tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55821132159530058352012-01-16T22:48:48.819-05:00Drawing and painting have been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I continue to paint en plein as as well as work out of my studio; Gallery On First in Sanford, FL.Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.comBlogger821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-15939290995943045932012-01-16T18:37:00.003-05:002012-01-16T18:47:35.888-05:00

During the last plein air painting event I attended in Lake Helen I went for a drive through town one morning. I found this little old barn on the outskirts of town. It was one of those old barns that looked like it was about to fall down. Overcome with growth, this barn hadn't been used in years but it stood there as an icon of days past. I stopped my car and did a quick painting. As I was

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-10090958832806198032011-12-22T21:33:00.002-05:002011-12-22T21:34:23.538-05:00

What a wonderful site is the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. This view is from across the inlet looking north from New Smyrna Beach. It stands today as one of the best preserved and most complete authentic light stations in the nation. It was completed in 1887 and is the tallest lighthouse in the state of Florida at 175 feet high. Across the inlet are a few scattered homes and a couple of marinas. I was

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-40379386303896483752011-12-14T20:52:00.004-05:002011-12-14T21:07:43.558-05:00

I recently went with a group of artists to paint in conjunction with the Lake Helen Holiday Tour. Each artist had the opportunity to choose a home to paint that was a part of the tour and to do a painting of it on location. I found this old victorian style house that was mostly white but the lower area around the porch was painted in three different colors. I soon learned that the owner of the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-68147007579636995722011-12-01T20:37:00.007-05:002011-12-01T20:49:50.488-05:00

This painting is of a newer home on Lake Howell in Central Florida. The design is of course based upon the old Florida style homes. A large open porch around the house makes it an ideal place to have a nice quiet rest and sip on a cool glass of lemonade. Of course it wouldn't be Florida without the palms in front of the house, hanging moss in the oak trees, and also the staghorn fern hanging from

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-5142077545161292762011-11-17T19:45:00.003-05:002011-11-17T20:00:10.040-05:00

While looking through old photos at the Sanford Museum I came across a photograph of an old steamboat at dock on Lake Monroe. I was more excited about the foreground with the two small boats and the grass along the lake's edge than I was about the dock. I was especially interested in the way all the little nuances of composition pointed you towards the dock and steamboat. Even the stairs on the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-81977284395538298072011-11-08T13:26:00.012-05:002011-11-08T14:08:34.017-05:00

I recently took a trip back to Ohio to visit family and friends. In Ohio there is a easel that I keep in my mom's garage so that it will be there each time I return home to visit. I always try to find a few days where I can paint in the area that I knew as a child. This year I spent two weeks there and was able to get over six small paintings completed. I wanted a different viewpoint so I stood

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-19132868204662781442011-10-10T17:48:00.007-04:002011-10-10T18:09:30.569-04:00

A couple of months ago I was walking around Treasure Island looking for something interesting to paint. Near John's Pass I found this old sailboat morned near a boat yard. I didn't have a good view of the sailboat because of all the mangroves that were in the way. There was this one small opening that had a dilapidated dock with boards pointing out towards the vessel. Old structures and old boats

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-88807598642589570612011-10-02T19:01:00.003-04:002011-10-02T19:16:35.479-04:00

There is nothing like painting an old wooden barn. They have so many stories to tell. We don't get to see many interesting barns these days where I live. A lot of them have been taken down and sometimes replaced by concrete and metal structures. Thus I have to refer to some of my old photos. This barn was on the farm where I grew up and has sense been demolished. I used go to the barn and feed

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-37653964839945700962011-09-18T08:30:00.004-04:002011-09-18T08:42:23.135-04:00

I had the opportunity to do this painting as a commission for one of the local city managers as a gift when he left his office. I have always been fascinated by paddlewheel steamboats. When we were discussing this commission, we wanted to show historic Sanford and something to do with the lakefront. I suggested the idea of steamboats and off to the historic center we went to research the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-38253381740532947932011-09-08T08:40:00.004-04:002011-09-08T09:02:19.633-04:00

