In The Studio: 13th Painting, “Larry’s Stump”

Today we continue with our project of 90 paintings in 90 days, and I am really starting to have fun with this.  I know for me my washes are getting more under control and I am finding the process much more deliberate.  I hope you are too.15 x 22 watercolor on Arches cold press, I am trying to capture the feeling of a wonderfully sunny day in the early spring.  Color is just returning to the countryside and it is crisp and bright.

line drawing

I washes a combination of Cobalt and Cerulean Blue for the sky using diagonal marks, leaving white openings and I clean the light pieces up with a damp paper towel.  The mountain piece is pretty much pure Cerulean Blue, and the trees are raw sienna, olive green, and ultramarine blue.

Brush in the foreground with a 1 inch flat using the same colors and the background trees.  Leave lots of texture and white this will give the painting a nice introduction to the center of interest. Splatter a little darker mixture to put some extra texture.

Paint the buildings with a light mixture of burnt sienna, cadmium scarlet and a touch of ultramarine blue, keep this light so it will feel sunny when you paint in the shadows.  The Trees in the right side are dark cedars and are a mixture of olive green, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, try to get some variety in the value on these trees or they will be way too dark.

I brush a darker version of the mixture I used for the light side of the building, capturing a light pattern on the sunny side of the building.  I then used a script liner brush to paint the trees, really lay the brush on its’ side to get a nice textural line.  If you just paint with the point of the brush the trees will really be stiff and lifeless.

I finished this painting with some more trees behind the barn and I put some shadows on the stump of a tree in the front of the building.  This was a fun little painting and I know the purest out there are saying oh christ another red barn well get over it.  This is fun, not museum bound, we are just painting everyday not putting pressure on ourselves to be the next Matisse.  We can strive for that later.