Skip to main content

 

EARLY DAWN AT THE LAKE

14 x 11" Oil

~~~

We arrived very early for this day of painting and fishing. 

The sun was just coming up and the moon had not yet set.  

In the finished painting, that is the moon you see in the sky.

 I placed grid lines over my reference photo, dots on my canvas, 

and mixed some greyed down blues and yellow for the sky and water.

~~~

This is as much as I could accomplish at the lake.  
The storm had started, and I could see the rain heading toward me pretty quickly! 
~~~
So, I packed up the car, and sat there watching the rain pelt the windshield, as 
Dennis continued to fish. See the stickers? We get those on our 
coffee (or tea) at the Gathering Grounds in Russels Point.
The stickers keep the drinks warm, then I decorate the dash!
That practice started with Covid in 2020.
We couldn't be around crowds, so we went to Indian Lake
often and were happy to see the Gathering Grounds
was always open during that time period.
~~~
BACK IN THE STUDIO


Back in the home studio, I was able to take a closer look at the reference photo. The overcast sky and water were more clear to me; so, I mixed up even more greyish blues. I mixed that red yellow for a strong orange, then mixed that orange with the blue. That produced a dark greyed down blue which I then mixed with varying amounts of white.
~~~
In the studio, without the impending storm hurrying me, 
I was able to paint more slowly and methodically. 
I hope you enjoyed this little painting session with me!
Did I capture the mood of an overcast day?
Let me know in the comments (below)!
Thanks for reading!
~~~
Early Dawn at the Lake
14 x 11" Oil



 

Comments

  1. There is a moodiness about this overcast day that I like. I can almost hear the gentle lapping of the ripples and smell the air!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  OVER CAST DAY ON MOUND WOOD CHANNEL 11 x 14" Oil ~~~ As the rain pelted the roof of the shelter house on Mound Wood Channel, I set up to paint this almost dreary day at Indian Lake.  ~~~ While I was setting up, protected under that shelter house, Dennis ventured into the rain.  He got a bit wet this day, but it was worth it! Because of the rain, there were no boats in the channel, so the fish were happy to accommodate Dennis's bait! He brought home a nice catch. ~~~  This was the scene in front of me, along the channel at Mound Wood. ~~~   I quickly drew a sketch on the canvas. Easy to do, as there was no wind. ~~~ This painting was challenging in the sense that capturing that misty, overcast atmosphere required me to do a more intense study of the local colors. And, then, I had to mix those colors. At this point, I concentrated mostly on the green mixes. This was a new and delightful experience because of my new limited palette. ~~~ Next, I put in that dreary...
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...
  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...