A Portrait of my Daughter's Backpack, as a Still Life

This is a little painting of my daughter's backpack. It is made out of canvas and looks very rustic as well as traveled. Every great painting tells a story, even if it is a bottle on a shelf, so I hoped to capture the message of her backpack. 

It is just a backpack, and I admit I could have done more to capture the story of what it means to my daughter. 

I created this picture in watercolor using a Windsor Newton paint set. 

This picture is about 5 inches by 4 inches, so it is small in real life. It is more of a doodle than a painting. 

I started by taking some photos with my Kodak still life camera and then used the photos as my resource for this picture.  I did several sketches and a practice watercolor before I had all my ideas together. 

My daughter has buttons and badges on the backpack and bandanas ties to the straps that are all kinds of color, but I chose to edit those things out because they were too confusing. And were a little personal to her. 

Portrait of a Backpack, Painting in Watercolor

It is a really nice design with the canvas accented by red leather straps, black buckles, and red piping. There is an interesting pull tie cord in a blue cotton that gives it a great contrast. 

I have tried to create a few products with this small image, but when it is enlarged from 5 inches to a larger format, things get fuzzy and blurred. So I used it in smaller sizes for a greeting card and a small image in the corner of a print. 

I used the computer to add some text from the book of Ruth 1:16-17 and made a greeting card out of it that you can purchase off of my Society6 store. CLICK HERE to see it. 

To see it as a print, CLICK HERE

I hope you like it. 

Blessings.

A. E. Dozat

Greeting Card Watercolor of a ship with a square sail.

Painting in watercolor of a sailing ship for a greeting card. 

I designed this as an illustration for my next book of poetry but liked the image so much that I couldn't wait to do a watercolor of it. It is a very simple picture with a classic, almost generic design: a sailing ship approaching with the sunset behind it.

It is a miniature, only about 8 by 11. I took a few days to paint it, and I am afraid that I may have overworked the picture. So, I had to call it quits before I ruined it.

I downloaded a copy of the picture to a site so it can be made into nice things, like the greeting card you can see in the link below. These greeting cards are very nice and come with an envelope. They are blank inside, so you can write your own special note. This is not a card they will look at once and throw away; they will keep it and maybe even frame it to enjoy forever.

It is a colorful picture with a nice balance between the lights and the darks.

Watercolor of Ship on Sea at Sunset. 

Watercolor Sketch Of A Lamp With Flower Basket

This is a little sketch I did in watercolor on Saturday at Wild Lake Columbia.

THE SETTING
It was a nice but cool day and nice days have been rare lately especially on a Saturday.  If I didn't go out and paint a little something I would regret it, so I packed up a few essentials and went out to paint at the lake.

The lake has so many beautiful and interesting buildings, walks, fountains and scenery that it is hard to choose what to paint. One way to handle this sort of problem is to shrink down your field of view and instead of doing a big landscape or city scene I find it is better to pick an object of interest and do something more intimate.

After walking around for a while I chose a lampost with a wicker flower holder near the top.

FIRST WORKING
The sky was filled with clouds but I washed in the blues quickly. The background was the bare trees across the lake and I kept them as a mass of brown. The middle ground was two bare trees, They were bare still since it is early spring and the leaves have yet to come out. I centered the lamp post on the picture which is usually a bad form since you want the point of interest in a place of interest but putting it center makes it a portrait of a lamp.

MAIN WORK
The trees were an important part of my picture so I spent a lot of time painting them and going over them with a liner brush pulling the color up and away to form the many branches.

The lampost was carefully drawn with a small brush. I wanted the white of the lamps to be shiny so I darkened the sky behind them.

LAST STEPS
I did the fine lines with a signature brush. The railings details of the grasses and flowers.

I think it turned out to be a nice picture.
I hope you enjoy it.

Wild Lake Lampost, Watercolor

It is about 5x7 inches

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or the favorites in the sidebar. 
You can also visit my Society6 storefront to purchase my art. 

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(c) Adron

Watercolor of Cardinal Bird on a Branch

This lovely watercolor of a cardinal is an example I did for an art lesson I was giving to some young art students. I also created a how to paint worksheet of this project and this was part of that worksheet too.

The background is mottled greens and blues and indistinct on purpose. I used a lot of water and let the color blend on the paper. I worked it over a little and added more color to give it contrast to the red bird.

