ACEO Watercolor & Ink Original Impressionistic Landscape Forest at Dusk Purple Green

It's been awhile since I've posted but I'm glad to be able to share my latest ACEO Landscape.

Small format painting allows me to express energy and mood; I enjoy watercolor moving around the paper in combination with the dots and dashes of ink. I enjoyed painting the impressionistic purple and green forest.
 

Southern California Landscape

"Sky at Capistrano Cliffs"

Latest print of beautiful sky in Southern California. Click link for additional information...

Original Watercolor and Ink Painting California Mission

San Juan Capistrano Basilica

San Juan Capistrano is a lovely town in Southern California that has a rich history with beautiful buildings that provides lots of inspiration. 

Watercolor Ink Abstract Landscape Clouds Stormy

Stormy Sky

Nature is a wonderful inspiration and difficult master to interpret...but I enjoy trying.  This painting is all about the dark and light in the sky.

Ocean Art

 

"Clouds at Poche Beach" 

 

Another day of clouds and ocean.  It's a subject that I'll always enjoy.

Original Ocean Art

Title: "A Quiet Harbor" 

I think for myself the most difficult aspect of painting is distilling the moment and subject matter to its most simple form.  My goal was to keep the light and color at center stage.

 

This is a memory of my travels. I remember the evening sky against the dark harbor waters, it had a warm and peaceful vibe, but at the same time the sky had lots of color, texture and movement. 

 

 

 

 

 

Expressive Drawing

This collection is my appreciation of pencil and graphite inspired works of art. These original drawings are a wonderful variety of contemporary and traditional art drawing. I think the richness and patina of these works add to the subject matter, graphite pencils are a beautiful medium.

Along the same theme I've included upcycled/repurposed pencil home decor. It's fun looking at beautiful work...

Representional vs. Non-Representational Art Treasury

When curating this treasury I wanted strong examples of representational and non-representational art with splashes of color. These artists and artisans have taken different methods and styles to arrive at their vision. It appears to me that they all hit their mark in their own way.

Finishing an Impressionist Painting

The painting process for this work continued today.

The shadows in the street became a little more subtle, and I strengthened the color of the orange walls. Now, I think I'll stop and consider this work finished.

Shop Updates and Highlights:
"Girlie pinks for you a girlfriend or daughter..." by ArtdeJoie a nice Etsy collection of jewelry, fashion, and art in pink.

Original Impressionist Painting and Art Ideas by JC Strong

This new painting is my effort to capture a street in Mexico and embrace the pallette of colors used by Rembrandt.

Rembrandt used a five-color pallette of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, black, cadmium red and white. All I can say, bless the old masters . . . They are able to create vibrant masterpieces in chiaroscuro with just a few colors and even ground charcoal into white in order to make a blue grey. Old masters make fine art look effortless . . .
It was a great exercise but to tell the whole truth I added a couple of additional colors and lots of light. It turned out to be an impressionist landscape. I just couldn’t stay out of my “Art Bin.”

The key thing was to remind me a limited pallette is a valuable exercise. It gave me a connection to the past and of course I'll keep trying . . . After studying this painting, I'm going to try to take it a little further. I'll post the outcome in the near future.

Shop Update and Treasury Highlights:

"There's more to paper then planes" by TripleJPendants has curated a treasury. The focus is paper creations of art and accessories.

Original Acrylic Walking Landscape in Corona Del Mar

Walking in Corona Del Mar and caught this scene. I didn’t paint it on the spot. I did my usual took notes and digital photos and reinvented the design and composition later. Trees are great to paint they have spirit...

It’s wonderful it can be a grey day outside (not complaining) but I can paint a bright sunny day and invent my own colors. I’d been painting with ink the last few days. This high key painting was a nice change. This painting was done with acrylics and something new for me a RayMar "Plein Aire Panel."

Creative Process and Small Format Art

Mostly for myself inspiration can be like a bowl of “Jell-O” that needs to firm up. I usually have to slow down and focus then the painting will start.

Why all the musing about creativity? Well, this 8" X 10" acrylic landscape took time to gel. After snapping photos of Highway 40 scenery through the window of my car those images became the inspiration for this landscape.

You’d surmise a small format painting would take less “thinking” time but that’s not how it works... Small or large format I have to invest myself. I guess that’s what it’s all about for any genre... An art teacher said something like most art is autobiographical perhaps he's correct...

Acrylic Painting, It's Cold in So. California

It’s cold in Southern California, and I can hardly believe it! I’m sure people in the east coast wouldn’t consider 32 degrees in the evening and 55 degrees in the afternoon a winter wonderland but for a native Californian its cool.

The inspiration for the artwork I posted was taken from my neighbor’s yard and the surrounding landscape. The little orange tree vibrates with color when its cold. When I try to capture nature, it’s a humbling task. I like it when a small bit of color in a landscape just captures your attention and then you fight to put it on canvas. I enjoy the learning process between nature and the artist.