I was hoping to paint some snow scenes this past winter, but our mild weather here in upstate New York did not cooperate for me. My latest painting, entitled Late Winter, is based on some trees I photographed this winter at the Vischer Ferry Preserve, in Clifton Park, NY. The water you see in the background is part of the old Erie Canal system. This is one of the few larger paintings that I’ve done, measuring 16×20 inches.
Late Winter
Yesterday, I attended the opening of the Pruyn House 2016 Juried Art Show. My watercolor painting, Trillium, was juried into the show. The show is displayed throughout the Pruyn House in the four main rooms and hallways on the first floor. Built in 1830, the Pruyn House is a lovely place for the exhibit. On display until the end of the month, the Pruyn House (located at 207 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY) is open year-round, M-F 9:00-4:30 and on select weekends.
Here is my second painting for this week. (Due to the slow-drying nature of watercolors and multiple layers of transparent paint, I always work on two paintings simultaneously.) This image is Lefferts Pond, in Chittenden, VT. The painting portrays just a tiny corner of this beautiful pond. Creating a smooth transition from the blue reflective water to the transparent water was challenging, and I’m very happy with the way it turned out.
Lefferts Pond
I just completed a new painting entitled Wanakena. It’s based on a photograph I took while kayaking from Wanakena into Cranberry Lake last summer. It was a cool, hazy day, but there was enough light to get some great reflections on the water.
Wanakena
This is my latest painting, entitled Hunting. This Great Blue Heron was so intent on stalking whatever it was he saw in the lake, that he allowed me to come up quite close and photograph him several times. I once again used negative painting to create the background trees and a #00 brush to paint the Heron.
Hunting
The following images are two new watercolor paintings that I have just completed. Both landscape paintings are 8″ x 16″. Dusk is based on a photograph I took one evening on Indian Lake, in the Adirondacks.
Dusk
Dawn is based on a photograph from the Chittenden Reservoir in Vermont. This painting was a challenge, but in the end I stuck with it. I love the way the sky turned out. Although originally unhappy with the water, I used an Exact-o blade and scraped the paper to create ripples. I’ve never used this technique before and I like the result. The last image is a close up of the water and fog.
Dawn
Detail
This small painting (8″ x 10″) is my first watercolor attempt of a Loon. Although Loons have been widely painted by many artists, I wanted to give it a try too. I met this Loon at the Chittenden Reservoir, in Vermont. Such a curious bird, he and his mate came right up to my kayak to investigate and pose, while I took several photos.
Loon
As 2015 has now ended, I’d like to thank all the super people that encouraged and supported me throughout the year. And a great big thank you to all the wonderful folks who bought paintings from me. It’s been a terrific year!
For a new start in 2016, I have just finished revamping my entire website – including reorganizing my messy portfolio page. Please take a look. New paintings will be posted soon. Thanks so much for visiting my blog!
This painting is a real study of textures. The bark, leaves and moss are all painted in different manners. The leaves in the foreground are completely abstract. And the moss, which I have never tried painting before, is more impressionistic. This is actually my second version of this painting, as the first one went awry. The painting is entitled Hideaway after the rabbits that borrowed this stump as a burrow last year.
Hideaway
For my next watercolor painting, I returned to one of my old favorite subjects – the water lily. This painting is called Lake Lily. I photographed this water lily at the inlet of Ballston Lake. The lily was unusually raised up in the air over the lily pads, creating some great shadows on both the petals and the pads.
Lake Lily
Cindi Handy 