The bird was just a flat red so I used some violet to give some shadow and a little roundness.

The branch was easiest. I used watery violet for the base of the shadow and went over it with payne's gray and finished with sienna brown.

I am very pleased with the project since it was only a quick study and not more than 4 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches high.  I will toss it into a little frame and it can be a gift or a small offering at an art show or something.


Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or the favorites in the sidebar. 
You can also visit my Society6 storefront to purchase my art. 

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(c) Adron

Watercolor Sketch of Five Mile Point Lighthouse

This is a little watercolor sketch I did from a photograph, the photo was from a calendar. I like to get calendars and use them for inspiration and practice my painting. This is is of Five Mile Point Lighthouse in New Haven Connecticut.

It was a fun project. It was simple and not really very challenging. I used only two brushes for the entire painting. A large and small one about a five, and a small one that was a 2/0.

I started with a quick pencil sketch it and began with the large brush to put in the sky and foreground sand using broad strokes. Then with the same large brush I put in the basic shapes of the trees and house structure.

With  I use the small brush for details of trees, house, water, sand and bushes. I found that I wanted to soften the clouds and deepen the sky so I alternated between the large and small brushes.

It is a nice little painting and it might look ok in a frame. I doubt that I will sell it maybe just keep it in a bin or use for an example in an art lesson with some kids.

Five Mile Point Lighthouse Watercolor.

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or the favorites in the sidebar. 
You can also visit my Society6 storefront to purchase my art. 

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(c) Adron

Watercolor of a Swan On Peaceful Water

This is a nice picture of a swan swimming on a lake of peaceful water. I am happy with all the color in the water and the sense of peace the picture has about it.

This painting started out as an illustration for an art lesson I was giving and I was enjoying it so much that after the lesson was done I continued to work on it for my own pleasure and to push my limits a little. To see the art lesson worksheet click here.

The water was my real focus. I wanted it to be smooth colorful and have some gentle ripples on it. I put in the color in a blotty wash. It didn't look too good so after it dried I came back and used clear water and worked it over in little areas at a time so it was smoother. After it dried then I used a liner brush and tissue to lift out some of the colors in horizontal streaks so it looked like ripples.

The swan was very minimally done since it is just the white of the paper; this is a little like using negative space in the picture to create an image. I had difficulty controlling the shadows on the white feathers and had to use tissue often to lift out the darker values.

It is a nice picture and I am preparing to frame it. There are some art shows coming up and I am sure that I will be selling this one.

Swan In Peaceful Water

CLICK HERE to see this at my online art store and purchase a copy.

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron 


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(c) Adron

Island In The Lake A Watercolor Painting

This is a nice little painting of a lake where there is an island with trees in the middle. This is a small painting about 8x10. On acid-free watercolor paper.

I originally did this as part of an art lesson that I was designing for some special students. It is not of any particular lake or island but is the blending of photos and my imagination.

I did the first step very watery so things would stay pale and distant, meaning the sky and background mountains. There is no middle ground only the mountains and the island; though technically one could call the zone between the mountains and the island a middle ground or call the island a middle ground and the water between the island and the bottom edge the foreground which is probably closer to the case on this picture.

The lake and island I did with a small brush and dry loaded with color.
I kept going over the island and the water before I was happy with it. I was very concerned that the background would have a much lighter value than the foreground. I wanted the island and trees to be distinct and darker than the background so it has a strong sense of distance.  I think it turned out very nicely.

I did a lot of blending with clear water and a soft brush to get the background mountains to look lighter and in the water to get a sense of ripples on a placid lake.

Watercolor painting of island with trees in the mountain lake

I still might touch it up a little before I put it in a frame. I expect to sell it for $100.00.

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron 


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(c) Adron

Watercolor Painting of a Garden Urn at the Baltimore Public Works Building

The is is a painting of a urn that is in the grounds of the Baltimore Public Works building. It was once a mansion that was the summer home of a wealthy doctor many years ago but is now maintained by the city and used for many civic purposes.

I the urn is on top of a square brick pillar that was weather worn but still stood reasonably straight. In different seasons the urn would have had colorful flowers but at the beginning of October there was only some grasses growing out of the top of it.