I watched the news last week about the flooding in Vermont. They showed a covered bridge being swept away in the floods. On a trip to Vermont about six years ago I photographed a few covered bridges that were near my brothers home. Searching for subject matter; the news reminded me of my trip to Vermont and I pulled some images from my archives to work from. I exaggerated the fall colors a little

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-18595981929720775782011-08-15T13:22:00.005-04:002011-08-15T13:41:46.052-04:00

I found this old boat pulled up on the shore at JB's Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, FL. It's hard for me to resist painting an old boat. This one was no exception. There were larger and more modern boats with a large dock in place of the old dock I painted. I decided to leave them out. The sky was brushed in quickly, and left alone so that it did not compete with the rest of the painting. I

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-36296689948106355672011-07-31T18:46:00.004-04:002011-07-31T18:59:52.514-04:00

The cloud formations are a wonderful subject to pint. I wished I lived in a house with a magnificent view of the landscape without the obstruction of other buildings, Well I don't so, I have to drive a few miles to find open areas of land where I can observe the cloud formations. Recently, I went to one of the last little cattle farms around, about three miles from my home. There is a nice place

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-30347329652602080082011-07-12T20:20:00.004-04:002011-07-12T20:29:44.171-04:00

Treasure Island is a nice little town on the Gulf of Mexico near St. Petersburg. My wife and I celebrated our thirtieth anniversary there last May. It has a nice wide beach area and a few palms scattered around. I was fortunate to get a few photographs as the sun was setting behind these palm trees. I came back to the studio a few weeks later and did this painting of the sun setting. I liked the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-30865917381336771122011-06-16T20:11:00.004-04:002011-06-16T20:26:57.882-04:00

I drove past this bright green colored house while I was looking for subjects to paint for the Winter Park Paint Out. I noticed this large tree in front of the old green house, then I passed it by. I thought about it as I drove around the block and then came back the second time. Then I noticed the "Marked For Demolition" sign posted on the door. Sometimes the odd subjects stand out and make for

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-84556171512283257382011-06-07T19:48:00.005-04:002011-06-07T19:58:03.350-04:00

This painting shows the bridge over the Venetian Canal in Winter Park, FL. I would love to sit in a boat and attempt to paint this view but I am afraid I might get run over by other boats. If a boat comes from the other direction, one of the boats has to back up out of the canal because the canal isn't wide enough to pass. I enjoyed painting the reflections in the canal of the sky and the green

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-79858961706301414972011-05-09T21:08:00.005-04:002011-05-09T21:21:39.368-04:00

One of the most interesting places to paint in Winter Park is Kraft Azalea Gardens. I spent a couple of days painting there during the Winter Park Paint out last week. I was amazed at the number of egret nests that occupied a few select trees in the park. Some of the nests were just twenty feet from the ground. I set up my easel and began painting on the first day. It took three days of painting

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-13477158562029277892011-04-07T17:06:00.002-04:002011-04-07T17:07:33.800-04:00

I always enjoy painting cloud formations in the sky, so why not enjoy painting clouds in the mountains. This painting was a result of a photo one of my students wanted to paint. She spends the summer in the northern mountains of Georgia. I wanted to show the distant mountains as cool shapes descending into the distance, gradually getting darker and warmer as they became closer to the viewer. The

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-20055094784961961752011-03-19T21:29:00.008-04:002011-03-19T21:47:21.472-04:00

A week of painting the Wekiwa State Park and the Wekiva River is always a treat for a plein air artist. I was able to wake up in the morning and walk out the cabin door to see Lake Prevatt. The water level of the lake was much lower this year than last year. However this meant a feeding frenzy for the birds that gathered in the small pools looking for bits of food to eat. Nearly a hundred wood

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-42117513614543000532011-03-03T21:07:00.003-05:002011-03-03T21:18:50.449-05:00

