Molly Approved Of The Painting .. Not the Photo ..

So Molly was fine with the painting, but not so fine with me taking a photo of her with it. I could of seen that one coming! This past weekend we had my parents come down and spend a few days with us. It was a nice visit, but like always, just a little too short to catch up on everything. We'll have to plan another get together soon to catch up a bit more.

My parents always like to see what I've been painting lately, so I brought out a few paintings I completed this past winter. Yes.. You read that right.. this past winter. I have been so busy with things that art, like so many other hobbies of mine, took a back seat to what ever it is that I am occupied with. As we were turning through the art, I realized that I hadn't posted about many of them. I decided to change that and post something today about one of them.

Un-Named Hawaiian Themed Watercolor Painting ..

It was a cold winter's day.. Back in mid January. Did I mention it was cold? Bitter cold. It was snowing heavily in fact, and we were stuck inside. What a perfect day for thinking warm thoughts. I did just that and even acted upon them. I was daydreaming about Hawaii and the warm, humid air blowing along the coast and through the palms that shade it's edges. I had an idea for a watercolor painting, so I quickly sketched it before it drifted away from my thoughts.

But first I had to let Molly out.. Brrrrrrrrr!!!!

After shoveling her a small area to go potty in.. I got to work on my idea. I taped a piece of heavy watercolor paper to my workspace and lightly sketched out my idea.

Running around in my head, I had a vision of the Hawaiian coast. My vision included ocean, waves, sand, palm trees, mountains and other plant life. I didn't need to sketch all of that stuff in, but just stuck to the basic elements. My sketch was simple because I wanted to leave my imagination work out the rest of the details.

I apologize for the terrible photo. I had to adjust it so that you could see the drawing. I guess it was too light for the camera to catch easily.

Next I started applying watercolor paint.. moving from the background toward the foreground. I lightly layered in the major elements that I mentioned above. I am still learning how to use watercolor paint, so the techniques are still a bit unrefined. I found that if I leave my mind and expectations a bit open and loose, then I am more easily satisfied with the results.

Now that the land, sea, and sky in place.. I can get started on the palm trees. I'm never happy with how my palm trees come out, but am not shying away from trying my hand at them again. After all, practice makes perfect.. right?! I never like the way they first look, but after a while, I grow to like my palm creations.

I begin with the trunks, layering multiple colors and shades, then move on to the fruit, underlying dead leaves, and then the newer leaves.

**You may also notice that as I change colors and layer more and more of them in, that I am adding to the other details in the painting. I darkened up areas of the mountains, added a few "ideas" of smaller undergrowth, as well as additional color to the palm trunks.

I then turned my attention to the ocean. I added a few highlights and wave splashes, as if the water was splashing against the rocky edge of the beach. I used some dark blues in order to create some additional shadowing, before I let my little partner (Molly) take a look at it.

Now For The BIG Test ..

Molly is now given the chance to put her stamp of approval on this painting. I sssslllloooooowwwwwllllyyyyy (slowly).. Put it down to where she is sitting, and wait for the sniff sniff of approval.

I Get IT!

But no head turn toward the camera for the nice shot. Nope. She instead pulls her typical Molly attitude and refuses to look me in the eye. No worries. I still take it as she approves.

Time For A Signature!!!

And with that I am done. All in all it took about 2 and 1/2 hours from start to finish. Not too bad for a small painting.

Off With The Tape!

Slowly and carefully, as not to tear off any of the nice white paper edges. Believe it or not, if you rip at the tape in haste, you run the risk of tearing off parts of your painting. So please be careful when removing your tape!

And They Always Look Nice Against A Black Background..

That's it! I hope you enjoyed this long awaited reveal ..

Sorry it took me so long. And just so your not surprised later, I have a few more to show you very soon!

“I’ve learned that waiting is the most difficult bit, and I want to get used to the feeling, knowing that you’re with me, even when you’re not by my side.”
― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

All words, pictures and art pieces are the sole property of B D Miller Gallery, unless otherwise noted and credited, and are not to be reproduced or copied without the prior written consent of B D Miller Gallery.

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