This was painted "plein aire," or in the open air at the site.

I struggled with the sketching of the urn since it had many of curvy twisty parts that required a lot of thought about how to portray them.  The urn is black but I do not think a black picture would look very appealing so I started it as a blue silhouette.  After the blue dried I came back over it with violets mixed with payne's grey. After that dried I gave a few touches with just payne's grey .

The background trees and corner structure of the mansion was easy enough. The brick pillar took a lot of time, I wished that I had sketched it in with more attention to the placement of the bricks but it turned out OK just the same.

Watercolor Painting of Garden Urn on a Brick Pillar.

I am very happy with this picture.

To purchase a framed copy of this picture follow this link: Click Here.
  

Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron 

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(c) Adron 

Watercolor Of A Still Life With Three Wine Bottles

This is a watercolor still life of three wine bottles that were an illustration for a simple art lesson.

It began as a drawing lesson for some art students I have and I continued to work the project until it became a watercolor of a still life.

I did not have a model to work from but used images and photos and created my own composition but since it was for an art lesson I kept it simple. I feel if I was working from life and had the items sitting on a cloth in front of me the outcome would have been immeasurably superior.

I had a lot of worry over the background I wanted it to be colorful but not too brilliant. I dabbed in some blues and browns with a touch of red and it looked too busy, so after it dried I dabbed clear water with a soft brush to let it all blend and soften the edges between the colors. It looked better but it was still too bright so I used a little Paynes Grey to dull it down some, normally do not use grey but it worked out ok on this one.

The bottles were fun to paint, I experimented with the colors and the values before it got to where I was happy with them.

The cloth was very minimally painted to give contrast with the busy wood surface table top.  I am not really happy with the wine glass and will touch it up more before I post this to my online art store.

Still life in Watercolor

If you want to see a how to draw worksheet for this project that I made for my students CLICK HERE.

To purchase a copy of this as a framed print visit my Society6 store. CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting my blog. 

I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron 

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(c) Adron

Painting Of A Gazebo, An Example From An Art Lesson.

Here is a painting I did that was inspired by an art lesson I was giving. I was so pleased with the lesson and the material that came out of it I decided to do it for my own pleasure.

This is a fantasy composition where I used several photographs and composed the picture.

I did several sketches first and then painted it starting with the background. I used a wet into wet for the sky and background.  I normally do several layers of wet into wet technique to get it to the intensity of color that I wanted but instead, I  worked with more intense colors in the primary stage to keep the background undeveloped.

Garden Gazebo Watercolor

Parts of the painting was done like drawing by using the tip of the small brush. I did a lot of areas in layers like the flagstones, the grass, bushes and trees. I am happy with the gazebo itself being white. I kind of wished teh sky was a little darker behind it that would have brought it out more.

I still might touch it up a little before I put it in a frame. I expect to sell it for $150.00.

(c) Adron

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron 



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Modern style Watercolor Portrait of a Young Woman

This is the finished watercolor portrait of a young woman. I posted at another blog about the process of composing and working out the problems of this picture. You can read about the creative process here.

I was trying to make a spiritual picture where the person is emerging from another place. It is like an emergence of consciousness or soul.  There was a lot of layers and steps in laying down the color. The black is Bob Ross black gesso. I choose it since I wanted to lay down the black first as an anchor for the design and to give the foggy-ness of it some focus.

Modern Style Watercolor Portrait Of a Young Woman.

I posted at another blog about the process of composing and working out the problems of this picture. You can read about the creative process here. You will see that I have made a lot of improvements.

I have a lot of problems trying to get the photography to work for me. The whites seem to turn out grey or green or something. There is a lot of white in the picture.

I anticipate that this will look beautiful in a mat and frame. There are some art venues that I hope to show it in, however, if you are in the area I would be glad for you to see it. It will price for around $200. I think.

(c) Adron

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron


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Picture of Grapes in Watercolor.

Here is a painting I did in watercolor as an example for some art students. Then I choose it as a study for a larger piece but I was so happy with it that I went beyond the study phase into a more serious and complete level with it.

This is a fantasy composition where I used several photographs and composed the picture.

I did several sketches first and then painted it starting with the background. I used a jerky stroke so it had a choppy and random look. It took several layers of wet into wet technique to get it to the intensity of color that I wanted.

