Old Railroad Car – Three Artistic Interpretations

In continuing with the theme from last week, this week I’m featuring an old train car. And not to be too redundant, but as I stated last week: “Anytime I create an art print, I have typically worked the subject matter into different forms and presentations. When I hit a look I like, I spend more time working it into a “final product”. Sometimes I end up with more than one version. If I feel strongly about the final presentation in each version, I will keep them. Having said that, I do try and limit it to no more than three of anyone subject matter.” Today’s blog features an old train car located on a hiking path along the river in Rockford, Michigan. At the time I took the photograph in December of 2015, it was abandoned, but looked like it had been used as a diner.

As I did last week, the first version I’m showing was created using a black and white sketching technique.

The Old Train Car

The second version just like last week adds colored to the sketching technique.

The Red Railroad Car

Then the third version was created using an abstract watercolor approach.

Old Train

Thoughts?

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Bougainvillea – Bold and Subtle in Watercolor

Last summer I shared a couple of captures I took of our Bougainvillea blooms from our backyard. It took me until November to take those shots and create watercolor art prints of them. I also took them into two different directions, dark & bold and light & subtle. The original shots were taken to highlight the back lighting of the “colored bracts” surrounding the actual flower. That’s the technical and actual description, but most of us see the bracts as petals creating the bloom. The actual flower is a very small insignificant light colored center piece in the center of the bracts. Ok, so much for our botanical class lesson and let’s move on to what I did with them.

I wanted to present the look in a watercolor format as that lends itself to a soft warm presentation. What also caught me eye was the subtle difference in lighting and color saturation between the two. I decided to accent those differences which resulted in the attached art prints! I think the name I gave each says it all in what I saw as differences between the two.

Bougainvillea Dark And Bold

Bougainvillea Light And Subtle

Thoughts?

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Colorful Hot Air Balloons

I have attached four art prints of hot air balloons. With all four I used an abstract watercolor technique. The technique focuses on the bright colors of the hot air balloons and less on the details of the subject. The balloons stand out prominent with their striped colors.  The bold reds, blues, oranges, greens and yellows take center stage. The shapes are soft and whimsical setting the visual for a hot air balloon experience. The group of prints represent hot air balloons in various stages of preparing for launch and then ultimately lift off.

The setting is a group of hot air balloons getting ready for their sunset ascent. The location is in San Diego County near the coast of the Pacific Ocean. San Diego is famous for its sunset rides. As the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean, the onshore flow of winds decrease allowing the balloons to drift inland and descend for a landing before it gets dark. The trip starts close to the coast and takes you inland about 15 miles. The view is incredible as you ascend over Rancho Santa Fe and quietly drift eastward. For those of us that have lived in that area for years, we are use to seeing up to 15 balloons dot the sky just before sunset.

 

 

“Half Ready Half Not”

“Hot Air Balloon Almost Ready”

“First Up”

“Up, Up and Away”

Thoughts?

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Fog – Featured Art Prints

I can honestly say I haven’t really ever tried to take pictures of fog….not saying I haven’t, but just not actively sought it out as a subject matter. Having lived here in the desert Southwest for over 4 years , I have almost forgotten what it looks like. Our house in San Diego was just three miles off the coast, so very familiar with it for all of those 20+ years we lived there. Having said all of that, these three art prints have that item in common…they all have fog in the composition of the setting. Not “oops” I can’t see anything fog, but subtle mood setting hints of fog. All three of these scenes were created from photographs where I used a classic watercolor technique to soften them up to complement the fog feature.

This first scene is along the Oregon coastline and the fog was just lifting from the surf as you can see along the top of the frame and also along the bluffs in the background.

The Rock in the Coastal Surf

This next feature is the entrance to a fishing harbor along the New England coastline. Again, the fog isn’t prominent in the scene, but sets a tone in the background against the trees.

“Morning Fog In The Village”

This last picture takes us back to Oregon, where the low-lying fog was burning off above this farm. It had been a morning of light rain, when the clouds started to break up. The farm actually caught my attention, but when I realized I also was capturing the fog drifting over the field, knew it was a perfect combo.

“The Fog and The Farm”

In all three, the fog adds a feel and look to the final scene that would convey an entirely different message without it. Thoughts?

