“End Of Season” – New Watercolor Painting

“End Of Season”

My latest landscape painting  began as a demonstration for my current “Landscape Painting in Watercolor” class. The class focuses specifically on the most efficient and effective techniques needed for painting watercolor landscapes.  Since the class is held indoors, we are working from photos.  The two reference photos  are shown below.  In this particular class, we combined images from the two photos while simplifying the subject and focusing on large shapes and in applying three basic kinds of watercolor washes – flat, graded & variegated.  By the end of class, the large foundation washes had been applied. I finished the painting in my studio principally by adding the touches of value, color and especially the textures needed to depict that time in autumn when the fields have been harvested, the leaves are gone and frost has removed the life and color from any remaining vegetation.

The reference photos are from scenes that are near but across the road from each other.  The sweeping, quiet rhythm of the fields from the left photo was attractive to me but I felt it needed more focus.  Adding the farm buildings and road from the right photo added the point of focus needed.

As is my tendency, the color in the finished painting has been enhanced with additional “chroma” or intensity and the field shapes along with the road enhance the feeling f movement.  I’m attracted to both the rhythm and contrast of open fields – both cultivated and uncultivated.  As mentioned above, farm fields – after the harvest – and open fields in the time after frost have unique textures.  Suggesting these textures is a visual cue as to the season – despite the color that is more expressive than realistic.

The content of the current class, plus some additional information, will be offered again in “Watercolor – the Essential Techniques” on the weekend of November 6 & 7, 2010.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my Studio Gallery. It is open by appointment – please contact me to arrange a visit.

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“Under the Canopy” – Plein Air Watercolor Painting

"Under The Canopy"

New watercolor painting – “Under The Canopy”. 14″ x 21″ Begun as a demo for my Painting the Autumn Landscape workshop this past weekend, finishing touches done in the studio. More about the painting and process here – http://tonyconner.com/2010/09/30/under-the-canopy-plein-air-watercolor-painting/

Plein Air Watercolor Sketches

Plein Air sketch - Cloud Shadows on the Green Mountains

Plein Air sketch - Hillside tree line

Plein Air sketch – cloudy sky and shadowed mountain top

Three sketches completed during my weekend class “Painting the Autumn Landscape in Watercolor”. On Saturday, the first day of the class, we climbed a hillside behind the Taraden Bed & Breakfast in North Bennington, VT to paint the the visible from that spot. It was a beautiful early fall day – just warm enough and with bright sunshine interrupted periodically by one of the fluffy and fast-moving clouds. From our spot, it was possible to view the a great deal of the peaks of the Green Mountains – from the north east to the south. To the south and west, the distant Taconic Range was also visible. I did these sketches during the day.

The first sketch was done earlier in the day, when the sky had relatively few low clouds that cast their shadows over the mountains. Because they were moving, we could watch the shadows race over the surface of the hills and mountains. One of the biggest challenges when painting “en plein air” is handling the constantly changing conditions, especially the light and shadow conditions on the ground. The solution is to sketch, in pencil, the main forms and then watch for an attractive pattern of shadow. Once it appears, quickly add the shadow shapes in pencil. Once you start painting, you can refer to the light areas of the mountains and hills to get the local color, and watch for more cloud shadows to get that color.

Each of these sketches is about 6 x 8 in size and each was completed in less than10 minutes. For me, the key to lively plein air sketches is working quickly. The other advantage is that it will train you to see both the shape and color of the scene you are painting very quickly, which translates to greater skill as an artist.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my Studio Gallery. It is open by appointment – please contact me to arrange a visit.

Sign up form for my email list for News, Events, Exhibits & Classes

New Autumn Landscape

“Golden Afternoon”

11″ x 15″

$425

 

This painting began as a way to experiment with a new color, Daniel Smith’s Quinacridone Deep Gold.  My palette doesn’t change much in that I generally stick with colors and brands that I am used to, this one caught my eye while browsing the Daniel Smith catalog.  Once the paint arrived, I had to use it!  The color out of the tube is an intense golden orange color – one that reminded me of the color one can experience standing in a Vermont hardwood forest at peak autumn color.  The light filtering through the golden leaves infuses the entire landscape with a magical golden color.   Looking for quick inspiration, I scanned my photo archives for an autumn landscape and found one that seemed to have just the correct light conditions.  With photo at the ready, a couple quick thumbnail sketches and a color sketch launched the work shown above.