I did the leaves next using red and lavender in the greens for the darker leaves. The lighter leaves were yellow at first and then I dropped some green into the yellow and let it blend.

The grapes took longer than everything else. I did each grape as an individual being careful to blend ultramarine blue with violet and lavender or some combination of those three colors so each grape was unique and not a series of duplicated grapes. After it dried I used clear water and tissue to lift out some soft highlights and then added a few brighter highlights with gesso. I am very happy with this project and will put it in a frame.

Watercolor Painting of Hanging Red Grapes 

To purchase this painting as a print visit my Society6 store, CLICK HERE.

 ____________________________

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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(c) Adron

Ellicott City Paint it With Maddy Dozat

The last two days I have been painting out of doors at Ellicott City MD with my Daughter Maddy. It has been more fun than I can express. The city is so very picturesque that you can't help but find some quaint scene to paint. The problem may be choosing which view to paint.

My Daughter Maddy is a college student at Susquehanna University in PA where s she is studying graphic design and theater set design. She has been home on summer break and working part time. It was pure joy to do this paint it event together.

Friday we painted the scene from the courthouse looking over the town with a focus on St. Luke AME church on the opposite hill. The tight packed jumble of buildings are challenging to paint, but in spite of the challenges I was amazed at what a dramatic picture she painted.  Several artists came by and spoke high praise of my daughter's art. Since it was a work day we had to cut our time short so she could go to work.

Saturday we returned to the same scene and finished what we started the day before. I started another scene, more of a roofscape, from a different view at the courthouse. After a while we began painting the Ruins where the actors perform Shakespeare. We both chose unconventional scenes from below the hill looking up at the ruins. We had great conversations talking to other artist who were painting similar scenes.

We finished the day down in the town. As we scouted for a view to paint we explored a couple of shops and stopped for a fruit smoothie that was so welcome in the hot day. After that we each choose different vantage points and painted one of the street scenes. She focused on a steeple over the city and I started to paint a busy intersection.

Sunday we plan to go back and finish our paintings from Saturday and then spend the evening getting everything framed and ready for the reception on Monday night where our works will be exhibited and hopefully sold. It will be so much fun to have my paintings in the same show as my daughter.

I will post some pictures of our art in a day or so.

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Painting Outdoors At Wild Lake MD

It was a nice day so my daughter and I walked down to Wild Lake to do a little out of doors painting.

It is always a challenge to find your inspiration at a beautiful place because there is so much to choose from. We walked for a while and looked at many different scenes and discussed how we might paint this or that.  It was refreshing to have her perspective since she is taking graphic design at college. We finally settled on a scene of a dock with a roof as viewed from across the lake.

We were working in watercolor which is nice and portable for painting out of doors. The important thing in any painting is to sketch and compose the picture carefully because no amount of skill can make up for a bad composition.

The scene had a lot of nice colors and shapes and I am always on the look-out for a variety of textures. The background had green trees which gave texture but was balanced with buildings that were smooth and a warm tan color. The sky was clear but a flat blue sky is boring so I just swished some blue around and left some white for clouds. I did the background washes first and built up layers of color and value. The trees took a lot of time to build up texture but without detail because I wanted the dock with the red roof would stand out. The water was surprisingly easy and minimalist by just sweeping the liner brush back and forth with the right colors. To do the dock structure was more of a drawing exercise than painting.

The fun of painting out of doors in a park is the people who come and ask to see your work. They are always friendly and supportive. 

Watercolor Painting of Dock at Wild Lake MD

I am happy with the picture and the memories of spending the afternoon painting our of doors with my daughter.

___________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron 


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(c) Adron

Watercolor Painting of a Rustic Rural Barn.

Here is a picture I created for an art lesson I was giving but got so involved in painting the picture that I kind of fell in love with it, (you have to be an artist to understand.) So I worked it over and posted it for others to see.

This is a Rustic old Barn that is neglected and forgotten. There is a lot of color in it

I spent three or four days painting it. I used a lot of water in the sky and let it run back and forth while I tilted the page one way and the other. The background mountains were dabbed in with a floppy brush. I tapped the greens in for the trees so they had texture.

The barn was more drawn than painted. I had to let it dry several times before going on and adding more layers of color. The foreground was washed in loosely with lots of horizontal strokes of the brush.

