Heading for the Loft

Winterlude Part 3

"Winterlude" almost there!

I keep adding colour and detail throughout the entire scene.  I want to maintain a balance so that I can judge each new brush stroke against the overall look of the painting.  If you concentrate too much on one area you may find that it doesn't work so well after the rest of the painting is completed.  You also run the risk of 'falling in love' with how that particular area of your work looks and you may not want to make necessary changes as you go forward.  By working more or less equally across the painting, you can maintain a healthier and more impartial perspective on your work.

Here I have painted in the distant trees using a mixture of sap green, ultramarine blue and titanium white.  Ultramarine blue dominates to create an illustion of distance.  Now the local colour of the barn is introduced.  I decided on a soft yellow to promote the feeling of bright sunlight on a cold winter day. I add snow to the branches of the spruce tree in front of the barn and generally add more detail to everything.  I introduce a slight hint of warmth in the sky on the right side of the painting, again to establish a feeling of bright sunlight coming from that direction.  Now I embellish the soft shadows in the snow and on the snowy branches in the foreground using a mixture of ultramarine blue and titanium white.

"Winterlude" 9 X 12 inches acrylic on board

I work fairly consistently over the entire painting as I go along, so everything comes together quite nicely as I near the finish.  I add small details and highlights as necessary, such as brightening the snow on the barn roof, spruce tree, fence and middle ground to suggest bright light in these areas.  I add bits of snow in the forks of tree branches beside the barn and I strengthen the blue shadow areas.

The last area to concentrate on is the foreground.  Layers of detail and colour are added to the birds to make them appear close to the viewer.  The pine needles are finished off with darker and more detailed brush strokes using a combination of sap green and lamp black,  The tree branches are painted in quickly with burnt sienna and lamp black in the shadows.

In order to increase the contrast between the sunny background and the shadowed foreground, I add a glaze of ultramarine blue and mat medium over most of the pine branches and the birds until I see a clear division between the two areas.  Once the signature is added, the painting is finished!

Winterlude Part Two

"Winterlude" a work in progress

Now I begin blocking in a few colours to create an underpainting on my illustration board.  The sky is roughed in with a combination of cerulean blue and titanium white acrylic pigments.  Because the light is coming from the right side of the painting, I transition from a very pale colour on the right to a darker sky on the left.  I block in the shadows on the barn roof and in the snow.  The snow surfaces that are directly in sunlight are blocked in with titanium white.  I use cerulean blue to add a few contours to the shaded, snow laden boughs in the foreground.

"Winterlude" one step closer!

I keep adding more colour and more detail, gradually establishing my colour scheme and mood of the painting.  I use cadmium red to wash in basic tones on the male and female cardinals and slowly build contours of light and shadow as I go.  The plumage of the female cardinal is primarily drab and somewhat olive, so I use a combination of cadmium yellow, titanium white and ultramarine blue to create this colour.  The spruce tree in the middle ground and the pine boughs in the foreground are quickly blocked in with sap green.  Next, I introduce burnt sienna on the fencing and bare deciduous trees in the middle ground.  I also build a little more shadow contour on the male cardinal with this colour.  Finally, I paint the sky again with more colour and detail in the blending.  My painting is starting to take shape!

Winterlude

"Winterlude" sketch

I thought I would do a demo of how I paint this Christmas image for licensing.  I do a fair amount of illustrative art for licensing through Porterfield's Fine Art Licensing.  A winter scene is the perfect choice, since the art that is most in demand for licensing is usually a Christmas theme.  These images are often used for greeting cards, puzzles, gift ware and paper products as well as many other possibilites.  A prospective client will review the work I have available for licensing in a given catagory, choose what suits their project and purchase limited rights to use the image for a specific purpose and for a specific period of time.

The first thing I do when producing this type of art is to brainstorm an idea that will appeal to a maximum number of buyers.  Quite often, as in this case, the idea includes a number of similar images that may evolve into a series of finished pieces, all on the same theme.  Once I feel I have enough inspiration to proceed I come up with reference material for my idea.  I file all types of reference and I take digital photos everywhere I go, so I have a lot of material to draw from.  Now I create sketches to work out my design and create any additional parts of my picture from a combination of memory and imagination.  When this is done  I proceed to do a finished sketch on board or canvas to begin my painting.

"Winterlude"

The next step begins by spraying my drawing with a workable fixative to seal the graphite and prevent smearing.  Now I cover the drawing with matt medium that contains a small amount of acrylic pigment to tone the board.  Usually I will mix one muted colour and cover the entire surface evenly to provide a ground instead of glaring white.  Warm earth tones are my usual choice, but blue-gray is an alternative for a cooler, more subdued look.  

