Calendar page for 2012: July

1)  Sketch from last summer

2) Photo taken from where I was sitting when I did the above sketch

3) Drawing on Graph Paper, rule of 3rds marked out

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4) Tracing paper taped to watercolor paper

5) First sky wash

6) Middle ground done, foreground washed in

7) Foreground using Viridian base and greater amounts of greens added in

8) Details and Finished

I’ve been working on paintings for a calendar I’d like to publish in time for 2012.  So far, I have a good working plan and 6 paintings for 6 of the months.    This morning I finished #7, July.

The Photos:

1. Somewhat finished sketch from last August

2. Photo taken from where I was sitting when I did the sketch/painting last August

3.  Scene drawn on 5 ½" x 7 ½" graph paper

4. Drawing traced from graph paper w/fine point marker

    a.  After I removed the tracing from the graph paper drawing, I turned it over and with a #6 pencil, went over the lines I’d traced in marker. #6 lead is very dark.  When I was done going over all the lines, I taped the tracing paper to the watercolor paper and went over the marker lines to transfer the drawing to the watercolor paper.

5. - 8.  The painting in process and finished.

The 1st wash of the sky was done on very wet paper that had light tints of Cad Yellow at the treeline and Cad Orange, blending into Cad Red at the top.  While the paper was still wet, I started working in increasingly thicker amounts of Cindre Blue and toward the horizon, Cindre blue with a tiny amount of Cad Yellow.  While the paper was still wet, worked in increasingly heavier amounts of Ultramarine Blue.  My main pigments in the background and foreground were Ultramarine Blue, Cad yellow and Cad red.  I gave the sky another wash of Cindre Blue and Yellow, pure Cindre Blue toward the top of the image.  In the foreground, I began with a more saturated tint of Viridian (Green) over a previous tint of Cad Yellow and worked greens made of UB, CY and CR.  In places where I needed a cooler green, (shadow lh foreground) I used Prussian Blue, Aureolin Yellow and a hint of Alizarin Crimson. 




And now, off to go grocery shopping and maybe get a little sunshine.