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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Watercolor Sketch - Deer Lake Stream


Deer Lake Stream
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor on Strathmore 140-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (22.9 cm x 30.5 cm)

I sketched this plein air in a cool shady location in Forest Park, St. Louis. I've driven by this particular area of the park many times, but I never realized this little spot existed before today. There are a thousand paintings to be painted here--there is jaw-dropping scenery everywhere one looks.

I enjoy painting plein air, but I haven't done much of it for a while, which added to the already inherant challenges with this scene. The scene was a "wall of green"--green everywhere I looked. So I abstracted the colors to break things up chromatically. Also, the scene was very complex, so I had to simplify things extensively. I'd like to practice more with this type of painting and hopefully I'll have more opportunities to do so this summer.

I saw lots of herons, egrets, and ducks while painting at this watery area of the park. In fact, one of the ducks walked up to me and stood about three feet away from me, patiently waiting for a handout. However, he slowly moved on once he figured out I was too busy painting to give him any bread crumbs...

Friday, July 08, 2011

Watercolor Painting - View from Chaumette Winery




View from Chaumette Winery
©2011 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor on Strathmore 140-lb CP paper
9" x 12" (22.9 cm x 30.5 cm)

I had lunch at Chaumette Winery and Vineyards a few weeks ago, and this was the beautiful view that we enjoyed as we looked out on the property from the veranda of the restaurant. I was really impressed with the sweeping vistas and rolling hills.

The Chaumette Winery is located near Saint Genevieve, Missouri, in the southeastern part of the state. When I think of Missouri Wine Country, I typically think of the wineries near Augusta and Herman, Missouri, but Ste. Genevieve County has a growing number of wineries and is producing some interesting wines.

This painting is really a planning sketch, as I want to paint this on some larger paper. I used this sketch/painting to work out some problems and just get a feel for the scene. More to come on this one!

Enjoy,
Steve