Avid Art 2 ?

Will I get Avid Art 2 to launch on January 1st 2014? That is the plan.
Sometimes plans go awry but then sometimes they don't.

Villa Riviera Backside

"Villa Riviera Backside"
oil on panel, 2013
6" x 4" (15.24cm x 10.16cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

The fascinating Villa Riviera in Long Beach California.
I have painted this building a couple times already and always had plans to get back to it. I still don't have clear in my head what exactly I want to do with it or how to portray it. Doing these smaller studies will help me see and decide before doing a larger version.263

12/30/13 I've added this update below:
Two other paintings of Villa Riviera here and here.

*This one gave me fits when I photographed it. I will have to reshoot and repost the image.
**12/29/13 I've updated a more accurate image.

Seascape Dark Rock Study

"Seascape - Dark Rock Study"
oil on panel, 2013
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78)

In my recent seascape studies here is an oil painting. The dark rock against all the white boulders made for a good study in the colors of white on a bright sunny day. I pushed the saturation quite a bit on this one.

If one like this makes it to a larger more finished version I may likely pull back a bit on the saturation. Part of experimenting is pushing things to really find out what can be done. This allowed me to focus on the color cast of each area.262

*I photographed this painting while wet so most of the white specks are glare highlights. When dry I will rephotograph.
*12/28/13 I've uploaded this more accurate pic. Gone are the white highlight specks. Any left are the white of the board showing.

HB Power Plant Backside

"HB Power Plant Backside"
watercolor on paper, 2013
6" x 9" (15.24cm x 22.86cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

The Huntington Beach Power Plant may be getting torn down soon so I present it from its backside and in the background, the marine layer moving in to engulf it, a device I have used before to indicate an eventual disappearance from the landscape. We get so used to some landmarks around us they become a fixture in our lives and we will notice them more when they are gone one day.261

*The color of this pic is a little off, a bit too pink, but when it leaves my photo editing app it looks right.

Seascape Tide Pools 2

"Seascape Tide Pools 2"

watercolor on paper, 2013

6" x 9" (15.24cm x 22.86cm)

For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS

Direct link to painting here

Here is another exploratory seascape. I am doing these in preparation for larger works.
As I experiment with light, atmosphere, seasons, palette, design, moving the horizon up and down etc, I will begin to hone in on one or more series within the larger seascape motif.

This one and the previous "Seascape Tide Pools" both are fair weather versions.260

Seascape Tide Pools

"Seascape Tide Pools"
watercolor on paper, 2013
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

One of my goals for 2014 is to do more seascapes. I am beginning to do these smaller watercolors to search out what direction I will take with them. In this painting, at low tide, the tide pools remain relatively calm even when there are waves.
I am sure I will do others of these tide pools since the rocky pools offer some great patterns.259

Train Bridge Study

"Train Bridge Study"
watercolor on paper, 2013
4" x 6" (10.16cm x 15.24cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

This is a small close-up study of a train bridge over the Los Angeles River. I love the submarine-like shape of its foundation.

I will at some point paint one or more larger versions of this bridge.
Doing studies helps familiarize myself with the complicated structure of this bridge which crosses the river at an angle instead of at 90 degrees. That means there are more angles to work out the perspective of, in fact hardly any 90 degree angles at all.258

Press Telegram #2 - Pile

"Press Telegram #2 (Pile)"
watercolor on paper, 2013
5.5" x 7.5" (13.79cm x 19.05cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

This is what was left of the Long Beach California Press Telegram, a pile of rubble.
Shoveled into a nice neat pile is the remains of peoples former lives. The paper itself, as it once was, is the story now.

Like many of my industrial subjects the fascination here is all the various shapes.
Whether it is a pile of debris or a hillside in nature does not always matter to an artist. Instead we focus on its artistic values. So this is more of a study for the series. When I figure out what else to say I will use this for another painting.257

"Press Telegram #1" here.

Old House - Zorn Palette

"Old House (Zorn Palette)"    SOLD
watercolor on paper, 2013
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

This is another in Anders Zorn palette of ivory black, white, yellow ochre and vermillion.
This I did from the photo on the DPW Challenge. I normally don't use someone else's photo but I did like the old abandoned house and they shot the pic from a good angle.

I am finding out by these two that the Zorn palette does not really translate well into watercolor (see last post). For one the ivory black does not give a very good cool blueish gray when mixed with white. I very rarely use tube black in watercolor or oil, preferring to use a chromatic black mixed from ultramarine or cobalt blue and burnt sienna.
Also white mixed into watercolor acts very different than white mixed into oil.256

Seascape - Zorn Palette

"Seascape (Zorn Palette)"
watercolor on paper, 2013
5" x 7.5" (12.7cm x 19.05cm)
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

Here is a small watercolor seascape done in Anders Zorn limited palette of ivory black, white, yellow ochre, and vermillion.

The challenge of course was no blue for sky and water. No matter though. I used the white with black to get a cool gray for the distant clouds, black with yellow ochre to get a green gray for the water and generally saved mixes of vermillion and yellow ochre for the rocks. There were a few mixes of three colors but that was for subtly in keys areas, primarily to help turn form.255

*If you saw this previously the color was too warm. I've uploaded a more color accurate pic. 12/12/13

Little Seascape

"Seascape - Cliffs"
oil on panel, 2013
5" x 3.5" (12.7cm x 8.89cm)
Framed
For sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Direct link to painting here

Aaah, the marine layer, coastal fog, it is what makes for dramatic light and color.
It is near the perimeter of coastal fog that the deep rich colors live, before they die under its gray canopy. The landscape begins to fall into shadow but there is still enough sunlight to rouse color saturation.254