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Pacific Northwest Lighthouses – Featured Art Prints

I am featuring four lighthouses today that are located along the Oregon and Washington Coastline. I did these art prints using a very (I emphasize the word “very”) subtle sketching and soft watercolor technique. The prints look like soft photography, but if you look closer you will see the architectural detail and landscape detail sketched to highlight it and the coloring has just a hint of watercolor blending.

These are just four of many lighthouses dotting the coastline of Oregon and Washington. I have featured them in order of south to north…north being the last one and the only one in Washington (just across the border from Oregon) of these four.

Umpqua River Lighthouse Sketched

This lighthouse was a replacement for a prior lighthouse and became operational in 1894. It is located above the entrance to Winchester Bay. Wikipedia – here!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Watercolor

This particular lighthouse was built in Paris and shipped to Oregon. It became operational in 1873 and is located near the mouth of the Yaquina River near Newport, Oregon. Wikipedia: here.

Cape Meares Lighthouse in Watercolor

Short, but powerful, this lighthouse became operational in 1890 and is located  near Tillamook Bay.  Wikipedia: here.

North Head Lighthouse

North Head Lighthouse is located in Washington just north of the Oregon border. Sitting high on a rocky promontory north of the mouth of the Columbia River and Cape Disappointment. Wikipedia: here.

I love lighthouses and try and take advantage of seeking any out in my travels. This series came from a trip my wife and I did when we lived in San Diego and decided to do a road trip to visit our youngest daughter who at the time was going to the University of Washington. We flew up to the Bay Area in Northern California and rented a car. After a brief stay in Napa Valley, we headed over to the Northern California coastline and took the coastal route up into Washington state. We visited as many along the way as we could and if you are interested in seeing more of my artistic interpretations of these and many more lighthouses visit my Lighthouse/Nautical Gallery. Thoughts?

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Think Positive 2018

In wanting to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a welcome to 2018, I have attached the following art print. I thought the message was appropriate as we start a new year!

Think Positive

Thoughts?

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End Of Day At The Dock – Featured Art Print

End of Day at The Dock

“End of Day at The Dock” is an art print I created using a traditional watercolor technique. This technique focuses on traditional colors and shading to create a soft warm print.

The setting is Victoria Harbour, British Columbia. The harbour is used as a seaport for aviation as well as for boats including ferry service, fishing and sail boating. This particular scene is directly in front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel, famous for it’s afternoon tea and Victorian ambiance.

What I like about this print is three-fold. I love the overall softness of colors, they create a warm comforting visual experience. The other aspect I like is the subject matter. There is something visually appealing about boats docked in a harbor (or harbour in this case) right after sunset when dusk settles in. The third aspect is the two visual focal points created by the lights on the dock by the boats. These focal points pull your eye in to see more detail.  Thoughts?

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God’s Grace – Featured Art Print

God’s Grace

To commemorate Holy Week with Palm Sunday yesterday and Easter next Sunday, I wanted to feature an art print I created using an abstract watercolor technique. The inspiration for the print is a statue of Christ carrying the cross in a garden on the grounds of a small chapel. Happy Easter!!

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Soft Rose Bloom In Red And Purple – Featured Art Print

 

Soft Rose Bloom In Red And Purple   

Soft Rose Bloom In Red And Purple is a wall art print I created using a soft watercolor technique. This technique creates defined lines that compliment a soft watercolor look. This print was just added to my Floral/Still life Gallery and was inspired by my photo shoot of rose blooms in the Arizona Territorial Rose Garden located on the grounds of the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, Arizona. Thoughts?

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Abstract Towers and Sketched Towers – Featured Art Prints

Abstract Towers – from my Cityscapes Gallery

Sketched Towers – from my Cityscapes Gallery

Abstract Towers and Sketched Towers are wall art prints I created using an abstract watercolor technique of high-rise buildings. This technique uses abstract bold lines with traditional watercolor to create the image. This is a similar technique I used on the abstract art print Yellow and Purple which I featured a couple of weeks ago.

The perspective of these prints is looking up from street level. The setting is downtown Seattle, a vibrant and active center of urban life for both the locals and the many tourist that visit the city. Having exploded in growth over the last 20 years, Seattle has become a very trend setting and dynamic market. The downtown urban corridor reflects that flavor. The architecture of the buildings display a variety of styles and looks. The downtown skyline stretches across the waterfront of Elliot Bay from the Seattle Center (home of the Space Needle) to the north to the sports complex (home of the Seahawks “football”, Sounders “soccer” and Mariners “baseball”) to the south. Thoughts?

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