Donna Pierce-Clark Fine Art

 Early Morning Stillness (Kiser Lake) 11 x 14 Oil on Linen Canvas Panel  ~~~ We arrived by 7:30 AM, on a week day; so the lake was very still. As the morning progressed, a few people began putting their kayaks in the water, and a few more fishermen joined us. We left by 10:00 AM, my painting finished, Dennis with a good size catch of bluegill, and even at that time, there were still very few people on the lake. All in all, this was a still and peaceful morning. ~~~ I had purchased two new items to help make painting outdoors in oils a little easier, and I truly loved them! One was a new paper towel holder with a super clamp which enabled me to arrange the towel holder just where I needed it to be. The second item was a different way to handle my trash. When these towels become heavy with paint and medium, I need a quick way to throw them away. Below, you will see how much better this whole arrangement works! But, first, my painting process... I found this lovely scene nea...

 A LIFE WELL LIVED Watercolor & Watercolor Crayons ~~~  My reference photo was rather dull in color. Most old barns are. I wanted to highlight the light play of the sunlight that was pouring through the old broken down roof shingles. ~~~  I drew the building onto watercolor paper, then placed masking fluid where all that light was. ~~~   In preparation for a watercolor pour, and as soon as the masking fluid had dried, I wet the entire surface with clear water. ~~~ I poured 3 colors onto the wet surface (Quinacridone Rose, Pthalo Blue, and Hansa Yellow). I then tilted the board to cause the colors to blend into secondary and tertiary mixes across the paper. ~~~   Here you can see how the pour looked after it had dried.  ~~~ I began adding some direct painting. The image is more clear now. ~~~   I did more direct painting, and began to do some lifting. Some crayon work can be seen at the very top of the painting. ~~~ At this point, much crayon work a...

 DISCOVER THE SECRET TO PAINTING EFFORTLESSLY !!! STILL WATERS BESIDE PEW ISLAND PATHWAY 14 x 11" Oil ~~~   There was no breeze on this beautifully warm day at Indian Lake. Calm water and still warm air is always a nice atmosphere for pleinair. Adding to this perfect setting, I chose to limit my resources at hand. By using a limited palette of only six colors, I was able to   1) immediately focus on the details 2) instantly reduce my decision making, and  3) effortlessly create unity throughout the entire painting. Over the years, I have studied with and painted alongside many pleinair artists. They all have a unique palette. I've tried so many! Whether through books, or videos, or in person workshops with world renowned oil painters; I've been inundated with suggestions of what colors to use, what brushes and canvases are best, and a myriad of approaches. Many begin with toning the canvas, others do not. Some use lots of tubes of pigments, some use a limited pale...

  FIGHTING THE ELEMENTS!! WINDY DAY ON THE CHANNEL 11 x 14" Oil ~~~ On this warm breezy day,  I had to fight the strong winds and employ some unusual anchors for my easel!  After setting up, and with a few strokes of wet oil paint on the canvas, the wind grabbed the panel and hurled it off the easel! So I knew some creative measures were necessary! ~~~ First,  I used a small bungie cord on the canvas panel attached to the easel.  You can see it on the back of the panel above, and in front of the panel below: ~~~ I also attached a second small bungie cord from the easel to the front tire of the car! ~~~ All of these new anchors kept the canvas in place, but the wind blew my hat, my apron, and just generally made painting a definite fight . I fought through nearly two hours of this, persevered, and ended up with a halfway decent painting.  I say decent because this is not one of my favorite paintings. More time and energy were spent fighting the elements, rat...

  SEMINOLE ISLAND CHANNEL 11 x 14" Oil We had such a pleasant early Spring day at Indian Lake! Above you can see there are no leaves on the trees yet; but, there were many other colorful and interesting things to see on this trip. While painting, I was serenaded by the geese flying and swimming in the channel area. A sweet Red Winged Blackbird stopped by to see me too! ~~~ On the trip up to the lake we were treated by a few Amish in their buggies. One in particular was downright friendly and thankful we were driving slowly around him.   See his friendly wave! ~~~ The minute we arrived at the lake, Dennis stopped in to one of his favorite bait shops. I managed a few photos. This was my favorite: ~~~ While waiting for him, I was also graced by a sweet kitty in the parking lot.   His eyes were so pretty. I didn't get a good photo of them. Hopefully he will be there next time and I can catch his pretty eyes! He was friendly though! All in all, this was a friendly, warm spring...

SPANISH LACE Spanish Lace is quite a large painting. The cream colored teapot is from Spain. The blue and white mug next to the teapot is from Mexico. I wanted this to be the largest size watercolor painting allowed by Ohio Watercolor Society and is 36 x 23," painted on 300# Arches watercolor paper. I have entered this into the 2025 OWS competition. I'll let you know how it goes! In the meantime, I thought you might like to see the progression paintings of this one: I began with a light pencil drawing, then added some color to the top of the painting: the background fabric stripes and the teapot. ~~~   After completing the teapot, the mug and the upper background fabric; I began with the lower patterned fabric (all the time avoiding the most challenging part of this painting, the lace). ~~~ I continued this lower fabric, painting around the lace. By doing so, the lace began to appear! By more "negative painting" (painting around the lace, but not painting the lace it...