Painting of Bridge At Wild Lake Columbia, Plean Aire

I paint Plean Aire (outdoors) in Columbia, MD,  and did this is a painting at Wild Lake by the path that goes up the hill to the tot lot. 

If you are familiar with Wilde Lake, you will know the place that this painting represents. Columbia, MD, has many iconic bridges that cross the many creeks and rivulets. I just love them. They all have the same construction but different environments, which makes each one unique.

Plean Arie Painting of the Bridge at Wild Lake, Columbia, Md. 

I started with a blue underpainting and then worked from the background to the foreground. It needed a lot of adjustment and correction as I worked. Since I was working in acrylic, it was easy to build up layers of paint, which is one of the things I like about my paintings.

It was a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed painting this picture. It has a lot of green, but that is how Wilde Lake looks at this time of year. I liked the strong images of the tree trunks going up and the contrasting images of the path. The texture was a lot of fun to try to get right. I worked on it for too many hours before being happy with it.

One of the nicest things about painting outdoors is all the wonderful people who you get to meet. There were many kind folks walking by who made encouraging comments as I painted.

The Fountain at Columbia Town Center, a Challenging Painting

Here is a painting of an iconic scene of the Lake at Downtown Columbia. 

If you know Columbia, MD, you will recognize the fountain. It is two stories tall and shaped like a huge cement bowl. You can walk onto the plaza to the top level and look down at the water below, or go the bottom enjoy another view.

Painting, The Fountain at Columbia Town Center © Adron 2019

If you are in the Columbia, MD area contact me to arrange a viewing before you decide to buy it.

The composition of the picture is insane from an artist point of view. It has a powerful central focus, but the contrasting lines pull your eye into and out of the scene. The handrail leads you in and up from the left and then out across the right, the red brick road guides your eye forward into the picture but halts at the fountain where the downward curve of the bottom leads your eye out again. The background pulls your eyes back and forth across the scene, but you find your eye going down the railing or out the brick.  The white cement steps lead your eyes in and up, then across the three pillars leaving you to drift between the two lamp lights and the fountain spray.

These different lines affect how I would work things like shadows, hues, and values, so this painting kept forcing me to stop and reconsider my steps as I progressed, I felt as if I was constantly starting over, but I was only trying to integrate conflicting elements.

Anyway, it was a fun day to paint. I set my easel up on the lawn to the right of the brick pavement where a tree gave shade, which was nice since it was a hot day. I started with a sketch in blue and then began to put in the background sky. Next, using a large one-inch flat brush, I worked the picture from the top to the bottom to establish the basic shapes and colors of the picture. Over the next three hours, the process of painting the picture was a simple task of working the whole picture over with progressively smaller brushes each time so that details emerged.

When the canvas is blank no one says much, but people stop to look and chat as the painting progresses. A bunch of kids watched and offered advice. They were particularly concerned that the water splash and the flowers on the lamp were postponed since I save the details for the end, but when they were added their approval was extremely gratifying.

The picture was detailed a little more at home where the cool air allowed for the use of a liner brush since dryish tacky paint does not lend to fine lines.

I am very proud of this painting and believe that the fountain a the lake in downtown Columbia will be a theme that I will return to often.

You can contact me through the facebook app or leave a comment below.

Adron ©2019

Watercolor Painting of Howard College Columbia MD Rouse Student Services Hall

This is a little painting I did this last week of the Rouse Student Services Hall at Howard College in Columbia MD.

I had the day off from my regular job on Friday and it was a beautiful day so I took advantage and walked over to the campus.  Normally I paint in the afternoon when I get off from my job or on Saturday afternoons after the household chores are done. The problem is that the light is always the same since I have been painting at the same time each afternoon, so I was excited to get an opportunity to paint in the earlier part of the day.

Rouse Student Services Hall Howard Community College Columbia MD 

I chose the Rouse Student Services hall because it is an iconic building in Howard County, or anywhere. The lines are very dramatic, the colors are beautiful and the geometry is almost science fiction. The sunlight was perfect, it was fully on it.

I spent an hour sketching it. I was very concerned to capture the details and to get them right. If you mess up on the beginning plan it takes a lot of energy and effort to correct it later on.

When I was satisfied with the sketch I began painting the large areas using my larger brushes.

I came back Saturday morning to work on it some more and finished it Sunday.

It was very nice for several staff of the college to stop and say hello. The pleasant people who work at the college always make me feel welcome.  We all admired the powerful design of the building.

I think the execution is fine and the technique is OK, but the composition is still a little off. No one is as critical of their work as the artist who created it. But you know it is art and it was my intention to share an expression of the beauty of the place.  

Thank you to Howard Community College for letting me paint their beautiful campus.

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Adron


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(c) Adron

Watercolor Sketch On The Path

Here is a little (6x9) watercolor sketch I did on the footpath near my home.  It is an early spring day and I was eager to get out and enjoy the blossoms. There are lots of little foot bridges on this path and a lot of trees, they make a nice composition.