I like producing a painting of a flower that is two or three times larger than it is in real life. This is a white flower and I wanted to simply show how the petals overlapped by creating the cast shadow. Then there is the form shadows that help to make the petals appear three-dimensional by creating a variegated wash of color. The contrast created by the white of the petals really makes the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-83050000381755923762011-02-20T19:35:00.004-05:002011-02-20T19:46:23.368-05:00

On Saturday mornings in Sanford there is a farmers market one block away from Gallery On First. I like to walk through the market to see what there is each week before I go to the gallery to paint. This week I picked up some vegetables with the idea that I would do a still life painting of them. I put the vegetables in a basket and then looked for an angle where the composition was pleasing. It

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-45668012654251276912011-02-07T19:04:00.004-05:002011-02-07T19:22:03.169-05:00

Next month is the annual Wekiva Paint Out and I felt an urge to get a head start on painting for this event. I was working from a photograph I took last year; while taking a boat ride down the Wekiva River in Florida. I wanted to do this painting because it had some really bright areas of sunlight and reflections. I usually put blue in my skies, but this time I resisted the urge. The light of the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-77523999393594711012011-01-23T18:55:00.004-05:002011-01-23T19:04:53.014-05:00

When I first moved back to Florida thirty years ago I didn't paint palm trees. I had hardly ever seen a palm tree before. So it took a while for me to get enough courage to paint the palm trees. Now I seem to paint one in every landscape painting. This painting was done as a demonstration in my workshop last month. I was showing how to paint palms, wildflowers and a simple sky with clouds. I kept

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-63399084579712544732011-01-09T21:31:00.006-05:002011-01-09T21:44:18.909-05:00

I was requested to do a painting of this house as a birthday present for the man of the house by his wife. It is a beautiful house located in Winter Park, FL. I always like seeing a red brick house in Florida. There doesn't seem to be too many of them around. I did take quite a few photos of this house on different days at different times. I finally got my best reference photos in the early

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-58177514026296947452011-01-02T19:26:00.005-05:002011-01-02T19:35:29.311-05:00

I recently returned from a trip to Ohio. I traveled with some watercolors paints, brushes and a pad of paper. I couldn't leave before I attempted to paint the snow on location. This was the first time I ever painted plein air in the winter. I was told to use alcohol in the water to keep it from freezing but I had drank it all the night before. (Just kidding) I didn't have any. Thus, while I was

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-14743605637732610652010-12-20T21:11:00.004-05:002010-12-20T21:29:52.998-05:00

Every year I do a painting of snow. I have lots of old photos for reference from years back when I lived in Ohio and Michigan. I guess I get a little homesick for the snow in winter. However I don't know if I am ready to live in the north again after being in Florida for thirty years. Painting snow in watercolor is not quite as difficult as you think. The snow is actually the white of the paper

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-24311637168652698992010-12-13T17:20:00.007-05:002010-12-13T17:39:14.215-05:00

I recently visited the Atlantic Center For The Arts in New Smyrna Beach. It is a quiet place where artists could go to focus on their art in a tranquil, natural environment. The Art Center offers a residency program which brings together internationally-acclaimed master artists from different disciplines with talented artists who are selected by the masters. I stayed with a couple of the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-79973505457915900112010-11-29T17:17:00.003-05:002010-11-29T17:29:58.751-05:00

At the last paint out I participated in, I saw this scene that I found very dramatic. I have liked the idea of painting vertical subjects and I find alleys interesting. The strong vertical lines of the buildings and the one point perspective brings the viewer into the frame and takes you right to the vanishing point on the horizon. In the front of the composition, the bright red flowers also lead

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-52544912678396464892010-11-16T19:01:00.003-05:002010-11-16T19:10:07.027-05:00

A few leaves have fallen off the trees and lay amongst the rocks. The is one of my paintings which shows the hard textures of rocks and the delicate leaves that have fallen from the trees. This painting was a study of how to paint rounded rocks that lay in a stream bed. Also a study of painting leaves. I liked how the differences in shapes and colors made the leaves appear to be on a different

