Apples

I liked working on this painting of apples. This was the first time I have ever painted apples. It was hard to nail down the exact shape but I am happy with the yellow and red apple. The green one gave me a tough time and I repainted it numerous times. My favorite part about this painting is the shading. I think that this is the best I have ever done with shading and shadows.

Southern MD

My first painting this year gave me a bit of grief. I loved the photograph that I took and I was excited to take on the challenge of painting the beautiful sky and water. Although I struggled through the sky and the water, I am happy the way it turned out. I am less happy with the sand that I painted. I found it difficult to get all of the crevices in the sand and get the shading to be correct. Also I wish I could have made the dock a little wider. I have to admit though, I am proud of the water I painted underneath of the dock. I'm excited to taken on my next challenge. I am painting a picture of a sunset in Florence.  

Trees

        

I found my painting of trees to be much more enjoyable as well as simpler. I tried to challenge myself by not only painting a tree but paying attention to the smaller details that one may over look. The smaller branches of the trees is what I found most difficult to paint. I had never painted a tree before and I found that it took less time and less stress than my other paintings. Even the thin brush strokes troubled me just slightly. For this painting I found myself to be more concerned on if I should continue to paint or hold back for fear that the branches may crowd the painting. I am proud that I took the time to paint a tree as I had never done it before. I must say that I loved painting this tree and that I now look forward to painting other trees. 

Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper Inspired Painting

For my painting inspired by Edward Hopper, I chose to paint shadows on water similar to the painting of a sailboat by Edward Hopper. I chose a picture of a tube with an mountainous island in the background. The shadows and lights on the water and tube create a marvelous picture with vibrant colors. I wanted to stick with the water/glass like feel to my paints. This painting was very difficult for me as well. I enjoyed painting the landscape in the background but when it came to the water, I struggled. I finally decided to step further out of my comfort zone by painting the water in sections after having blending it multiple times. I find it to be more realistic though it does not fully mimic my picture as I wanted it to.

   

Green on Green

                 

Green on Green

Our class assignment was to place green objects on green paper and illustrate what we saw. This year I have noticed that I have focused on clear and reflective objects. I chose to take a picture of small bottles filled with colored liquids. I loved the way the light shone through the bottles and placed brightly colored patterns on the green and blue papers. Painting the bottles was the toughest part for me. I have never really tried to paint bottles or water up to this point so I found it very difficult. Being a perfectionist I could not stop until I found it to be perfect. I painted over and over again but failed to mimic the photo that I had in front of me. I realized that I could not get it exactly how I wanted it but I was proud of myself for taking the challenge to paint bottles and water.