I haven’t posted in awhile because I spent the beginning of April getting back into acrylic painting. I wanted to do some spring pieces for my church display, so I used 2′ x2′ canvases once again and embarked on a painting adventure! I used photo references and developed the compositions a little more to suit my taste.
This first painting was composed of a couple different photos I found online. I liked the flowers and background, but chose a photo of a monarch butterfly to paint instead of the other butterfly that was in the photo. That’s the great thing about painting, you can choose what goes in and what stays out. Change it up however you want, you’re the artist!
Nests remind me of spring, so I wanted to include that in my series. I painted the background light greens first, then added the nest and eggs. Branches and leaves were last. I messed and messed with the color of the eggs, and their shadows, they were a challenge!
This last painting was the most challenging. I used a couple photo references. I first painted the background first, developing the board fence. Then, I lightly sketched the watering can and shapes of flowers and began to block them in over the fence. Many layers of paint later, I developed the details of the peonies, watering can, and leaves. I added the petal on the ground… gives it a little more reality, I think.
I took a week or so off from major art, just a few sketches here and there…. Here is one I did of a guy in a coffee area at a local market. It was quick, he wasn’t there long, but I like it anyways.
Yesterday my urban sketching group met at Keg and Case Market in St. Paul. A great indoor venue by the Schmidt Brewery, see this website to learn more: https://www.kegandcase.com/ .
We had a great turn-out of people, and it’s a fun eclectic place of food, shops, eating and sitting areas, etc… I chose to sketch a bunch of things and put them in a collage using a Fude Sailor pen, Platinum Carbon black ink, and watercolors. I started with the skeleton head first on a blank page and went from there. I added the beer can last, and bent reality a bit by making it big compared to everything else. A piece of paper coaster adorns the top left corner. It turned out to be a fun piece!
