Contrast and Compare

I just completed the painting on top for a client. It is the home they just moved out of, but since it was their first home together and where their children lived since they were born, they wanted a memento. It holds so many fond memories for them. Their new home is historically architecturally important and one of my favorite houses in Highland Park. Notice the difference between the two paintings above.

The second painting is for a fellow artist. I took a different approach for this painting. I painted this house without drawing it on the paper. Because of both the house style and the artist's style of painting, I wanted this painting to have more of an artistic style perhaps even painterly style. I did do a black and white study with gray scale markers first, then I went straight to the paper with my brush. Normally, I do an accurate pencil drawing on the paper.

It is interesting how different subjects and clients require different approaches. This is what makes each painting experience and painting different as well as special. I am about to start another commission of a house that is very wide. It is a beautiful home with a lot of architectural detail. Since it is so long, the detail will get lost. I am going to propose a pen and ink vingette of the front door area not only to highlight the architectural detail, but also to bring some intimacy and charm into the painting. Luckily, I already have a sample of something similar that I sketched years ago when living in Boston. I will show this to the client to help convey my idea. We will see what she thinks.

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!

She Sells Seashells and other things

Pink Obsession
I was thoroughly enjoying painting my Cape Cod paintings, but, I noticed I hadn't used any reds lately. I went through my flower photos looking for some bright pink roses. I had OD'd on all of the shades of blue. I was dying to paint vivid pinks, very intense to light. Next on the list are some poppies!
11x14 original watercolor, $350

Seashells
18x22original watercolor, framed, $650

Old Church in P-town
17x22 original watercolor, $300

Last Days of Summer

The above are all Cape Cod inspired paintings. The top is done en plein air style. The other two from photos.

Quiet Beach House

For the top painting, I had the luxury of sitting in my beach chair out in the low tide. Instead of facing the beach/water, I turned to the shoreline. This is my dream beach house that I wish I could live in. The view from the deck is so amazing. I think it is 56 steps down to the beach.

Lobster Tank

Lobsters on the Cape is like peanut butter and jelly, they go together! Did you know that a lobster's claws are not identical. One is larger and longer than the other. They are different shapes to catch and tear their food. I have an idea for a series of lobster paintings. I have started the second one. This one is framed in the most perfect frame for the subject!

P-town on the 4th of July

I love doing street scenes. The bottom painting is of Provincetown. The red and white awning plus the hustle and bustle of this street caught my eye. I have another photo of banjo players in red and white striped jackets. I can't wait to paint the jackets, but, I think I am going to give people's faces a rest for now. My niece and brother were not please with the painting of my niece. I didn't think it was great, but, I didn't think it was that bad. Oh, well. Back to this painting, I am not happy with the sky. It will go in the bathtub for a scrub. I lightened it on the computer as shown here, it is much darker in reality. I will just stick it in the tub to lighten the sky.

The culprit.

Here are some photos of the Cape. It turns out I selected all low tide photos! Today is our last day vacation day here. Tomorrow we return to Dallas.

A Studio Painting & a Plein Air

High Tide in the Evening

Alone at Low Tide

The top two paintings are of Cape Cod on the bay side in Eastham. I absolutely love the bay side of the Cape. In fact, right now I am watching, yet, another gorgeous sunset. The sky has changed with blues, pinks, yellows, and oranges. The sun is an amazing glow of orange with yellow and red. It is a perfectly clear night and we will get to see the sun set all the way into the water's edge! The photos do not do it justice.

High Tide in the Evening

This painting shows the tide in with the boats afloat. I saw this scene when walking back to the house from the beach. Even when I took the photo I didn't realize how much beach grass was in my sight. I wanted to get all of the beach houses in, but, with the beach included. I did like the yellow glow on the grass from the sun setting, though. The land in the distance is Brewster. I am happy with this painting because the colors are clean and fresh. I tried a different color palette than what I usually use, too. I think the painting looks better in real life than on the computer. Sold.

Alone at Low Tide

I just painted Alone at Low Tide in plein air style today. Normally when I travel I only paint plein air style and take photos. On this trip I ended up painting inside from photos. This scene is from the balcony of our house. I just realized, since my toddler is toddling around everywhere, maybe that is why I am staying locked in while I paint! Anyhow, I am looking down on the boat and can see the many rows of long sandbars as the tide goes out. Low tide is my favorite. The tide goes out for at least a mile. It is so quiet and peaceful. Another note about today is that it has been overcast. Like many days on the Cape, you can't tell where the sky and water meet. They are both the same color of grey blue with a hint of lavender. In this painting I did not get the sky as grey as I would have liked. However, after my toddler was done playing with all of my brushes and paint the deck with water, I was ready to call it a day on the painting! I will probably add more detail later. I am happy with the sand and the water. This is actually a good start and study for a future painting in the studio. From this painting, I finally learned the best way to achieve the wet sand and it's relationship to the remaining water from the low tide.

All comments and constructive criticism welcome.

The above are all 11x14 original watercolors by Liana Yarckin.

Cape Painting Finished

Sunset in the Sail

The sailboat painting is complete now. However, I have been neglecting my family all morning, which, it is now after lunch, so I need to put my brushes down.

11x14 original watercolor by Liana Yarckin

Sold.

What a way to start the day!

Quick note because as you can see from the photo above, it is an absolutely gorgeous day!

As for the painting, I applied a second glaze of yellows. I still can't believe how damp the paper is. If I were doing this in Dallas, it would be dry and ready for the next glaze. But, it doesn't matter. I will leave it to dry for the day because we are off to enjoy this gorgeous day!!!

I will continue to post the process for this painting.