Window on Eggemoggin: Done

One of the details I really like on this is the hook at the bottom.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to paint next...

Slow Progress

This is the labor intensive part where it probably doesn’t look as if I’ve made much progress…

...and yes, I did intensify the orange...


I don't think I'll post again until it's done...I think you get the idea...

The Photograph

I think it’s time to display the original photo from which I’m working. You may notice that I’ve altered the composition just a bit—the perspective and placement. One of the advantages of painting, as opposed to shooting a photograph, is that I’m not confined to any particular angle and don’t have to worry about showing up in reflected glass.

By the time I’m done, all the shingles will receive the same attention as the shakes at the top.

Thanks again to photographer Doug Wood for allowing me to place his copyrighted image on my blog!

Every Single Shingle

You might think that painting old, worn cedar shakes might be less intense than painting a cobalt pitcher—I know I did—but the more I work on this the more I realize how much detail is in each shingle. Granted, it’s not the same kind of intense, because there’s a lot more leeway in representing wood.

I know that the traditional watercolorist probably wouldn’t insist on all that detail, but what can I say? I’ve never claimed to be a traditionalist…

…and, by the way, this painting is 6” x 10”

Giving It a Wash

Thought I’d better post this before I get too carried away.

I thought I was done with the gradations of color on the windowpanes, but decided to add a little glaze (you probably can’t even tell…). Then, I gave the shingles a grayish wash, and next, I’ll jump around, painting individual shakes, building up the detail as I go.

Window on Eggemoggin

Here are the beginnings of a new painting. I’m working from an image by photographer Douglas Wood, who shoots some beautiful scenes of Maine*. So much of his work captures the world of my novel, Story for a Shipwright, and I do so love reflections on glass…don't know how well I'll capture it here, (it remains to be seen if this makes a far better photographic image than watercolor interpretation). It will be a less intense work than my previous two paintings, which is a nice reprieve.

After transferring the sketch onto watercolor paper (I don’t sketch it out on the actual paper, which does not like erasures), I mask the boundaries with tape.

Since I want the reflected sky evenly gradated, I use masking fluid (brush on latex, that really messes up the brush) to keep the muntins free from paint.










Essentially, the sky is done. The reflected foreground will receive added detail.







*Seriously, you should check out his Website. He even has some evocative black and white shots of a workshop--makes me think of my novel, again.