45. Tree on Alta Vista

Tree on Alta Vista
Acrylic on Gessoed Board 6"x6"

Ding Ding Ding ... This is the first original. 44 paintings prior to this have all been in some way shape or form a copy of someone else's painting. But this one is from a photo that I took of a tree on Alta Vista Road in White Salmon earlier in the summer. I manipulated the photo in photoshop elements to make it easier to see the variation in color and value. Below are two images that I kept in front of me. The one on the right uses a dry brush filter that makes it much easier to see the shapes.

Click on the small image to see it enlarged to see how helpful that filter makes it.

44. Tree

Tree
Acrylic on Gessoed Board 6"x6"

43. Purple Sky

Purple Sky
Acrylic on Gessoed Board 6"x6"

Yikes. This one needs a lot of fixing, or else just call it a throw-away. That purple and yellow in the sky are way too messy and wierd. And the water brush strokes are messy too. Yikes is all I can say. But if you squint your eyes, it works. The values, the colors. It's just the messiness that is terrible.

42. Rocky Creek

Rocky Creek
Acrylic on Gessoed Board 6"x6"

41. Wave III

Wave III
Acrylic on Gessoed Board 6"x6"

40. Wave II

Wave II
Acrylic on Gessoed Board 6"x6"

39. Wave

Wave
Acrylic on Canvas Board 8"x8"

38. Cumulus Clouds at the Beach

Cumulus Clouds at the Beach
Acrylic on Canvas Board 8"x8"

Yesterday's beach scene inspired me to give it another go. This one took only 51 minutes, which is by far the fastest I've painted a daily painting (not that speed is something I'm shooting for ... I'm just sayin'.) I only used 4 colors beside black and white. I'm pleased with this. I'm excited to be returning to Florida soon, where I can paint beach scenes every day of the week. I was thinking... if I were to add some vague buildings in the distance, it could "suggest" the view of Clearwater Beach from the Dunedin Causeway.

Lessons:
1. This is the most limited palette I've used so far ... only 4 colors beside black and white.
2. ...first attempt at painting clouds, so I learned a lot about how they're really shaped by looking closely at the reference.
3. I'm glad to be working from a realistic reference. I'm learning that it helps so much to first understand how to paint a thing realistically before attempting (the more advanced skill) of diverging from reality to paint loosely and blythely. Yes, I still aspire to eventually paint loosely, but for today, reality really helps.

37. The Wave

The Wave
Acrylic on Canvas Board 8"x8"

36. Yellow Striped Awning

Yellow Striped Awning
Acrylic on Canvas Board 8"x8"

35. Breezy Day for Laundry

Breezy Day for Laundry
Acrylic on Canvas Board 8"x8"