6"X4" Watercolour on paper
I apologize for the shortage of new stuff this week, I have been sketching but not really anything I want to post. This is the Shaw Festival Theatre where I work, viewed from the Niagara-on the-Lake common and painted about eight years ago before the "Annex" was added.
5.5″X3.5″ Watercolour pencil & pen on paper
This is the very corner of where the Niagara River meets the Lake. I am looking northish across Lake Ontario, toward Toronto. I have painted from this little car park at the foot of Turntable Way at least a couple of times before. If I had looked just to my right (East) I would be looking at Fort Niagara. I believe that the turntable in question was where the narrow-gauge railway ended and the trains were turned around to head back to St Catharines, but I am just speculating, I can’t find any information on it.
5.5″X3.5″ Pen & watercolour pencil on paper
I managed to get out to paint at lunchtime but it was a little chilly so I sat in my car. The last time I painted this was in November.
That was an embarrassing occasion. I forgot to turn my lights off and when I tried to start the car to go back to work I found that my battery was dead . I had to walk back, about a kilometer and then find someone to give me a boost. I never seem to have my cell phone when I need it either.
This little Moleskine sketchbook is really too small for this sort of subject. I need to be more selective in both my choice of subject and my treatment. I liked the way these vines retreat into the distance, even incorporating a little dip in the middle ground, a rare occurrence in this part of the world. I took some photos too, so maybe one day I will work it up, if I can ever get it together to paint some larger pieces.
6″X6″ Oil on panel
This tree sits in the middle of the Niagara-on-the-Lake common. It lost a branch in a winter storm and it is very lopsided. I don’t think it is long for this world.
7″X5″ Watercolour on paper
Still very cold but going up to 7C with rain this weekend apparently.
In case anyone is interested, when I can’t work from life, I take a very low resolution picture with my cell phone, look at the thumbnails to see what composition seems most effective and then work something up from there. The ones I like best I may work up further at some point, although my painting a month resolution is already falling by the wayside. I have abandoned January for the time being beacuse I am very dissatisfied with it, and I don’t have much of February left. I am going to be in England for the latter part of the month and won’t be doing any larger paintings while I am there. I do hope to do some skething though and I will take my watercolour pochade with me.