I had a small set of Windsor Newton watercolors in a portable paint box and a handful of brushes.  As is often the case when I go out on the spur of the moment I find that there were things I forgot to bring; so this time I did not have any tape to hold down the paper on the board which meant it curled up as I was painting.  What was more discouraging was that I forgot any of my smaller brushes, so I painted with only flats and one round brush that I think was really a toy.

Watercolor sketch of the footpath at Harper's Farm in Columbia. MD

It was a hot day so I had to paint quickly which is why I am calling it a sketch.  I started with washing in large areas with my biggest brush.  I knew it would dry quick so I was generous with the water. Then a few moments later I used a slightly smaller brush and began to lay in smaller darker areas and after that I used a very small flat to put in the darkest areas and let them all blend.  I used the smallest brush to begin to put in details of trees and bridge. I pained over areas and used the brush to scrub out the earlier layers so the latter would rest on top.

It was tricky to work in the values because I was working in bright sunlight which is always a disadvantage, since your eyes adjust to the bright light but when you get your final piece inside everything looks dull. However I tried to allow for this and I think it turned out OK.  The total time was about an hour I think.

(c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron



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A Watercolor Sketch of Pathway Bridge

Here is a sketch I did one afternoon with watercolor while sitting on a bench next to the path near my house in Columbia MD. It was not my first choice but I didn't want to stand while painting so I found an old bench and looked around to see what was there.

 Pathway Bridge Watercolor Sketch Painted on Location.

I was experimenting with a technique of using only a large wide one inch brush and only a fine brush. I find that a large brush is great for washes and laying down large areas of color. I was playing with the edge of the brush to give the texture. I was enjoying laying color into color.

I lost some of the detail of the turn in the path in the background. I was a little unhappy with the color value in the trees in the distance and my attempt to darken the shadow of the trees behind the bridge was frustrating. I wanted to paint this entirely on location.

I was happy with the composition. It combines the "U" composition of the trees in the middle ground and the "S" composition of the road in the foreground.

It is not a painting I would sell but it is a good study for a more complex and comprehensive piece.

(c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron



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Art for Theater, Set Design

Church platform turned into a theater stage for the youth actors

Here are a few images of the set that we created for the young actors at the youth performing arts camp. It took the entire week to design and place it. Pastor Mitch Camp cut the flats to the shape we designed and then they were painted to look like a rustic tour boat on the Nile. The painting was done by young people under my supervision. I did a lot of painting also. Unfortunately I was too busy to take many photos and the stage was struck within an hour of the performance. 

Detail of the stage

We had many points of humor around

The actors on stage

We built a tour boat on the stage of the church. The back had a paddle wheel and a steam engine with a steam stack. The front had a wheel house and the prow of the boat. The side of the sanctuary was decorated to look like a pier with pilings, (these seats would not offer a view of the stage so they were thereby blocked off).

It felt humbling and an honor to be able to help the young people in their camp. I hope that some who worked on the stage were inspired to use their gifts and talents for God and others.

 (c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron




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The Sanctuary Bridge at Wild Lake.

Here is a lovely painting I did on location at Wild Lake, in Columbia MD. It is at the end of Wild Lake that is set aside as a sanctuary, so I titled it Sanctuary Bridge.

I painted this in September, 2011, on several mornings. The first morning there were some workers in the area making so much noise with chainsaws I almost packed up and left, but I am glad that I didn't. 

I wanted to focus on the bridge that looked like it was shyly peeking around the bend. Beyond this point the path go up a steep hill at the top of which is a playground and a vista of the lake. I sat next to the path while painting this bridge and many folks came by and offered encouragement. One couple offered to pose for the picture but when I told them how long one of my paintings took to finish they responded that they doubted the bridge would be there when I finished.

I did a lot of editing and left out details in the interest of having a painting that had a nice composition.  This is the tricky part of painting on location. One of the other concerns I have is the problem of the shifting light. I had to return at the same time each day to capture the light; and even in the two or three hour sessions the light would change so much as the sun moved across the sky that I had to fight the sense that I needed to revise the entire painting. 

I left this piece rest in my basement studio for a few weeks and then made a few touches here and there but nothing major it is essentially painted on location. I am very happy with the results and I am sure anyone who hangs this on their wall will be happy too.

The Sanctuary Bridge. 11x14

Price $160.00

Contact me to arrange to see this in my basement studio or for a shipping quote. (c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron



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Eliots Oak Bike Path Original Oil Painting on Canvas

Painting of the bike path off of Eliots Oak Rd. in Columbia MD. Oil on 11 x 14 canvas.  I walk down this path often it is one of my favorite places. There is a bridge and these cool huge boulders.  The path passes a play ground and enters a wood.  I painted this picture over several weeks were I took my easel and canvas to the spot and worked on it; I finished it in my studio. The greens and blues are a livid contrast to the warm browns of the boulders. 

  

This painting would be a beautiful addition to any collection of fine art. Price is $175.00. Get in touch with me to arrange to see this in my home studio or to get a quote on shipping.

(c) Adron

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Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron




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