Digital Palm Studies

Palm Studies
digital, iPad Brushes app

Here are some quick studies I did a while ago from life. These things are everywhere!
I didn't need color for these since I was recording the infinite variety of shapes you can find in what would seem a simple singular form.
From fully bearded to spruced up and downright willowy.504

Watercolor Landscape - Old Tree

"Old Tree"
watercolor on paper, 2014
9" x 13" (22.86cm x 33.02cm)
For Sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS, CLICK HERE

Direct link to painting here

A simple watercolor of an old tree hemmed in by lush green healthy ones. They seemed to be huddling around it, as if in a protective manner. I simplified the dark mass of trees to better play-off the lines of the foreground.

I also liked the shapes of this landscape, the troughed out foreground and the odd irrigation pipe loop so I painted it. That's it.290

Watercolor Landscape - Palm Grove

"Palm Grove"   SOLD

watercolor on paper, 2014

9" x 13" (22.86cm x 33.02cm)

This palm grove near home made for a simple subject but challenging compositional design. Its simple design motif of the palm tree shapes could too easily lead to a boring design of repetitive shapes.
The right cropping and ratio of positive to negative shapes is what makes it work. The only trees shown in their full outline are the yellow green ones which are not big within the overall composition.

I took a more graphic approach for this watercolor using value for atmospheric depth but ignoring the rule of warm foreground to cooler bluer colors (only) as the landscape recedes, except for the distant tree line of blue and purple.
I like to test various ways of depicting distance and here I put the coldest color, blue, in the foreground, a blue green in the near middle ground, changing to a yellow green in the far middle ground. The far background falling into the cooler range of purple and blue.
The alternating cool, warm, cool still does a good job of showing distance - cool foreground, warm middle ground, cool background.
The color saturation and intensity falls somewhere in the middle of the scale but is low chroma.
I like to do simplistic studies like these to work out ideas for the more involved paintings. That way I am not committing huge blocks of time only to find out it did not work.289

Storage Yard Nocturne

"Storage Yard Nocturne (Palms)"
watercolor on paper, 2013
9" x 6" (22.86cm x 15.24cm)
For Sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS, CLICK HERE
Direct link to painting here

The storage yard is inadvertently becoming a series. Something I did not plan but this is the third and I have my mind on a couple others at some point.
Here are the 1st and 2nd.

Industrial settings are odd sometimes. You will see things that you won't find in suburban areas. Here two streetlights, one a warm sodium and the other a cool white light, right next to each other. Even though the orange sodium light is really lighting the storage yard it is still amusing they are side by side. It also made a nice dramatic cast shadow against the gate and driveway.

For me I like the way I was able to play the warms and cools against each other in such a vertical format.
Although this is a real site I made some changes, as I always do, to make a stronger composition. It was fun designing the shapes of the palms. I also added the stack of steel jutting up from the left, the power wire and changed the building.247

* I am still having difficulty with some images uploading in blogger. The image quality if off a little but is the best I could get.
It's random, some days it works fine, other days it's dreadful (and frustrating).

The image on DAILY PAINTWORKS is better.

**I have updated this post with a 'fixed' photo. This is how it should have looked in the first place.

Winter Tree & Alien Landscape

"Winter Tree"

"Burnscape"

"Winter Tree"

Pelikan brilliant brown ink on paper, 2011
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
private collection


"Burnscape #7 (Hills, Path)"
Pelikan brilliant brown ink, Pelikan blk india ink on paper
Monte Blanc blk ink (looks green), 2011
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE


A single tree in winter. Sometimes a simple object can be seen for its design and that is enough. I love the branches of the tree reaching up for the sky, the purest form of the tree seen only when leafless.

Setting the trunk against a dark background emphasized its graceful, delicate spiral.

This ink drawing/painting is from my Burnscape series. Living in Southern California and seeing so many wildfires it would be easy to focus on the destruction. My attraction for the burned landscape isn’t for its destruction... but instead how it modifies the landscape, turning it into a charcoal terrain... it is rebirth, the stripping away of old layers for a fresh start, the way Mother Nature intended.

It is how She manages her jurisdiction, by controlling dense undergrowth. We usually get in the way.
Man has traditionally prevented fires, the growth becoming so thick that when fire does occur it is devastating. Another topic on the Man vs Nature theme.

This was a result of walking thru a burned area. When areas that are dense with dry brush and chaparral finally burn, the landscape is stripped bare. Its former identity completely lost. Taking on the quality of an alien landscape.
The formally vegetation softened hills become a jagged harsh environment.155,156


Click on images for larger view

OMA Store 5

"Tree Nocturne (Downhill)"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2010
5” x 4” (12.7cm x 10.16cm)

This painting is the 7th of those at the Oceanside Museum of Art store. Click label below to see the others.
The nocturne ... its origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning ‘of the night’.
Like most from my Tree Nocturne Series this is from a combination of imagination and memories, which lends it a subtle surreal quality. Working this way I allow things like the slightly off kilter street, the rustling tree wrapping around the streetlight, the distant harbor veiled in a marine layer. All to give it a more dreamlike quality.145

Link to value thumbnail here.

