Summers Coming!

   Another one in the quest to loosen things up a bit! Boats and water are always good to loosen up the water colors and I think I got out of this subject what I was looking for. Water Color is always a struggle between to much and not enough! I read somewhere what makes a good painting is often what you do not put in it. I had gotten a couple of new brushes this week and I love them both. This painting and some others were the tryouts for them. I have been hunting a good brush that could do an entire painting and think I have found what I was looking.
   This painting is based on a photo I took last summer on Lake Wawasee in northern Indiana. It is the states largest natural lake. It is about 7x11 inches and painted on 300lb Fabriano CP paper. Thanks for looking.

Two Hens Watching

   This is a small water color I did today in the studio of some of my chickens that free range around the farm. These hens were hanging out down by the barn and I was out taking photos of them after putting out a little feed for them so they would hang around while I got the pictures I wanted. Chickens lend themselves so well to water color and it is the perfect medium for them. I had laid out a much larger painting today but with the wild weather that appeared to be coming in I was afraid I would get interrupted with fire Department duties so I did not start the paint on it. Success with Water Color is often dependent on how well you control the moisture on the paper and that requires an uninterrupted painting session until you reach the point where a complete dry out will not effect what you trying to make happen. With oils you paint the entire painting but with Water Color you paint some of it and some of it you make happen or let happen depending on how you look at it. the best water colors almost paint themselves. I always tell people to approach the medium as a coach not a king.
   Painting is about 7x9 inches in size and painted on 300lb Fabriano CP paper with artists grade paints. Painting is sold. Thanks for looking!

Quick little study

   This is just a quick little study for a larger painting. The subject is a small stream in southern Indiana deep in limestone country. Painting is 5x7 and done quickly to try and keep loose and be more about the color than the detail.

    

Winona Lake Study

   This is a little study that will become a much larger painting for an upcoming art show I will be doing on June 4th and 5th. This is of a footbridge over the canal and is just a wonderful little piece of spring color and light. This is a small painting only 5x7 inches in size but is where I work out the issues for the larger one that is coming. I get to try things out here and see what I like and what I don't and make mental notes of changes for the larger painting. Hope to see you at the show!

Something Hot

   Well it was a chilly spring weekend here in northern Indiana so we fired up the big glass furnace and made a little heat of our own. I have been trying to get all of this together for quite some time and finally decided it was time to just get it going. I finished up some small tools I needed to work the glass while things were coming up to temp and just after lunch on Sunday Ethan and I pulled the first gather of glass from the new furnace. It has been about 30 years since I had a blowpipe in my hands with hot glass on the other end so it took a while to get things going but in the end it all worked out. here are a few of the sun catcher/ornaments that we made that day. They are about 3-4 inches in diameter and are available at my Etsy site by clicking here

Something Cool

    I did this water color in the studio today to take a little break from the sudden warmup in our spring weather. Sometimes a nice winter scene is just what is needed to cool off. This is a new of the Wetzel farm down the road from my house. Two of the buildings in the picture are gone now as is part of the tree in the front yard. I love this farm and have many photos of it to work from before it was "cleaned up". I love the last light of the day in late winter and the way it lights things up.
   This little water color is about 7x11 inches, painted on 300lb Fabriano CP paper with artist grade watercolors. If you are interested in the painting it can be purchased on Etsy by clicking here Etsy

Pair of Ducks

  Another in my small wonder series, this one is of a pair of ducks that live with my chickens. They were leftovers from the 4H Fair duck selections a few years ago and just hang out here on the farm now. The male duck on the right is a real character and drives Chip the farm dog crazy. Whenever he can catch Chip off guard he will nip him in the butt so the dog does not like him at all.
   Painting is 6x8 inches, oil on canvas panel and will not ship until dry which will be about 4 weeks from posting. If interested you can go to etsy by clicking here Etsy

Little One

I have been fighting a bad cold this week so I painted this one from my back door yesterday. It is of a large Sugar Maple tree behind my house. I am trying to get a better feel for the colors of spring without letting tht sudden rush of green overwhelm my paintings. I am starting a new series of "Small Wonders" that this is part of to try and bring original artwork to more people. I am selling these small ones for $49 with free shipping on etsy. You can click here to go there Etsy.
   This one is 5x7 inches so it will fit almost anywhere and is oil on a canvas panel but cannot ship until dry which will be about four weeks from the time of posting.