Lillies, Lemon, and Orange
12x16 Acrylic on stretched canvas

My new painting is coming along nicely, but still needs some work. So, once again I will show a painting I have already done. Lillies, Lemon, and Orange was painted in August. It started as a study of a vase, but became this beautiful still life. Hope you like it.

Rock Pile
12x9 acrylic on stretched canvas

Today was another day working on the mural, though I did get some personal painting in on a new canvas. Just got some of the background done, so it will be a day or two before I finish it. The painting, Rock Pile, was painted about 3 days before I started this blog. It is a picture of an interesting pile of rocks near may house someone uses as a driveway marker. I didn't like the driveway, so I left if out. Turned into a really interesting painting. Hope you like it.

Castaway
8x10 acrylic on canvas board

Well here it is, an absolutely fabulous painting. I worked on this all yesterday morning and again today. I had to redo a few things here and there but this one is just awesome. I hope you like it as much as I do. By the way, this is my 51st painting, not counting work on the mural. Long way from my first painting, which I will not show on this blog.

Saguaro
14x11 Acrylic on stretched canvas

Todays painting (not shown) is not finished yet. It needs some background work and the finishing touches, of course. So, I decided to show you this one. I painted Saguaro in August. I want you to compare the change in quality to Tree, Field and Hedgerows (in the footer of the page) which I painted in March, and to Brackenridge Park (above) which I painted in April. Now compare it to  yesterdays post. I hope that you can see a marked improvement in quality over the past 8 months. .

I think that Saguaro is a good painting. I was quite satisfied with it then. And I still am, which is saying something since I am beginning to have a more critical eye for my art. Many paintings I thought were o.k. before are now in the "Gesso" pile so the canvas can be reused. I have also been giving some away to family and friends.

Island in the Stream
11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas

One day my youngest son wanted me to take him to a park and we ended up walking along the San Antonio River. I took a lot of pictures while we were strolling along, including this one. It was actually a rather drab, overcast day, and most of the pictures are kind of dreary. I decided to brighten this up a bit. I really got the island to snap out at the viewer. I really do like this one.

Dead Tree Study
9x12 acrylic on canvas board

Todays painting is another study. This time it is a couple of dead trees in winter time. Colors used were ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, dioxazine purple, cadmium orange, and white. Turned out good.

Buck 54
11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas

Well, if there is going to be a day I won't do a painting it will be a Thursday. Not that I wasn't painting today, but Thursday is one of the days I work on the San Antonio Tri-centennial mural. I was painting pretty red flowers today. My section is the beautiful garden, so I will be doing lots of flowers.

Anyway, about the painting above. I did this painting about 10 October. It is my creation from start to finish. I did the setup and the composition, lighting, drawing and painting. I don't see many paintings of penny rolls. I did really good on the coins. Even got Lincoln's silhouette really good on one. I am thinking about doing another still life, but haven't decided the subject yet. But I have a few more trees in my noggin, too.

Study of a Rainbow
9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

Here is today's painting. The exercise is to paint the rainbow over the mountains. Everything came out good, except the rainbow. It is a little too opaque, especially the blue. Well, I have one sheet left on that canvas pad . . .

Tree Down the Street 1
8x10 acrylic on canvas board

I painted two pictures today. Tree Down the Street 1 was the second of the two. It is the first of an intended series of paintings of interesting trees and plants in the neighborhood. This tree is about a block and a half north of my house. The painting came out really well.

Tree Study
9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

The other painting was a study of a tree from the book I have been working out of (see the post from 21 October). I felt it was a success so I went and painted the Tree Down the Street using the techniques learned in the exercise..

I have a new camera, a Nikon Coolpix B500, so it will take me a little to get used to it. I try real hard not to mess up the photos of the paintings.

Shallow Lake
9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

Today's painting was an exercise for creating reflections on water. I modified the lesson slightly adding a few objects. Unfortunately, I was not pleased with this from the start. First, I had to completely trash the first attempt and by the time I had worked in the under painting for the trees and brush I was about ready to trash it again. But I pressed on, the lesson being about reflections not the trees. I worked in the highlights and detail improving the painting quite a bit more than I expected. I still didn't like the way the cypress tree looked. One of the things they say is don't get fussy over details so, I got fussy with that tree and finally got it to a "good enough" level.