Click on image for larger view

OMA Store 4

"Tree Nocturne (Billowing Tree)"
oil on panel, 2010
5" x 4" (12.7cm x 10.16cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

Here is another of my small paintings at the Oceanside Museum of Art Store.

The nocturne... its origin, mid 19th century French from Latin,
nocturnus, meaning ' of the night '.

My Tree Nocturne series. I've kept the series compositionally simple, focusing on the tree and usually an unseen light source.
This painting breaks from that slightly.

There is more of a surface showing in the street, the cracks and buckling of decades old concrete, before asphalt. The sidewalk, hints of commercial storefronts and power poles all adding to its more urban setting.139

Link to value thumbnail here.

Click on image for larger view

Park Nocturne

"Tree Nocturne (Park Hillside)"
oil on panel, 2009
7.75" x 7.25" (19.685cm x 18.415cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

The nocturne... its origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning 'of the night'.

From my Tree Nocturne series. This was painted in one sitting or alla prima. Alla Prima, derived from Italian meaning 'at the first'.
I very rarely complete a painting in one sitting since I prefer working in layers but sometimes the image just 'falls out onto the surface' as it did here.

Painted from my imagination having seen so many urban and suburban parks. Hints of buildings, a walkway and sloping grass was enough.121

Click on image for larger view

Washed in Gray Green 2

"Tree in Rain/Fog"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
7" x 5" (17.78cm x 12.7cm)

I have always liked rain images, washing over the landscape
in grayish green tones. Even the most mundane scene
becomes far more interesting and worthy of pause. The middle
of a street takes on different patterns of light while wet and
can easily become the central focus. Although the tree in
rainy foggy weather was my original intent, it's the wet street that shines.118
To see another similar painting click previous post here Washed in Grey Green
For others click rain or weather Labels below this post.

Click on image for larger view

Subdued Energy 2

"Tree Nocturne (2 Figures, City View)"   SOLD
oil on panel, 2010
5" x 4" (12.7cm x 10.16cm)


The nocturne... it's origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning 'of the night'.

Like most from my Tree Nocturne series this is from my imagination and maybe distant memories.

Being more of a night owl I love the faint buzz of the nighttime air. As Ray Bradbury so perfectly described in one of his books... it's  "... the gentle hiss of distance...". I could not say it any better than that. It is not quite silent, but you can't really hear it either. It's just there.
Although it dominates the composition the tree is not the main focus. The figures overlooking the city, silhouetted against the bright lights, command the attention, even if small.
I designed the foliage of the tree to radiate outward from the center and pushed the color saturation a bit to give the scene more life, that subdued energy of the suburb and urban setting.
This is what I had in mind for this painting as well as the other one under the same post heading 'Subdued Energy' here. 116

Link to value thumbnail here.

Click on image to enlarge

*Update - previous post original value thumbnail here.

Snowscape

"Burnscape Color Study"   SOLD
watercolor/ink on paper, 2009
12" x 9" (30.48cm x 22.86cm)

This watercolor is from my Burnscape series. Living in southern California and seeing so many wildfires it would be easy to focus on the destruction. My attraction for the burned landscape isn't for it's destruction but instead how it modifies the landscape, turning it into a charcoal terrain... it is rebirth, the stripping away of old layers for a fresh start, the way Mother Nature intended.

The fascinating thing about some burned areas is the white ash from certain types of vegetation. It appears like snow. I sometimes refer to these as California fall or winterscapes. A bit eerie to walk through.

This was a color study done on a sheet of 12" x 9" paper, hence the color test splotches.
Experimenting here with finding that balance between the image looking like a snowscape initially then the realization that it is a burnscape.105

Click on image for larger view

Subdued Energy

"Tree Nocturne (19th St.)"
oil on panel, 2010
3.5" x 5" (8.89cm x 12.7cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

The nocturne... it's origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning 'of the night'.

My Tree Nocturne Series. I've kept the series compositionally simple, focusing on the tree and usually an unseen light source. This small painting breaks from that slightly.

Here I show the foreground and middle ground source of the street lights with light emanating from the distant LA Harbor. All, the orange sodium lights. This also is a more zoomed back view than previous tree nocturne's, including more of the surrounding landscape. The color saturation is pushed a bit to give the scene more life, the subdued energy of the suburb and urban setting. In contrast to the previous post.95


Click on image for larger view

*Update - previous post original value thumbnail here.

Solar Eclipse

"House in Tree's (Eclipse)"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2010
4" x 5" (10.16cm x 17.78cm)

I like the way the house tucks back into the dark mass at this time of day. However, the actual lighting wasn't really going to do much else for the image so a conscious decision was made to alter it in some way without losing that shape of tree's and shadow wrapping around the house.

Other than rain, most other atmospheric conditions like haze, fog, clouds etc., meant using a middle or high key value scale, which I did not want, so I stayed with the deep tones.