I had to come back and use clear water to lift out some of the color in the trees since they were too dark and the barn was getting lost in it.

Watercolor of a Rural Barn

If you want to see a how to paint worksheet for this project that I made for my students CLICK HERE.

You can see it in a larger version and purchase a print at my Deviant Art Webpage.

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.


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(c) Adron

Watercolor Painting of Boat At Dock At Tanger Sound Md

Here is a watercolor painting I did while at a guest house at Tanger Sound MD, it is a part of the Chesapeake Bay. I painted it plein air, that is a painting done on site outdoors, usually in one session. It was painted in the afternoon while standing in the shade of a tree which was very welcome since it was a very hot day.

INSPIRATION
It was such a powerful scene with the boats in the drydocks above and the ones in the water ready to go out on adventures. The one I chose to portray had a classic look of a loved boat that got to go out often on the bay. I always thought boats were a symbol of adventure and freedom and this one just seemed to say it belonged on the open waves and I could come.

PREPARATION
The sketching in took a long time because of the variety of shapes in the background and the odd perspective afforded by the pier side. I had to draw and redraw a few parts to get it right. I have learned to be careful to take my time with the sketch it is possibly one of the most important steps.

BEGINNING STEPS
I started painting with washes for the sky and the trees in the background using a large round brush. The water was laid in with a flat brush to get the edges of the ripples.

TECHNIQUE
There is a lot of drawing technique in this picture, its kind of my style, I used small brushes and a liner brush to sketch with watercolor the boats, pier posts, and other details of the picture.

I work all over the place going from one part like the background to the foreground to the focus object. This way I can add balance and detail and keep an eye on values. I had a hard time keeping the foreground more brilliant than the distant background and still having details.

Watercolor has a possibility to give blends of secondary colors and shapes that you may not expect but if you are careful you can have some beautiful effects that way.

Watercolor of Boat at Tanger Sound Chesapeake Bay MD

My photography of the painting is a little off and the greens seem to be brighter than in the actual picture.

It made a pleasant afternoon of painting and is a beautiful souvenir of a nice holiday on the Chesapeake Bay.

It is for sale at my online store as a print and as other products, just Click Here.

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or the favorites in the sidebar. 
You can also visit my Society6 storefront to purchase my art. 

Adron 


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(c) Adron

Watercolor Painting Of A Bird Hotel House.

I always take my art supplies when I go on a holiday, so while visiting at a beach house on the Chesapeake bay I had an opportunity to paint this picture one morning in the garden. I painted it standing in the garden on a beautiful morning with the waves lapping the shore nearby and the birds singing in the trees. Painting out of doors is as enjoyable as the results are beautiful.

I choose the bird house for the challenge of painting something up close and intimately since my recent projects were vistas of the marsh and shoreline. It is refreshing to change gears in the style or subject so that you will stay fresh and grow a little as an artist.

I took my time drawing the bird house and had problems with the perspective for the below view of things like the bottom of the house and the underneath roof edge but after several corrections I felt confident enough to proceed. To paint the sky I used a lot of water and blue swirled into it. The tree was a lot of water with yellow, blue, green and a little red swished randomly around and allowed to blend a little.

As the first layer of color dried I did the house and pole with a small brush drawing it more than painting.

When I was satisfied with the house I returned my attention to the tree and added more greens and brown to give texture and movement to the leaves. I wanted the leaves and sky to be "washy" so that it is just rich colors flowing together and making secondary colors without form; but I gave some definition by using watery mix and dabbing colors of green, blue, brown, and red in here and there. I had to work more of the sky around the tree and leaves this is a part that just takes patience and diligence so the tree does not look like it has a halo.

The last touch was the dried branches of the dead tree in the background. It is a beautiful contrast and an accurate depiction of the scene.

Watercolor of Bird Hotel 

It is a piece that I will hang in our home as a souvenir of the wonderful weekend at the beach.

You can buy this as a framed art for sale at my online gallery CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron

____________________________

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 or see my online art storefront CLICK HERE. 
Adron 



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Watercolor of Tree at The Windy Shore

I painted this little portrait of a willow tree while on a little holiday on the Chesapeake Bay. I always pack my art supplies when I take any trip. We were staying at a beach house and in front of the house was a tree with a double trunk shaped like the letter "V." I thought it looked very dramatic and so I did a little watercolor of the tree.

