painting very soon!