The lighting now is very similar to the conditions of a solar eclipse... full sun veiled, giving the painting a slightly eerie cast and supporting the visual of the overshadowed house.92


Click on image for larger view

Night Eyes

"Tree Nocturne (Rooftops)"    SOLD

oil on panel, 2010
5" x 4" (12.7cm x 10.16cm)

This painting is loosely based on the view from my balcony. So it is painted from memory, the cousin of imagination.

Having seen the view many times I resisted the temptation to run back and forth while painting. I allowed myself to take liberties in the interest of composition etc., and that freed me up to work on the image without the restraints of the actual view.

I shaped the tree mass to lean left, framing it within the power lines and the collective curve of the rooftops climbing the hill. A lower light than many of my other nocturnes so the lights from the windows show brighter and appear as eyes peaking over the rooftops.69
Click on image for larger view 

Liquid Shadow

"Tree Nocturne (Leaning Wall)"    SOLD

oil on panel, 2010

5" x 4" (12.7cm x 10.16cm)

This nocturne is based on several locations, so composed from memory. I always enjoy working this way for it's own unique challenges.

First, I was struck by something, some quality, when I initially saw it (or them, when more than one location). And that serves as my primary inspiration.

Second, I must decide what to include and what to leave out from each.

Third, I have to decide a view point since I may have seen the original location(s) from a completely different one.

There are other considerations like value scale, color palette, edge control etc., but without the first three, I can't begin.

In this painting my primary inspiration was the overhanging, overbearing tree and it's shadow pouring down the wall and into the street like a high viscosity ink. I went back to re-view that location later and the tree had been cut down, but that image was still etched in my brain.

Although there was a wall at that location this one was taken more or less from another for it's pilasters. The rest, a compilation of memories... the narrow single slab sidewalk from an older neighborhood, before easements... the street sign, newer but oddly placed... the leaning, rough textured, poured concrete wall.

The challenge from memory isn't as much what to leave out (like photo reference), it's what to include. I like sparse, but as I have said before, that can be a shaky line to walk. With view point worked out the 'make or break' now lies with the other considerations; value, color, edges etc.

With the shadow being the main feature, I scrubbed the lighter values in around it, which also provides texture and softer edges for a deep core, the blue giving life to the darks.

The 'No Parking' sign, although central to the composition, really is second reading. You see first the shadow, then follow the diagonals to the sign, where the lightest values lie.67

Click on image for larger view

*Update - previous post original value thumbnail here.

Framed in Mass

"House w/ Eucalyptus"

Watercolor on paper, 2007

15" x 11" (23.80cm x 17.145cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

I was generally happy with the way this watercolor turned out, going for the mass surrounding the house. The only problems I had with it was too much green, or at least not enough variance in the tones and colors of green. It would have benefitted from a mixture of warms and cools.

The foreground too could be a bit more interesting, even in it's simplicity.

Watercolor, at least painted in more traditional methods, is tough sometimes. You can not completely remove darker passages, making lightening or changing color temperature difficult.

Even with planning ahead, I still occasionally find the need to make changes to an image.

That said, I still consider this a successful painting.57

Click on image for larger view

Oddly Orb-like

"Nocturne-Tree (Park w/lights)

oil on panel, 2008

4¾" x 3¾" (12.065cm x 9.525cm)

For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

A small nocturne... a ball of a tree, a park and suburban lights in the background. All that was needed for this image.

The tree unkept and over grown, no trunk showing, oddly orb-like, lit by a orangey/yellow sodium light.

From my imagination after having seen so many trees like this one. A simple image kept interesting by placing the tree off center and especially, consciously controlling or designing the shapes of lights and darks. The background lights added to give the inky dark some depth.54

Click on image for larger view

Value Thumbnails 1

Sketchbook thumbnails

pencil, 2010

page 12" x 9" (30.48cm x 22.86cm)
NSF

Here's a page of thumbnail sketches for paintings.

As I said in my post 'Imagination' it's good to work from your minds eye. It requires a different set of skills, forcing you to think differently than observation.

The purpose here is simple value studies, the distribution of lights and darks. Working out the graphic pattern first allows for a stronger composition. A foundation to build upon.49

Click on image for larger view

*Based on a comment (below, Thank you Erin) from a follower (link here), here is an update to this posting of thumbnails.
Each link will take you to paintings posted on my blog showing the finished painting from these thumbnail sketches, something that did not occur to me at the finish of each painting.


In the case of these I went from thumbnail directly to the painting since the paintings are small and needed no further preliminary work.
Some minor adjustments were made during the painting process, like switching to a horizontal format for the lower left thumbnail, adding figures to the upper left thumbnail, leaning the wall in the top row middle thumbnail, but the basic graphic pattern of the thumbnail essentially remained the same.


This is the benefit of doing quick value thumbnails. It gives me a quick visual without investing too much time, allowing me to see how strong the design is as well as decide what changes need to be made to improve the composition. As seen in the paintings, the changes made led to stronger images.


There are 3 others from the thumbnails not yet posted to blog. I will add them to this update as they are posted.


Links to paintings from thumbnails:
Bottom row left thumbnail
Top row left thumbnail
Top row middle thumbnail
Top row right thumbnail
Middle row middle thumbnail