Tag: complete

Finishing Landscapes

Finishing

Blue Heron
12″w x 9″h watercolor with pen & ink on 140lb wc paper.

I love teaching at the Home Link art classes, but, since we only have an hour to paint together, I brought this Blue Heron home unfinished. The kids and I painted it in watercolor. We concentrating on creating a dark background while reserving the beak, face and curved neck area for the next layers. The careful blues and feathers with a bright yellow eye. I took the liberty of finishing this one at home and also added some pen & ink to give it some kick. I hope to inspire my students to take their work home and finish it too.

Walk Thru the Woods
14.25″w x 10.25h watercolor on 300lb wc paper. An Inland Northwest wood walk on a fantasy spring day.

This one is entitled, “Walk Thru the Woods”. I have been painting non-stop in both my studio, and in the classrooms each week with home school kids but there has not always been enough time to finish. So, there is a stack of paintings in the studio that are now calling my name, “Come finish me Val…”. My goal is to concentrate on completing them.

Water Wheel Cottage
13.5”w x 9.5”h watercolor on 300lb wc paper. A quaint little cottage alongside a waterway with an old water wheel ready to work.

This is a cottage on the water started from a workshop with Michael Holter that I was blessed to take during Spring Break. It was fabulous to learn new ways to approach landscapes. I started this one in the workshop but was not able to get even close to halfway done. To finish it, I decided to not use the photograph from the workshop and see what I would do if I just finish it on my own. I am pleased with with the way it came out. I could see myself climbing up the steps and walking inside to check it out this beautiful historic old place.

Finishing Details on the Mural

1_49MuralDetail

Adding finishing details and final touches to this winter scene interior mural at 49 Degrees North Ski Resort in Chewelah Washington. My scaffold gets packed up and I use the ladders to work on the last parts of this project. With my smallest brushes, I paint, then backup to see how the whole wall looks to me. This little step-back-and-look habit, always really helps me to change my perspective making it possible to see things I do not notice when I am close to the wall. After repositioning myself, I usually see missing items better.

02_49MuralDetail

Watch Out

Mountaintops in the winter can easily become an addictive thing. This whole project is quite an enjoyable one for me as I am painting from my own memories on the hill. There is absolutely nothing like spending the day speeding down a powdery hill feeling the cold wind kissing your face. Your eyes take in some of the best views on the planet as your heart races similar to being on a rollercoaster. If you have not tried skiing yet, don’t miss out on this wonderful experience in your life. You may find that winter will become your favorite time of year!

I tell you the truth, skiing is just about as much fun as you can have without breaking any laws.

01_49MuralDetail

Finishing Touches

I carefully add scattered groups of detail in larch and birch between the evergreens bringing a little realism into the whole impressionistic view. Stepping back, lets me notice that I am missing majestic tamarack trees both in the background and upfront. Next, some shrubbery is added at the tree bases using a rigger brush with dark browns and then adding snow on some of them. Some of the closest snow mounds receive a stroke of white to finish them up.

03_49MuralDetail

Standing back to get a better look, another missing ingredient comes to mind. I can’t forget to add little clumps of snow resting on the branches of the trees. If you knew our family, you’d know why that snow is important! Especially Patrick, who is known for sharing those clumps of snow with unsuspecting fellows on the slope. Okay, remember now that payback is the patient dude!

Wall “A” is a twenty-foot-long space and all details are complete now.

Finished 49 Mural Wall A first half Finished 49 Mural Wall A second half

Wall “B” is a forty-foot wide wall in three sections, having 2 columns and a doorway in it. It also has a rather large storage cabinet built into the corner behind the cash register. It was kind of tricky to figure out where to put the finishing details and not cause confusion or competition with the door or columns, and use of the benches. People tend to hang out and examine the details in a mural, so I try not to interfere with the business by drawing attention to the placement of details to areas away from traffic patterns if possible.

finished 49 Mural Wall B1 Finished 49 Mural Wall B2 Finished 49 Mural Wall B3

Wall “C” is now finished as the shortest twelve-foot wall that divides the nursery from the children’s club. The cash register counter is on the right where parents check-in with their children dropping them off for lessons on the hill.

49MuralWallC

Finished

When you are all finished with something, then you are “all pau” with it in Hawaii. This is simply a scrap of trivia information for those of you who enjoy collecting those little bits of trivia. I can’t wait to start skiing this season! Hope you can come up to 49 Degrees North to see the mural and let me know what you think. Time to pray for snow everyone!