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-57720341439562328292010-11-03T21:02:00.003-04:002010-11-03T21:11:25.899-04:00

Before I traveled to Jacksonville for my recent paintout I stopped over in New Smyrna, FL. I will be doing a paintout there in November called the Canaveral Seashore Paintout. I have always wanted to visit a place called Spruce Creek that is just north of New Smyrna so I stopped there along the way. I found my best vantage point was from the top of a bird watching tower. It was pretty quiet there

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-4284508439592091342010-10-24T11:57:00.004-04:002010-10-24T12:08:20.930-04:00

The last day of the Jacksonville paintout I went into an area that was mostly warehouses along the St, John's River. Cargo ships would pull along the docks and unload merchandise. Lots of cars from Japan was mostly what I saw. Most places were chain link fences with locked gates. I drove around behind the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium and found these two tug boats anchored for the day. At least I

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-38159241308224667182010-10-14T11:13:00.006-04:002010-10-14T11:26:06.672-04:00

I spent a week painting scenes of Jacksonville for the North Florida Land Trust. Along with 40 other artists we painted scenes from Jacksonville and other neighbor cities to raise money for purchasing land in North Florida. They are dedicated to permanently preserving natural areas and special places in North Florida. This year they wanted to keep the activity near the center of downtown thus we

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-78187529181094568482010-09-29T09:19:00.008-04:002010-09-29T09:40:17.113-04:00

This painting was another painting I created in my workshop class at Gallery on First. I wanted all the workshop artists to have the same viewpoint as I did so I set up the still life in advance and photographed the subject. I actually took quite a few photographs, moving items around and adding and subtracting items. This is the composition I choose to paint in the workshop. I wanted to show

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-4408831328237839752010-09-14T19:59:00.007-04:002010-09-14T20:23:09.690-04:00

Clear Creek Valley is one of the most pristine and secluded natural areas in Central Ohio. My dad volunteered here during his later days. He enjoyed the park and found hiking the path and watching the wildlife quite enjoyable. When I would visit him in Ohio we would usually take a trip there with my uncle and walk through the park. There is now a tree and a bench in the park which were placed

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-977136405254177492010-09-08T22:33:00.007-04:002010-09-08T22:44:15.796-04:00

Sometimes it might take me quite a while to produce a particular painting from my reference material. I kept trying to think of how to paint this ship I photographed while in Boston a year ago. I didn't particularly like my photo of the ship. I took the photo when it was raining and thought it wasn't a nice enough day to make a painting of it. Then I had another photo of the cityscape and I

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-91804723472710389522010-08-31T20:38:00.004-04:002010-08-31T20:55:55.938-04:00

I usually paint very representational images on paper with watercolor. However sometimes I like to leap off the edge and do something a little different, especially when it is 95 degrees outside and I am in the comfort of my air conditioned studio. I drew in the light colored roots and the moon with a masking fluid and let it dry. Then I pulled out all kinds of paint from my studio drawer and

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-26616718051179044822010-08-17T22:14:00.012-04:002010-08-17T22:37:53.578-04:00

Do you know what a "Grain Elevator" is? This painting came from references of where I grew up in Ohio on a farm. While my dad was harvesting the grain and putting it into wagons, I would drive the truck from the farm to the grain elevator. There I would wait my turn in line and dump the grain into a bin and it would be stored until it was the right time to sell the grain. Depending on market

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-79509796069327540672010-08-10T12:59:00.002-04:002010-08-10T13:12:59.635-04:00

Every year in October the fields north of Lake Jessup come alive with a blanket of yellow wildflowers. Last year I took my camera and art supplies and walked through the fields at the Lake Jessup Conservation area. I took numerous photographs to use as references. It was still hot and humid in this area of Florida in October. As I walked through the wildflowers the bugs were still present so I

