A Cabin in the Snow!

This painting was really fun to do!  A client contacted me about painting this sweet mountain cabin for a friend. What a wonderful gift!  I was so involved with "being in the moment" that I almost forgot to take pictures along the way!  So here are the only pics I took in the process of this painting.

"A Winter Wonderland"! 

First comes the drawing

Adding washes to define the surroundings

Adding light washes to the cabin

Adding the details

Darkening the details

The Final Painting!

Loved sharing with you.
Join me again next Wednesday!
Carole
Follow me on Instagram!

A Lovely Tudor in Pleasant Ridge!

A Tudor house is my favorite to paint! The detailing, the colors, the grandeur...large or small...a Tudor is splendid! So this lovely one in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan made my heart sing!

 There were so many details I've had to consolidate my pics as much as possible. I'm just going to add the photos that represent each step with very little explanation. I hope you enjoy watching it grow.

Of course, a detailed drawing comes first. This painting is 11 X 14 inches.

The first washes are light and slightly glowing, using various reds, golds and cobalt.

I masked the outer edge of the paper to avoid buckling.

Next step, adding suggestions of the greenery that will frame the house.

Darkening and shading to create perspective.

More bricks, more bricks, more bricks!

Continuing the bricks and adding detailing to window glass.

Next come the roof and stucco.

Often when I need to make precise lines, I cut strips of masking tape to mask out the areas

I want to avoid. I definitely used the strips in this painting once I began the Tudor details.

 Example of how I use the masking tape strips.

Adding the first layer of the sky and surrounding trees. Adding the Tudor details on the gable, 

porch flower pots and continuing the window reflections.

Painting the grass and sidewalk and detailing the sky and clouds.

Looking things over to be sure I don't leave anything out!

Laying down deeper washes in every area of the painting creating depth and perspective.

Once I get to this stage, I leave the painting in a place where I can "Watch" it!  It's true.

So many times, I'll notice something a day or so later that has been left out or something that just doesn't look right. The watching stage is the time to see those things. Photographing it helps too. 

I can look at the entire painting in a smaller scale and see it with different eyes.

 I decided to add a suggestion of the front yard trees on each side to frame the house. I'm happy with the outcome and ready to ship it to a wonderful family!  I hope they like it!

Join me again for Wednesday Watercolor! Follow my blog to be notified. 

See you then!   Carole

I Love my Truck!

Last year Beth wanted to give her husband 

a personal Christmas gift...

a painting of his new Ford Bronco truck!

She asked if I could do it in time and I said yes! So here's the process and the finished painting.

The completed painting was shipped in time for Christmas!

So this year is the same frantic schedule trying to get Christmas orders ready in time. That's just the way it goes in the life of a commission artist. There are busy seasons and slow seasons. Obviously, this is the busy season. I've had to put my Etsy shop on vacation for the rest of this year to catch up on holiday orders. I will reopen again at the end of January 2019. If you're interested in a commission after the first of the year please message me and we can discuss the details. I'd love to hear from you.

carolepoolegallery@gmail.com

Hope to see you next Wednesday!

Demo~Autumn Leaves~Mixing the Colors

Here's the photo.

What a lovely Autumn painting this will make!

This is a picture I took of a Virginia Creeper vine that graced my side porch every fall for years. 

It had a mind of it's own. If you've ever had a Creeper, you know what I mean. 

First: Draw the leaves.
If drawing is not your thing...try enlarging the picture and tracing your image onto your paper. Take care not to press too hard. Watercolor paper is very delicate.


Now: Mix the paints.
Here are the
colors we
will use:


COBALT BLUE

ALIZARIN CRIMSON

CHROME YELLOW

Now for the fun part. Just squeeze the
color from the tube onto your palette. Loosen the
condensed pigment using water and
your brush. You're simply getting the
paint ready for the paper. Let them mix
and blend and run together.
Just have fun with it!

Continue the fun by wetting each leaf individually with clear water. Drop the wet paint into each wet area. Let it bleed and run. Continue with each leaf...dropping and running from each leaf to another. Soon you will begin to see the leaves take shape and morphing into what you see in the photograph. Move from leaf to leaf like the video below...


Click the "Autumn Leaves Watercolor" video link below to take a look at the wet-in-wet process I used:

 As the painting becomes too wet, let the layers dry completely.  Then continue to add details and dark background as in the video. Your painting may look realistic or abstract, depending how much you let the paints bleed. Either way, you will have a lovely piece of art reminding you of the crisp Autumn day you painted them.

You'll be surprised at how much better your painting will look once you frame it!  It just looks more professional and finished. Go ahead and frame it and hang it on your wall...and then....start another one!

 

I loved presently this instruction for you. Come back next week for another 

Wednesday Watercolor...and in the meantime keep those brushes wet!!!

Carole

A Gift for the Closing!

I have worked with a wonderful real estate agent in Austin, Texas on several home paintings.  

This is one of the latest.  Today I've posted a few of the painting steps for this project.

After completing a detailed drawing, I masked the edges and began with the blue sky.

Completing a light wash of all the surrounding landscaping, I dropped in some shading.

A light wash on the house and steps gave me a starting point for all the values of the painting.

                  I continued to add layer upon layer, bringing out the details and enriching the values.

After many more layers, and many more hours, I pronounced the painting complete!

I loved how the purchaser personalized the gift for the client...
with a wonderful frame and charming bow!
I hope her client loved it and will enjoy it for many years to come!

Thank You, Katie!

Join me on Wednesdays for another 

Watercolor Walk Through!   

Thanks, Carole

Painting Grandma's Oakleaf Hydrangea!

Every time we go to our family farm in Alabama, I take dozens of pictures...or more!  There is something about the atmosphere and the subject matter that scream to become a painting!  

This is one of those!  

This one definitely turned out to be a time consuming labor of love. This Oakleaf Hydrangea was blooming profusely when I took many pictures and many angles. Shortly afterwards in my studio, I chose my favorite angles and decided to include the window shutters of Grandma's house. That seemed to personalize it beautifully.

I worked on the painting on and off for a couple of months.  When it finally began to take shape and I decided I liked it, I trudged ahead to complete it...petal by petal, leaf by leaf, brick by brick.

When the painting was completed, I had it framed and entered it in the Georgia Watercolor Society Membership Summer Showcase and it was accepted by the juror!


                         
                                                 
















Shortly thereafter, it was juried into the Atlanta Artist Center Gallery Show and won a second place award. It was exhibited again at AAC in the Winner's Circle Exhibition. And it was there at the reception that a lovely art collector purchased Grandma's Oakleaf!

It now hangs in her Sandy Springs home. She told me the reason she loved it was because it reminds her of her grandmother's house.  She couldn't believe the title I had given it!  Yes, very personalized!

Although the original painting has been sold, prints are available. You can contact me through my email...  carolepoolegallery@gmail.com .... or message me through my Etsy Shop ...  https://www.etsy.com/shop/carolepoolegallery

Thanks for visiting!  Come back next Wednesday for another painting process and story!

Carole