But I learned a lot from this, which is the point. I used to tell my students that you don't learn anything if you do it right the first time. You learn when you make and correct your mistakes. I had a few on this one. Next time I might try my own composition, maybe on a canvas.

Mossy Rocks (painted 20-21 October 2018)

11x14 acrylic on canvas

Here is the painting I was working on yesterday and again today. I have painted a small stream as it passes around some moss covered rocks. There is a bunch of brush and dead branches in the background. The focal point is the waterfall between the left and center rock. The green of the moss is also that of a background bush which pulls the eye up and to the right. This painting came out pretty good and I have some recent work/studies to thank for it:

A Study of Rocks

9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

Rock Study

9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

The Bank

9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

These three studies were exercises from the book Secrets of Acrylic Landscape Start to Finish by Jerry Yarnell. I took a bit of the lesson from each and applied them to Mossy Rocks to see if I could adapt what I learned beyond the step-by-step lessons of the book. My intention, as I started in an earlier blog, is to paint everyday whether it is a lesson from a book or video or a composition/picture of my own creation.

I am trying to train my eye to look for scenes and objects around me that would be good subjects for paintings. I take walks around my neighborhood or in local parks taking pictures of what I think are interesting looking plants, trees, streams, fields and so on. I also try to compose the occasional still life as you saw in yesterdays post. Hopefully, I will get better at that as well as at the painting.

.Wednesday's (October 17, 2018) Painting: Blue Pot and Wicker Vase, 9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

For the most part, I paint landscapes or seascapes, but I also give a still life a try on occasion. This blue pot was on a table of prizes at a local bingo game and I really liked the blue. From a picture I took with my phone, I adapted it to this painting. The point was to work on composition and value. Both objects are in the "sweet spots" according to the rule of thirds (Yes, I have been studying) and I think I have the values, shadows, and highlights fairly correct. I was quite happy with the results of this.

Now, I know I said that I was attempting the Daily Painting Project and you might expect today's painting. Well, it isn't finished. I should have it for you tomorrow.

Today's painting: A Study of a Brook 9x12 Acrylic on Canvas Pad

 

2016 was absolutely the most miserable year of my life. My wife of more than 20 years suffered a series of strokes that left her completely paralyzed which led to her death from pneumonia. If that wasn't enough of a blow, less than an hour after returning home from her funeral, my upstairs ceiling collapsed with a loud "whoosh" as gallons of water from an unknown roof leak crashed through onto the rug. So, not only was I in the middle of dealing with overwhelming grief, I now had to deal with probate and insurance. Fun.

Managed to get roof fixed. Spent lots of time with lawyers and in court to probate her estate. So, now what could make things worse? Well, suddenly the college that I had taught electronic engineering at for almost as long as I had been married, closed its doors with about 2 weeks notice to staff and students alike. Now, on top of everything else, I am unemployed. And I said "To hell with it!" and retired.

But now I had time on my hands with nothing to do. Or nothing that I wanted to do. So for about a year, I more or less played mindless computer games and did little else except grieve. I knew I was depressed and I knew I had to do something to change it, but really did not care. Toward the end of 2017, however, I noticed that there was an art class (specifically painting) at one of the local senior centers. I decided to give it a try and jumped right in, as they say.

Now I have been painting about a year. I have decided to join the Daily Painting Project where you paint a small painting every day. I have been doing that for about 2 weeks and already have noticed an improvement in my art. I have decided to share this daily journey with you and use this blog to record it.

The other four paintings on the page are all among my first 10 paintings. Three of them, Red Sky at Morning, Mountain, and Braies Lake were displayed in the local libraries for the early part of 2018. Compare them with todays painting to see if you think I am getting better. I will post more paintings and more ramblings about them in the days to come. I hope that you decide to read along and enjoy the art.