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-63716155378471202552010-08-03T14:35:00.005-04:002010-08-03T14:47:14.243-04:00

This week I went to Key West. Not really. I did this painting from a photo I took while in Key West a few years back. I used the photo as a reference for my demonstration in my watercolor workshop last week. I wanted to keep the sky simple, no clouds and do a wash dark to light. The light orange near the horizon was added later, as a nice compliment to the blue sky. I put in light washes of color

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-56335726166539346122010-07-26T10:39:00.005-04:002010-07-26T10:55:18.965-04:00

I just completed this painting to send to a patron in Houston. He wanted this painting done to accompany a Produce Market painting I posted on this blog on June 24. Both subjects came from the Seattle area. Having Never been there I was working from a photograph that was given to me as a reference. I used my artistic license to change certain items, making boxes and barrels look wooden instead of

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-52012260766662252262010-07-13T16:46:00.005-04:002010-07-13T16:57:27.052-04:00

One place I always wanted to visit was Yosemite National Park. I guess my bucket list just keeps getting fuller. I didn't think I would ever have a chance to paint this park or any of its magnificent views. Then one of my students sent me some images he wanted for us to paint in class. One of these images was of Yosemite. The bright yellow of the aspen trees in fall created quite a contrast with

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-29692331269136535102010-07-05T12:48:00.004-04:002010-07-05T13:32:20.222-04:00

Last weekend I delivered some paintings to a gallery in St. Augustine. While I wast there I did a quick tour of this nice old town and photographed some of the buildings. The history of St Augustine goes back hundreds of years and so do the buildings. I choose to do a painting of one of these old historic buildings. I was interested in the way the plaster looked and I wanted to achieve this

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-74821970164957121392010-06-24T10:03:00.001-04:002010-06-24T10:21:44.574-04:00

This is one of my recent commissions. The photo reference was sent by a patron on one of his recent trips to Seattle. He previously owned his own farmers market business so I guess he was amazed at how large the Produce & Vegetable market was in Seattle. He also sent me a photo of a Seafood Market in Seattle so I will do that painting at a later date. I usually paint from my own photos but

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-73069595263338597272010-06-14T15:09:00.005-04:002010-06-14T15:30:26.450-04:00

I enjoy painting buildings, especially churches. Over the years I have painted many churches as wedding gifts, anniversaries and for other reasons. It is easy to connect with a church you belong to or one that you may have been married in. This week I was asked to paint the All Souls Catholic Church in Sanford. It is to be the wedding gift for the husband from the bride. I went on Tuesday

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-78940013660119125712010-06-04T08:43:00.004-04:002010-06-04T08:56:00.146-04:00

I have always enjoyed painting barns, especially barns from the Northern United States. I did this painting as a demonstration for my Introduction to Watercolor class. The painting has a lot in it for the beginning student so it was a great learning demo. We learned a lot that day. Skies, trees in the distance as well as close up, a pasture and a simple barn to complete the composition. This

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-54123433021622728222010-05-22T19:33:00.006-04:002010-05-22T19:49:23.217-04:00

I was out for an early morning walk and noticed lots of lily pads floating in a nearby pond. It was early and the water lily flowers had not opened up yet. I enjoy taking a canoe or kayak into the lake and paddle around in the lily pads. I usually have a fishing pole with me too. Water lilies open later in the morning and then follow the sun as it rotates through the sky. Then they close up in

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-14616255254083467022010-05-11T17:53:00.003-04:002010-05-11T18:07:39.065-04:00

Everyday deserves a nice sunset and in Florida it happens quite often. My dream in life is to have a place where I can watch the sun go down every night; and still be young enough to paint it. But for now I will continue to travel to places where my views are not obstructed by houses and buildings. Sunsets was my lesson for last weeks watercolor workshop. I moved to Florida almost thirty years

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-25600439284899535852010-05-03T12:05:00.003-04:002010-05-03T12:15:59.216-04:00