This time I wanted to suggest an extreme contrast between the extreme sunlight on the right and the cool shade on the left of my painting, so I toned the matt medium with cadmium yellow on the right and cerulean blue on the left.  I hope to create the illusion of a winter day warmed by the sun.  These colours will influence the paint that I lay over top as I continue to work.

Think Spring!

I know it is only New Years Eve, but hey!  I'm ready for spring, how about you?  We have been very spoiled here in Southern Ontario for the last few years.......virtually no winter weather to speak of.  Things have started off a bit different this year, however!  Two snow storms in the past week have delivered almost one and a half feet of snow, just in time for Christmas and New Years!  Now you know why spring is already looking rather attractive to me, right?

To help promote the idea (or maybe just the illusion) of an early spring this year, I thought I would post my latest painting (finished yesterday in fact) to warm the cockles of your hearts.........

'Garden Angel'  11"X14" Oil on panel

The Garden Angel is a cement figurine that we have in our bird bath in the back garden.  I have always loved this piece of sculpture and have wanted to paint it for some time.  Prompted by my early longing for the warmth of spring, I decided now was the perfect time to tackle the project.  I used a palette comprised of sap green, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, indian red, cadmium yellow medium, lamp black and titanium white.  I completed the painting in oils after doing a quick underpainting using a deep green acrylic to block in the dark areas first.  I use a combination of regular oils and alkyd oils (especially alkyd titanium white to speed drying), along with Liquin and turps as mediums.  I have a feeling that this new painting will be as close as I get to spring for some time yet.......

 HAPPY NEW YEAR one and all!

I Remember When

The weather has been very nice here in Southern Ontario for the past month.  I have really enjoyed it but of course it took me away from the computer and my blog.  During that time I managed to get some plein air painting done.  I love to be outdoors on warm, sunny autumn days, and this year the opportunities to do so were terrific.  Hurricane Sandy was supposed to hit us pretty hard after it came ashore in New York and New Jersey, but fortunately for folks in Southern Ontario, it had pretty well blown itself out by the time it got here.  We sure felt bad for the shoreline residents of those US states who were devistated by the storm.  Many of them lost everything, including the land where their homes once sat.  It makes you realize just how lucky you are and that you should appreciate everything and everyone you have in your life.

I was also busy with my art exhibit in Kingston, Ontario during the month of October.  My opening at the beginning of the month was a great success, with a good turnout and lots of interest.  I sold a number of paintings and obtained a few commissions to keep me busy too.

I Remember When 12 X 16 Alkyd on panel  Sold

This is a plein air painting that I did a number of years ago.  The location is a very narrow country road in Eldon Township, well to the north and somewhat east of the city of Toronto, Ontario.  The land was still being worked, but the house and barns had been abandoned long ago.  Places like this are full of mystery and I always wonder what interesting stories they could tell of days gone by and lives lived before my time.

I sold this painting in my recent art show, so it has gone to a new owner and a new home.  I hope the new owner can find as much enjoyment in it as I did when I painted it on that now distant autumn day.

Madawaska Sunset

18 X 24     Madawaska Sunset    $950.00

We used to own a cottage that we built ourselves near Algonquin Park in Ontario. It was tucked away on a beautiful, quiet bay below the fast water at Bell’s Rapids on the Madawaska River. This was the view in front of our chalet. In the winter, the quiet was almost deafening, only broken by the soft and distant sound of the rapids and an occasional raucous ‘cawing’ of a raven. It was a wonderful place that I think of often.

I Saw the Light

I Saw the Light

Here it is, Day 2 and I have another small painting to post!  This one also measures 5 inches high by 7 inches wide.  It is painted in oil on canvas panel.  Painting at this size is not as easy as it may look.  You have to be spontaneous but accurate with your brush stokes on a support that is not much larger than your hand.  I am having fun though!

This painting is for sale by auction at Daily Paintworks.com.  If you would like to bid click here.

I love to paint pictures with water in them.  This spot is near my former home just south of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.  The sky was rather tepid so I decided to create some drama by painting a defined cloud base with a strong sunrise over the horizon.  I was pleased with the result.....did it work for you?  Post your comments, I would love to hear from you!

Tropical Rain Forest Toucan - Step Four

I continue to add basic detail to the foliage behind the toucan.  Each plant has it's own shades of green.  The leaf structure and veins within them also vary from plant to plant.  In the background I paint subtle whisps of vines to suggest greater depth in the picture.

I continue to paint layers of detail into the leaves until they seem to be strong enough to stand out without overpowering the toucan in the foreground.  The last thing required is to intensify some of the colours in the toucan, mango, butterfly and tree frog.  The picture is complete when I ad strong white highlights here and there.  I save the greatest colour contrast and largest white highlight for the toucan and it's bill, so that it will dominate the picture, both in size and strength.

