Works in Progress

I hope you enjoy these progress photos of my current painting in progress
(as of November 18) and four recent paintings.

They’ll give you a good idea of the phases and layers of both watercolor and acrylic painting
and how my work evolves from the first session into the final work.

Mars and Mars Rover

Moving from a photo of a Mars sunrise to a painting for the
Univ. of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Sciences art show in February.

Mars 1

Mars – Session 1
Painting and tinting the sky, setting the base color of the planet

Mars 3

Mars – Session 3
Smoothing the tint in the sky, adding texture and dimension to the planet surface, plus
the under color for the Mars Rover

Mars 4

Mars – Session 4
Starting the sun and aura of the planet, plus
coloring the Mars Rover as it descends

Mars 5

Mars – Session 5
Working on the aura of the sun and planet,
plus starting the highlights and details of the Mars Rover

Ever-Changing

I wanted to get comfortable with painting the spray and foam on waves. That will be the last step. 

Ocean Waves 2

Ocean Waves – Session 1
Painting the sky and the deep ocean color

Ocean Waves 3

Ocean Waves – Session 2
Starting to add the under-colors of the waves

Ocean Waves 5

Ocean Waves – Session 4
Adding a more layers and starting the spray for the waves

Ever-Changing_Ocean Waves 10-24

Ocean Waves – Session 8 – Final
Adding the final layers of spray and even more movement to the waves

Canna Lilies

These canna lilies were photographed by my brother on his property in Washington.

Canna Lilies 1

Canna Lilies – Session 1
Blending the background blurred in the photo

Canna Lilies 3

Canna Lilies – Session 3
Finishing the background and
adding more movement and color to the flowers

Canna Lilies 4

Canna Lilies – Session 4
Refining and continuing to paint the flowers;
starting to see the movement of the petals

Canna Lilies 08-24

Canna Lilies – Session 6 – Final
Working on the largest flower and stems and muting the back flowers

Crater Lake Winter

Watch this awesome view of Crater Lake unfold

Crater Lake 1.5

Crater Lake – Session 1
Painting with masking, then starting to add color

Crater Lake 2

Crater Lake – Session 2
Adding more color and removing the masking

Crater Lake 2.5

Crater Lake – Session 3
Adding detail to the white snow on the trees

Crater Lake 3b

Crater Lake – Session 4 – Final
Adding a little more color to the trees across the lake
and finishing the foreground snow on the trees

Monsoon Blooms

See the blooming yucca stalks emerge from the background with each session.

Yucca 1_crop

Yucca Blooms – Session 1
Starting the sky, mountains and mesquite background

Yucca 3_crop

Yucca Blooms – Session 3
Finishing the ground and the mesquite leaves

Yucca 5_crop

Yucca Blooms – Session 5
Developing the yucca flowers and stalks

Monsoon Blooms 02-24

Yucca Blooms – Session 9 – Finished
Working on the rock and final touches