Painted for a local Plein Air Event. 11 days of painting on location. I managed to paint everyday for the first 7 days then took the rest of the time to finish each painting, adding a wax seal, a frame and a hanger for a total of 6 completed paintings for the show. Two of my paintings won cash awards!
This local landmark is in Peoria Heights, Illinois – home to over a half-million gallons of water. Note the very large 3D woodpecker on the side. It looks small when you look up from the ground, but it's 300 pounds and 6 foot tall!
Technique
Watercolor on Canvas! This was only my second canvas en plein air with this technique and style, but with each new subject comes new challenges. Sometimes it's hard to achieve rich, deep colors like the red of the tower. The color sits on the surface and if you try to layer another color over the first color to deepen/darken it, they might completely lift and dissolve. The advantage of painting watercolor on canvas? After I seal it with wax, it's ready to hang even without a frame. But a frame does give it that wonderful finishing touch!
The Story
Painted for a local Plein Air Event. 11 days of painting on location. I managed to paint everyday for the first 7 days then took the rest of the time to finish each painting, adding a wax seal, a frame and a hanger for a total of 6 completed paintings for the show. Two of my paintings won cash awards!
This local landmark is in Peoria Heights, Illinois – home to over a half-million gallons of water. Note the very large 3D woodpecker on the side. It looks small when you look up from the ground, but it's 300 pounds and 6 foot tall!
Technique
Watercolor on Canvas! This was only my second canvas en plein air with this technique and style, but with each new subject comes new challenges. Sometimes it's hard to achieve rich, deep colors like the red of the tower. The color sits on the surface and if you try to layer another color over the first color to deepen/darken it, they might completely lift and dissolve. The advantage of painting watercolor on canvas? After I seal it with wax, it's ready to hang even without a frame. But a frame does give it that wonderful finishing touch!