PAINTING THE RED ONE

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It is always nice, when finished with a painting, that you can eat the subject matter. Ham sandwiches, peaches, bananas and blueberries, M and M's...

I again used layering on this painting to ge the colors the intensity l wanted. I intentionly have only one red M and M so that it draws attention to it. I made the glare on the candy to look like there was an overhead light. I didn't darken the edges of the candy as much as the first M and M's painting as these candies are much flatter.

I like the composition and the depth provided by the shadow below the paint brush. And M and Ms don't have the M on both sides. Didn't know that.

SURF'S UP!

We just returned from a quick trip to Hawaii. I took my compact watercolor paint kit that fits in a plastic ZipLoc bag. The kit includes a tin that holds three brushes, a pencil and a black pen; a Moleskin sketch book; a small towel; a used foil pouch that at one time held raisins but now I use to hold water; an empty Tylenol bottle for clean water; and a compact watercolor set that includes 24 colors but takes up only about 3 inches in width and less about 1.5 inches high. The circular disks each hold six watercolor tubs and there are four disks that twist altogether. Very clever design.

The kit allowed me to even paint on the plane. Although it was tight quarters, I managed to having everything handy.

I did some sketches from photographs I took and some that I found in publication. The one at the left was from an Hawaiian Airlines magazine.

M AND Ms PEANUTS

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This is a 13" x 10" painting that I based on a reference photo I took just before I ate the candy. M and Ms Peanuts are odd shaped, unlike the regular M and Ms.

I masked off the highlights and again did a lot of layering starting with light washes and building up the color over 5-6 layers. Then I added a bit denser values and finally some darker values around the edges to give depth.

I added the shadows under the candy using indigo and a slight bit of van dyke brown to give it a blue-gray hue. And last I removed the masking to reveal the highlights.

I really like the intensity of the colors.

1934 FORD WOODY

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I painted this picture for my brother's 60th birthday. He's an attorney and plays in a Beach Boys/Beatles cover band. I added some elements that he would recognize and appreciate like the license plate that was our grandfather's Idaho license plate number for over 50 years.

I started by masking off all the chrome and the pinstriping on the car and painted a light wash of blue-green. I then masked off the vents on the side of the car. I did 8-9 more layers of the blue-green building the intensity with each layer.

Next I painted the wood panels with a mix of red, yellow and raw sienna and adding some burnt sienna for the darker lines. Again I layered the colors with multiple washes to get the intensity right.

I then add the darks around the fenders, under and behind the headlights, under the car and around and in the wheels/tires. Finally I painted the foreground and background trying not to make things too prominent as to take away from the car.

I like the reflections on the car itself and the overall composition and I think Goofy liked it too.