Holly Hocks

My wife and I used to own a farm on Lake Simcoe, in Ontario, Canada.  For many years, this was the view from my art studio.  The north window faced this barn wall and pasture, where I planted holly hocks, which we enjoyed every summer.  

I enjoy looking at paintings that I have done in the past, that show places and things that may no longer exist as they once were.  It brings back fond memories in a way that only a painting can.  Not only does it record the way it looked, but also the way it made me feel.

This painting measures 16 inches high by 20 inches wide.  Friends of ours purchased it at one of my art shows a few years ago and they seem to enjoy it too.  Prints are available here.

Freighter Inviken-Step 6

The final phase of the painting is a matter of going back and refining areas as needed.   The clouds are softened a little and white highlights are added to indicated the direction of the sunlight filtering through them.  The trees and bridge are painted in and if you look close, you will see a tiny tractor-trailer truck at mid-span.  Small details are added over the superstructure of the ship and the hull is embellished to make it look powerful.  I add layers of colour over the small waves and reflect the sunlight with an impressionistic application of white highlights.

The last thing I do is add my signature to the lower right hand corner.  This last image is a professional scan of the finished painting and is a better representation of the true colours in the painting.  As I work, I take digital photos on my easel where the light is not as balanced as it should be, so the initial images can be less acurate.

I wanted to create a painting that suggests power and industry, while at the same time indicating the power and majesty of the natural world.  When I finished, I was pleased with this result.  The painting measures 16 inches high by 20 inches wide, painted on stretched canvas.  If you are interested in purchasing this original work of art or a fine art print on archival paper or canvas, please visit my website at www.richarddewolfe.com.

Freighter Inviken-Step 5

It is finally time to start blocking in the ship itself.  This is a complex shape with many small details.  I take my time, painting in sections simply and as clearly as I can.  The mass of the hull is mostly black with only slight suggestions of form and contour at the rear and away from the sunlight.  On the right side of the ship, where the light is strong, I try to suggest heavy steel plates that are streaked with rust.

The superstructure of the freighter is much more complicated and each area requires careful consideration.  I keep the surfaces that are away from the sunlight cool and subdued and begin playing up the surfaces that face the sun.  This creates the center of interest in the painting.  Everything is now more or less in place and working together.

Freighter Inviken-Step 4

I begin blocking in the clouds now.  I start with the darks, establishing the weight and mass of the cumulus formations.  When I placed the general cloud masses in the sky, I drew them in perspective,  going from large shapes in the foreground above the ship and progressively getting smaller as you look further back and down towards the distant horizon.

Now I begin refining the darks in the clouds and adding mid tones to soften and mold these areas.  I work progressively lighter, leaving the brightest highlights until last.  Now I have established the general look of the sky, with only the ship itself to be blocked in.  The overall look of the painting is beginning to make me want to get back out on the water myself!

Freighter Inviken-Step 3

I continue to build simple colours in the water, the headlands and the bridge that is back near the horizon.  Already the ship seems to be sitting on the surface of the water and moving towards the bridge.

I add more detail to the trees and then spend more time building subtle colour shifts in the surface of the water.  Each wave is a separate surface.  Each of these surfaces is concave in shape, so light is reflecting off of them in a multitude of angles and intensities.  Everything is in continuous motion, so I find the best way to paint water is to recreate the impression it gives you rather than trying to sort out specific details.  I work over this surface a number of times, occasionally adding a thin glaze with one colour to unify everything if it gets too busy.

Freighter Inviken-Step 2

Now I create a tonal image on the canvas, using progressively darker mixtures of my ground colour.  This gives me a feel for the tonal balance in the painting.  In other words, I can assess where the lights and darks will fall and what sort of positive/negative design this will create in the finished work.

Now it is time to switch from acrylic paint to alkyd.  I usually block in the sky first, working from dark to light and distance to forground throughout the painting.  I have painted the sky a darker shade towards the zenith and becoming progressively lighter towards the horizon.  I also keep the sky lighter on the side towards the light of the sun and darker on the opposite side.  As you can see by the light side of the ship, the sunlight will be on the right side of the painting.  I avoid getting to fussy or detailed at this stage.

Golden Lake

I want to stay with the autumn colours for a while longer. This is a great time of year in the northern hemisphere. A day like the one in this painting is something to be savoured against the cold, barren days to come.

This scene is typical of lake and river country throughout Southern and Central Ontario, Quebec, and the North Eastern United States. The reds and golds of hard and soft maple, white birch, oak, beech and ash trees contrast beautifully with the deep greens of white and red pine, spruce and cedar.

