November 21, 2009 - Day 103

Acrylic on Strathmore linen canvas

My goal with today's painting was to create more accurate colors. I used my photo editing program to isolate the different colors in the water so that I could see what they were. I was surprised to find that most of the water was a very dark green that in places was almost black. I found it really difficult to paint the water green. My logical mind kept saying ""but water is blue". In this case, it wasn't blue it was green.

November 20, 2009 - Day 102

Acrylic on Strathmore Illustration Board

Today was easier than yesterday. My colors are still off but I am starting to remember how to mix them. I would have done a lot more work on this painting today but I just didn't have the time or the energy to do any more with it.

When I scanned it into the computer I was able to compare it side by side with my reference picture. That was when I saw how far off my colors actually were. My goal with my acrylics is to first learn how to paint more accurate colors. Once I have done that I would like to experiment with using thicker paint and obvious brush strokes.

November 19, 2009 - Day 101

Acrylic on Strathmore Acrylic Linen Canvas

First day of painting with acrylics after 3 years of painting exclusively with watercolor. I decided to do the same painting that I did yesterday to see what effect using a different medium would have on the outcome.

I had forgotten how to paint with acrylics after all this time. I think I re-painted the trees at least 4 times before I stopped. I still don't like them much but I think it is because I didn't have the colors on hand that I would have liked to use. I also think that I may need to buy different brushes. The watercolor brushes I was using seem to be almost too soft for the acrylic paint.

I attempted to create the painting using only the artist quality acrylics that I had on hand. These were Golden Acrylics in Naphthol Red Medium, Hansa Yellow Medium, Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Cobalt Blue, Black and Titanium White. I also used Liquitex "Slow-Dri" Fluid Retarder to slow down the drying time.

I discovered almost immediately that I don't have the colors that I need. I was really missing Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Aureolina Yellow and Ultramarine Blue. I finally found a small sample tube of student quality Yellow Ochre that I used to finish up the golden areas in the grass and on the trees surrounding the house.

I also found it hard to paint on the pre-cut Artist Trading Cards from Strathmore. The cards are pre-cut to the exact size of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. There aren't any margins to tape down to prevent the card from sliding around while painting. More than once I had to touch up places where I put my finger in the wet paint.

It looks like it is going to take me awhile to get back into painting acrylics but I am hoping that my acrylic paintings will improve through the next 100 days as much as my watercolor paintings did.

November 18, 2009 - Day 100

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press paper

I am glad that today is the last day with watercolors. I just couldn't make the painting turn out. I really didn't know how to paint all the different types of trees in the background and it just turned into a solid green mass.

It has been a long time since I painted with acrylics. I wonder if I will find it really easy now that I have spent so much time painting in such an unforgiving medium like watercolors. I am going to really enjoy have the freedom to paint over something that doesn't turn out.

If this painting would have been in acrylic I could have just kept re-working the background trees until they looked right but I can't really do that with watercolor.

November 17, 2009 - Day 99

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

This painting is of an abandoned barn in the middle of a canola field. I don't really have much to say about the painting except that I liked the scene because of all the primary colors. The blue sky, red barn and yellow fields.

Tomorrow is my last day painting watercolors for awhile. On day 101 I will be switching to acrylics. I don't know if I should stick with landscapes when I switch so I can see the difference between the two mediums or whether I should do something totally different.

November 16, 2009 - Day 98

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

This is a painting of the Sooke Potholes near Victoria, BC.

Only two more days of watercolors and then I am switching over to acrylics. It has been 3 years since I painted with my acrylics and I am starting to get really excited about it. I first learned to paint by watching "The Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross on PBS. He was painting with oils but I used his techniques with acrylics because I don't like using harsh chemicals like turpentine.

I haven't painted with my acrylics in such a long time because I tend to make a mess when I paint. Watercolors generally wash off walls and floors fairly easily but acrylics not so much! I didn't care when it was my own home but living in an apartment now means I need to be more careful.

November 15, 2009 - Day 97

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

Another Victoria, BC landscape. This one is of the pathway along Dallas Road.

I am trying another new paper today. It is the 140 lb cold press Strathmore Windpower Watercolor paper. It is called Windpower because it is produced with 100% windpower and is certified through the Green-e Consumer Labelling Program.

I didn't notice much difference between this paper and the Aquarelle or Langton. It is a bright white paper and the paint flows nicely onto the paper. I like that the manufacturing plant producing the paper doesn't use electricity generated by environmentally harmful means. That being said I still prefer the Bockingford over all the papers that I have tried so far.