Tree, White on Black Block Print

White on Black Block Print. Limited Print of 5 

Block print normally employs ink and progressed from the lightest colors to that darkest; but why be normal? This little print was made to experiment with some of the possibilities of the medium by using acrylic instead of ink.

I began by rolling black acrylic gesso on a sheet of cold press 140 lb watercolor paper. I prefer the heaver papers these days. Then I carved a block to print. I mean carved in the generic terms since what I really did was to inscribe into a piece of soft foam. Next the white acrylic gesso was sponge brushed over the foam and block printed over the now dry black field. The foam had a lot of give so I did not use a brayer but the palm of my hand and fingers to burnish the paint onto the paper. The acrylic white wanted to fill in the inscribing so I lost about half of my prints to a poor bleeding image. I found that I needed to thoroughly clean the block every time, but  being water based acrylic this was easy. I liked the texture the white left on the print. This is number 3 of 5 and is one of the best.

The size is 6x8 it would go nicely in an 8x10 mat and frame. It is for sale for $9.99. plus shipping, get in touch with me if you are interested in this one or one of the other 4.

I had a lot of fun doing this and will be doing more.

Adron

Wild Lake MD Oil Painting Sanctuary Benches

This is a painting I did of the two benches at Wild Lake MD. This is a very peaceful place and I often see people sitting there admiring the view of the lake. This is the end of the lake that is a bird sanctuary, so I titled the painting Sanctuary Benches.

Oil Painting of  Sanctuary Benches Wild Lake Md

I started it on location one Saturday afternoon and after about three hours the light was changing too much, so I finished it at home. I spent another eight or ten hours on it. I did a lot with a pointillist approach, but not all of the painting is done that way. The background was "scrubbed in" thin and with minimum oil in the blend. I did several layers for the foreground one to get the values right and one to define the details. I might have overworked the project a little.

I was a little worried about the composition since there were lines like the vertical ones caused by the trees and the horizontal ones of the lake that would be considered bad form and poor structure. I think the path helps bring the picture together some since it leads in to the forward edge of the lake and the eye comes to the portrait of the benches which is the point of focus. I would have moved the benches to the point often called the "Golden Mean," but that would be contriving too much of the composition and taking away from the truth of the scene. My wife is always telling me my paintings must be honest, I tell her it is art and is all about interpretation and that if you wanted honest get a camera.

I sometimes feel like a parent who fusses with their child's hair before sending them off to school. I am very proud of this little painting.

I wish you could see this firsthand; the camera put some glare that muted the colors in the trees, they really are greener.

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Adron


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(C) Adron Dozat

Hand Made Print Pumpkins 8x10

Hand Made Print of Pumpkins, by Artist Adron.

Pumpkins. This is a project I did with block print methods. I am having lots of fun experimenting with making block prints. Here is my print of two pumpkins I made on 8x10 paper, the image is about 5x7. I cut the block for the green and did that first, normally one would do the lightest colors first and then progress to the darkest but since I wanted to have a progression to the shadow I did the green first then had the orange next over parts of the green to give the roundness the black was last.

I did not use lino block or wood but was trying alternative methods so I cut styrofoam plates to make the block and then using tape to hold the styrofoam to the block, which in this case was a piece of acrylic sheeting.

The hard part is getting the second and third print to register, or line up, with the first so there is no overlap. I feel good about the results.

I was only able to make 8; I made 12 but only 8 were of acceptable quality that I felt worthy of signing. I will sell them for $12.00 unframed, or $24.00 in a frame. It took a day to make these 8 so it is not a quick process. They are signed and numbered the example above is 2 of 8.

Handmade Print, October Butterfly

This is a handmade print. I cut the block or in this case styrofoam in the shape of a butterfly, then inked it with a brayer, (a kind of roller), and made the print. It was a multi-step process since there were three colors, orange, red and black. The white is the paper showing through. The black was the last step, I prepared the block by using white glue to draw slightly random lines that hardened then rolled black over the lines for the print.

October Butterfly Hand Made Print by Adron 

Making prints by hand is very fun. You never really know how it will turn out. You have to think in layers and steps and understand how thing will change.

 You can see that it is hand made. I have a little trouble with the registration, where the subsequent print of a different color is placed a little off to the side. This is very common and is a feature of handmade prints.

I only made 10 of these and illustrated is number 3. These are for sale for only $9.00 each, they are unmounted and unframed.

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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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Pencil Sketch of a Pumpkin in Pencil

Pencil Sketch of a Pumpkin. By Adron

Pumpkins make great subjects to draw and are a wonderful thing to have students draw. Everybody can do it, the beginner thinks there is nothing to it and the experienced artist finds many shadows and highlights in the Pumpkins folding shape. The sides are smooth and the stem is wonderfully rough to give terrific contrast.

This is a sketch I did as an illustration for a class I was teaching on drawing. It was a quick 20 minute drawing and I was only working on it absently because I was telling kids what I was doing and trying to encourage them to do their own drawings.

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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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(c) Adron Dozat

Autumn Leaves Drawing in Pencil and Charcoal

Autumn Leaves drawn in Pencil and Charcoal

This is one of those happy projects that does not go the way you expect it to, but turns out to be more fun than you hoped. It was a sketch I started when demonstrating how to draw unusual shapes so I chose leaves from the yard. As I drew the leaves for the kids I really felt enthralled with the shapes and for the next few days carried the page around to doodle on during my free moments. 

Pencil and Charcoal drawing of Leaves 

I began with a quick outline sketch in hb pencil, after which I went over it again in a 4b pencil to develop some of the values of the leaves. I returned to the hb to add detail. I used a blending stub to soften the edges of the shadows inside the leaves and spread out the shadows around the outside of the leaves. I redid the shadows some with the 4b pencil. The area around the leaves were redone with charcoal but I felt it was too dark and amateurish so used a kneaded erasure to lift out the dark charcoal but leaving enough to add value and texture. I used the dirtied tip of the blending stub to smudge dots in the leaves.

(c) Adron 12

Watercolor Seascape with Tree on Rock

Seascape with Tree on Rocks, watercolor by Adron.

This is a little sketch I did in watercolor one afternoon. It was inspired by a photo in a magazine. I do not like to copy so I took some of the themes of the picture and departed from there to do my own composition.

I did the sky, sea,  and rocks with a preliminary wash of pale color and then after that first wash dried I went back and worked it over with darker colors.  

I wish I had worked the clouds differently it was done on dry paper, I feel I should have whetted the paper and dropped the color in to let the color blend as it wanted to, but on the other hand the clouds would have been too contrasting to the style of the sea and rocks. 

I was a little worried about the values of the tree, at first it was too light. It was a little challenging to get it to have the right value.   It took several applications and dropping in two contrasting colors to darken it enough to be a focus. 

I think it turned out nice.

(C) Adron

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

____________________________

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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