" Point Wilson Lighthouse" Finished

Now the painting is getting really close to being finished. I paint all the little details that make it finished. Most detail belongs on the focal point, in this case the lighthouse. I very seldom paint the fine detail anywhere else but the focal point. 

 Now this is the painting after I mat it. See how much better it looks when that distracting bloom is cropped out of the sky. I matted it to 11" X14"

I am glad that I finished this painting, I'm happy that I didn't give up on it. Actually most paintings I paint at some point I look at and think "this is not going to turn out well, perhaps I should give up."  I am usually glad that I don't. The three reasons that I almost gave up on this painting were; the bloom in the sky, that really I fixed that with the mat. The buildings being too light, that was an easy fix. The worst thing was the blue blotches from the watercolor leaking through the tape when I masked the buildings. See for yourself... What do you think?

"Point Wilson Lighthouse" Step by Step 5

I am adding more details to the buildings and darkening the foreground. The roofs look too bright, but don't worry I am going to put a blue wash over it. 

"Point Wilson Lighthouse" Step by Step 4

I add some more color to the sky and paint the rocks in the foreground around the fog.  I paint shadows on the buildings. The lighting on this painting is the deep blue of evening, just after sunset. Shadows are always tinted the opposite color of the light, so I am painting the shading on the buildings with an orange tint. The buildings are actually darker than the background but they appear lighter because of the contrast.  

I add a layer of color on the roofs and another layer on the road so the salted  texture is diluted.

"Point Wilson Lighthouse" step by step 3

I don't know if I can save this painting but, I decided to keep at it. The worst that could happen is that I end up throwing it away and I was going to do that anyway, so what have I got to lose? some time? I won't really loosing that because I will learn something from painting this. Besides, time spent painting is never time wasted. 

About the problems this painting has, The bloom in the sky really isn't that big of a problem because it is mostly in the area that I was going to crop out anyway. The buildings being too light is not really a problem either, I'll just add another layer of color. This may turn out for the best after all because it will make the buildings stand out more from the background. So the only real problem is where the watercolors leaked in between the tape on the buildings, I guessing that it won't be that noticeable when the painting is finished. So here goes. I darken and shade the buildings, and add more to the foreground. 

"Point Wilson Lighthouse" step by step 2

I really want the light from the lighthouse to pop so I wash the entire painting, except the light, with indigo. While I am at it I throw some pale shadows on the buildings. 

 I mask the buildings and I paint the sky and a few rocks. 

Here is where I see lots of  mistakes, I masked out the buildings when I painted in the sky, I shouldn't have done that, now the buildings are too light, also I used tape to mask out the buildings and some paint seeped under the tape and if that wasn't bad enough, I have a huge bloom in the sky. These problems would be a little easier to correct if I hadn't have used a highly staining color. now I don't know if I can save this painting. I'm not that far into it perhaps, I should just start over. 

"Point Wilson Ligthouse" step by step 1

I am going to paint Point Wilson Lighthouse Located in Port Townsend Washington. I will use this as my reference photo: 

The problem is, I want to paint the lighthouse on a foggy evening at dusk. I don't have a photo of the lighthouse under those conditions. But, I found an image of another lighthouse in the foggy, dusky conditions I am looking for. I will use this photo to reference the mood and the color of the painting.

 Here is my beginning sketch, with some masking fluid applied: 

Matthew

"Matthew" is a 16"x 20" painting done in acrylics on a panel

Matthew is also a 3 year old little boy

Matthew's  parents wanted a portrait of him to match the one I did for their wedding

 I matched the previous portraits style and repeated  the same orange from his father's hair in Matthews shirt and the same brown circle and white background so the paintings look as though they were painted at the same time instead of 7 years apart.

Playing catch up.

Well it was pointed out to me that I haven't posted to my blog for a while. Actually I must admit I kind of forgot that I have a blog. Well I didn't really forget, it just was not at the top of my to do list in fact it gradually moved to the very bottom. For the next few days I will post a few of the paintings I have done in the time since I last blogged.  

Elizabeth 10x10 watercolor

This is a little painting that I did for my friend Elizabeth. She is one of the most amazing people I know. I saw a photo of this daisy and the bright happy colors reminded me of her, so I painted it for her. Elizabeth is fighting cancer and yet, she remains one of the most happy, loving people I know. See her blog here. http://www.23newfriends.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html