I wanted to play up the crystal blue sky and fluffy white clouds against the strong yellow and gold of the birch and maple trees in the foreground. This is echoed in the shoreline foliage in the middle ground and again in the hazy distant trees in the background. The composition is designed so that the trees in the foreground lead the viewer's eye into the picture to the pines on the opposite shore in the middle ground. These trees, in turn, guide the eye back into the upper foliage of the foreground trees and back around once more. The ripples and abstractions in the water reflections give the painting a feeling of life and movement.

The painting is done in acrylic paint on stretched canvas. It measures 16 inches high by 20 inches wide.

Elusive

Every year, about mid-summer, there is a show and auction sale of antique boats at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York. I caught this wonderful mahogany speed boat, a fore runner of the modern 'cigarette boat', as it left the Alexandria Bay boat basin during the Antique Boat Show several years ago. She has just passed the Sunken Rock lighthouse, at Alexandria Bay, New York, heading back upriver toward Clayton. When the captain opened the throttle, she was gone in a flash.

I loved the way the cumulus clouds were building in the sky and the way the sun shone on the highly polished varnish finish on the hull of the boat. The long, narrow shape of the canvas adds thrust to this composition, and the bow-view accentuates the length of the boat in relation to the size of the figures in the cockpit. The original painting is done in alkyd on a canvas panel. It measures 12 inches by 24 inches. It now hangs in one of the beautiful old summer homes on an island on the Canadian side of the river.

Swell

I love to do paintings of the Thousand Islands, and antique boats are special subjects to me. There is no place I enjoy spending the day more than on the water where I grew up. This spot is just a half mile from my old home, near Rockport, Ontario.

"Swell" is a beautiful example of a 34 foot Elco Cruisette that was built in 1925. She is seen here passing smoothly under the Thousand Island Bridge on a warm, misty morning, as the sun begins to burn through the river haze. You can almost hear the throaty melody of her 38 HP, 4 cylinder inboard engine, as it pushes her smartly through the calm water at a respectable 10 MPH. Antique boats like this one are still fairly common in the Thousand Islands and they are highly prized by their owners.

I painted this picture on cotton canvas, using alkyd paint, applied very smoothly. It measures 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall. Occasionally, I am commissioned to paint antique boats, such as this one, for their owners. Prints are available for this and a number of other antique boat paintings that I have produced. Check out www.richarddewolfe.com for other examples.

Farm on Warden

Sometimes I like to stop and document a quick impression of a scene in a small, thumb-nail sketch to be referred to later for a larger, studio painting. This little piece is called 'Farm on Warden'. It measures just 4.5 inches by 6 inches. I painted it on an artist's sketch pad, first doing a quick pencil sketch, then quickly painting over that with acrylic paints, which are perfect for this type of work. They offer a full range of coverage from ultra transparent to heavy opaque, and they dry almost immediately. They are water proof and completely permanent. The colours are also particularly brilliant and there is a relatively small colour shift when dry.

By working this way, I can achieve a degree of impressionism that usually escapes me in more carefully planned works. When I attempted to recreate the feeling of this small sketch in a larger painting, I found that I preferred the small size and casual spontaneity of the original, so I framed the sketch instead.

I used to drive past this spot almost every day on my way to my studio in downtown Toronto, back in the days when I worked as a full-time illustrator. On this particular day, I could not resist the temptation to record the scene. As is so often the case, I am really glad that I did, since it no longer exists in this way. I especially liked the way the sunlight struck the face of the distant farm house and also the split rail fence that leads the viewer's eye into the picture.

Collecting the Sap

Here is another painting that I think is well suited to the season, here in Ontario. Our maple sugar and syrup making season has just ended for another year. The tradition of collecting sap from sugar maple trees is well known in eastern Canada and the north eastern USA. It is done in early spring when the sap stored in the roots of the maple tree begins to travel back up the trunks of these trees, to feed the buds that will soon blossom into leaves. Small holes are carefully drilled around the circumference of the tree and 'taps' or 'spiles' are driven into these holes to collect some of the sap as it flows upward. The sap, in turn, is allowed to drip into pails attached to the tree, or as is most common today, into a network of plastic tubing, which may run for miles to a central collection point. The sap must be boiled down quickly to avoid spoilage. It takes approximately eleven gallons of raw sap to produce one gallon of delicious maple syrup.

For the most part, tractors and modern equipment have replaced the horses and sleighs that were traditionally used in collecting the sap for delivery to the 'sugar shacks' for the long process of boiling over a wood fire. If you look hard enough, it is still possible to find teams of horses, such as the Belgians pictured here, being used in the bush to bring tanks of sap to the wood fired evaporators and maple sugar shacks.

The title of this painting is 'Collecting the Sap'. This painting measures 18 inches by 24 inches. I painted it on stretched cotton canvas, using alkyd paints. Prints are available.