The time of day was mid morning and the light was coming from the right and lit up parts of the tree with a yellowish light.

THEME
The tree was like a lone sentinel guarding the bay. It was in a place of winds and harsh conditions but somehow had survived and thrived into a beautiful tree that was a beauty to look at.

TECHNIQUE
I started with a watery wash of the sky using a moppy brush and swishing back and forth leaving some areas untouched like clouds. The foreground grass and bush on the right was done in two steps; first, I laid down watery green with vertical strokes of a large brush then came back with a smaller brush to detail it after it dried.

When the sky was dried I dabbed with a medium brush the yellow and green of the tree and let it dry.  I used a small brush to draw the tree, fence, sea, and details. The tree trunk took several applications of color to get the values right.

Last, using a small brush and a darker green I put detail in the leaves and grasses.

Tree On The Bay Watercolor

(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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Watercolor Of An Old Forgotten Beach House

When my family took a little visit to the Chesapeake Bay I took as much of my art supplies as I could cram in my bag. Whenever I had a few minutes I did a little watercolor painting. Here is one of them.

THE SCENE
This is an old abandoned beach house that was next to the one we were staying at.  The trees and bushes had gone wild and were beginning to consume the house. The boards were all weathered and reddish gray and the roof had shingles missing. There was a porch overhang but nothing below remaining. You could see where the property lines met by the manicured lawn ending with wild growth. The distant background was a row of trees across the lagoon, but I was focusing on the character of the house and its immediate property, so I edited a lot of the surrounding areas out. I really liked the greens and reds against each other.

REFLECTION
When you see an old house that is falling down from decades of neglect you wonder who lived there and what happened. It is sad.

APPROACHING THE PROJECT
I walked around the building a few times and finally decided on a view based on the light and contrast provided by wood and foliage. I just took a chair and set it on the lawn about fifty feet away and painted this in about an hour.

TECHNIQUE
I used a medium brush for the beginning lay-down with a lot of water for the background and sky. I just let the colors flow and blend together. I try to always give the sky some movement but I wish I had more blues in the sky, (I always have this regret for some reason). The house was painted with a medium flat for most of it. I had a lot of difficulty with the shadows and the texture of the bushes.
I used a small brush for the bushes and the grass. I like a dotty approach to leaves in trees and bushes so to get a lot of texture in them but the problem was that the darks were not coming out like I wanted. There should not be as much detail in the shadows so I ended up using water in the shadows to soften the edges of the brush strokes. I should have gone with some muddier tones in places for contrast and to deepen the shadows but I was afraid of overdoing it.

Forgotten Beach House

There were several different views of the house I would have liked to paint since the front overhang porch was so dramatic and there were lots of holes from missing siding on the back. I'll just have to go back some day and if it hasn't washed away into the bay I will paint it again.

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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 use the search box, or the favorites in the sidebar. 
You can also visit my Society6 storefront to purchase my art. 

Adron



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(C)Adron Dozat

Watercolor of Mulan the Ninja Girl

This is a little illustration I did to show the possibilities of watercolor illustration to my art students. It was inspired by a printable drawing worksheet I did last year of Mulan from the story of the Chinese girl who took her father's place in the army. I combined the Japanese ninja into the project to make it unique.

Mulan the Ninja Girl Watercolor Fantasy

I mostly use small brushes and get a lot of texture in my work. Since it is more of an illustration rather than a piece of art I did not add black to my color but keep the color brilliant and used black sparingly as a feature to define the lines and add drama. After laying down the color in the landscape I washed over it with clear water to blend and muddy the hue a little to give contrast to the portraiture of the warrior and the dragon.

The paper I used was not quality and the wash for the sky went badly, the paper began to warp and the color took on a speckled look- not what you want in a sky. So after it dried I gave it a "Glaze" with watered down gesso. It looked better in real life than in the scan I took.

I have this as a printable line drawing that can be printed out and colored. To see it CLICK HERE.

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 

If you want to see more just choose from the labels, or use the search box, or to visit my online art store CLICK HERE.
Adron


Use the buttons below to share this post with your networks.  Thank you.

(C)Adron Dozat