Mini Treasure Boxes Art Project

My wife asked me to paint some little boxes for her to use as give away gifts and thank yous for a seminar that she was giving. I worked on them for some time and posted an earlier update. Now they are done and delivered.

A project for my wife is always a special privilege for me since I love to do things for her and there is so little I can give her since I am only a poor artist.

These little boxes were painted first in gesso and then given a coat of butter nut white. After they dried I painted little decorations on each. One is covered with roses one with some vines and hearts and the largest one is painted with sunflowers. All are done in acrylic.

I could have done these in the quick "One Stroke" method but I am too much a representational artist to use the easy technique. I used a traditional painting approach and just took a long time. I had to build up layers of color with the acrylic. I prefer to paint in oil or watercolor but found that the acrylic had properties similar to both traditional mediums.

I was very happy with the results and hope they contributed to the success of the seminar my wife was giving.

Adron

Work in progress continued Lake Elkhorn

Continuance of work on painting.

After a week or so I returned to this little project to do some more on it. Against my will this painting is moving more to a pointillist approach. I don't know why but I seem to drift that way.

I added a lot of texture and dimension. I lightened up the background a bit and darkened the foreground a little. I worked on the sky to make it more summer.  I worked on the water and feel I have a lot to do there. I have a lot more to do to the water and the trees on the left. i need to redo the structures some.

I hope to finish it in the next week or so. If I don't get done soon I never will and the painting will taunt me.

October Fire Tree, Watercolor Sketch

October Fire Tree, Watercolor Sketch.

This is a little watercolor I did yesterday at Wild Lake MD. It is the tree in the field near the boulevard. It is quite big and impressive to see firsthand. I walked around looking for something to paint and was so impressed with this huge tree blazing with orange and yellow. It was accentuated by the bare branches that seemed to poke out through the leaves.

I did a wash for the background and struggled over the foliage. I should have used layers of wash but wanted to emphasize the texture of the leaves so I took a small brush and began a long process of dotting in the yellows oranges and little red for the leaves. I used a little green and umber to tone down the shadows in the leaves. I was painting outdoors so I had to work quickly.

I was a little worried about the background. I wanted to keep it muted and pale to contrast the portrait of the tree. I was struggling with the values of the background I didn't want the colors too bright but not too muddy either. I did several washes with a nervous brushstroke to give the texture of the parkland behind. I think it might have needed a little more umber or something to deepen it but I am happy with the results.

I do not expect to sell this one but I think it will be a good study for a painting.

(c) Adron

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Adron



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Treasure Box Update, One of Three Finished

Mini Treasure Box

This little treasure box measures about two by three by two and a half. It is cardboard and painted over with acrylic paint. It is very cute.

I would rather be painting a landscape or an ocean scene but when my wonderful wife wants something I drop all else and give it my all. This is one of three little treasure boxes I am decorating with a stylized art for her to give away at a seminar she is giving this weekend.

I had to hold back from decorating every line and corner but sometimes less is more and if I didn't draw the line somewhere I would never get the other two painted.

I do not do these types of projects often and when I do there is always a problem finding the right supplies since the paints are languishing in a drawer somewhere and usually drying out.  I did not have the choices in colors I would have liked but it worked out OK.

Miniature Treasure Boxes, Work In Progress

A few weeks ago my wife asked me to paint three little treasure boxes that she was going to give as gifts at a seminar she is giving.  Two were cardboard and one was wood. So far I have given them a coat of gesso primer and a top coat of honey butter white; I like the warm yellow of this white as oppose to the bone white or antique white.

Next I will design some rosettes, hearts and vines to embellish these and paint them in acrylic paint. I want to take my time in working out the individual designs and be careful to make them look beautiful. I have learned the importance of doing a thoughtful design and working out the problems before the painting. It is incredibly frustrating to try to work out a design while you are painting the design. If you get something wrong you start to make corrections and it gets out of control, you end up with an overworked mess.

The problem is I need to have all three done by this Friday. I better get to work. It might look like a few little boxes but to my mind, they are for my wife and that makes it major.

____________________________

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

Work in Progress, Painting of Lake Elkhorn

This is the painting I started a few weeks ago. It is the view of Lake Elkhorn as seen from the dock by the play ground.

My photography is poor and I do not have the proper lighting to make the colors look accurate.

I hope to find some time to sit in front of my easel and finish this little gem soon. I actually started painting it at the lake one afternoon. I have a lot of trouble getting out to paint outdoors since it usually requires a major part of my day; there are not many days that I can take three or four hours and go out and paint. Three hours are all a person should paint outdoors since the light and shadows changes so much. I could finish a painting in that time but will not be happy with it since I like to work down to my smaller brushes and add a lot of little texture and effects, this takes a lot of time.

I am hoping to add a lot of lights to the water and a lot of reflection. It needs a little more detail to the two structures in the painting. I think the water needs a lot more blue and white.

One of the disadvantages in painting outdoors is that you have to make a lot of decisions quickly and live with the results. I think the picture suffers from having a strong line dividing it in half at the far shore, and the point of interest is too high up not near the "Golden Mean." Still someone will enjoy it since it is a place that is popular with those who visit the lake.

More post will follow as I progress.

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.

____________________________

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