The Winter Paint Out is over for another year. It was a great event and the weather held out for us all week. There were lots of wonderful paintings turned in from a great group of accomplished artists. I did this painting of the Casa Feliz during the paint out. It was designed by James Gamble Rogers II (1901-1990) a well known architect of Winter Park. I wanted to paint a section of the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-5308778236360678222010-04-26T20:50:00.011-04:002010-04-26T21:07:29.294-04:00

On opening day of the Winter Park Paint Out I did a watercolor demonstration in the gardens. Demonstrations aren't the easiest thing to do. I had the honor of showing thirty viewers how I go about creating a watercolor painting en plein air. I was emphasizing how I think in terms of abstract shapes while painting layers in different values. After two hours of talking and non-stop painting I had

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-7316403232740115342010-04-20T15:45:00.004-04:002010-04-20T15:56:03.619-04:00

Last weekend I painted on location at The Artistic Hand in Ovideo. Beautifully situated, this is a best-kep secret in the area. It is a quaint little artist's shop in this historic house in old downtown Oviedo. They have been here for quite a few years, giving classes in art and ceramics behind the house, and selling the pieces of local artists in the front. They have paintings, jewelry,

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-47684463140581367492010-04-12T12:05:00.006-04:002010-04-12T12:46:25.030-04:00

I can't resist the temptation to paint a boat. I even find them more interesting when they are not in the water. This 32-foot boat named "Liberty" was recently pulled out of the water and put up on stands in Monroe Harbour Marina. Just a short walk to my studio. First, I asked the Harbour Master for permission to paint inside his property so I could get a closer view of the rigging. For this

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-40790966409576803062010-04-05T14:25:00.006-04:002010-04-05T14:53:18.984-04:00

Each year for the past five years I have been invited to paint at Disney's EPCOT World Showcase as part of the Flower & Garden Festival. This event is always a lot of fun. Where else do you get to paint with thousands of people walking by and talking with you about your art. I really enjoy the kids who stop to watch me work on a painting. They like to talk about the art that they have created and

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-80362093859422354202010-03-29T20:08:00.004-04:002010-03-29T20:23:12.029-04:00

I've recently started a class to teach watercolor painting. After thirty years of practice I've decided I must have something to share. The first two weeks I instructed seven students at Gallery on First. I did a demonstration in class and the students followed along. The subject was painting a white house in a simple landscape. I found a photo of an old house nearby and did a simple drawing. I

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-63036218261118277392010-03-19T14:55:00.004-04:002010-03-19T15:13:47.250-04:00

A full sheet of 22 x 30 watercolor paper is quite an ambitious painting for a paint out. I created the painting of the Path Along The Lake by working on the painting during a series of days at the same time each morning. I awoke refreshed each morning of the paint out. Especially because the temperature in the cabin was 38 degrees and I was glad the night was finally over. A lot of this painting

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-54160740258942178782010-03-15T08:44:00.003-04:002010-03-15T08:59:09.579-04:00

Another painting from the Wekiva Paintout includes a deer running across the field in front of the viewer. There were many sightings of deer in this park; usually at dawn and dusk. As I was driving through the park this deer ran right in front of my truck. I wanted to do a painting of the pine trees in the golden field of grass that was glowing in the park. So when I saw the deer run through the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-15351039968476122972010-03-08T19:43:00.001-05:002010-03-08T19:46:00.050-05:00

It was a great week of painting at the Wekiva Paint Out. I stayed in a cabin on the property so I could get up early each morning and begin the day with a quiet walk and a warm cup of coffee. Some days I would wake to see that the wild turkeys had already gotten a head start on me, running right through the campground and laughing at me in my long johns. I did a lot of painting on Lake Prevatt,

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-79994281752213467002010-02-27T09:11:00.003-05:002010-02-27T09:23:58.679-05:00

I have been invited by the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens to again be one of the artist at the Winter Park Paint Out. It is an honor to paint with such a great group of established artists. Each year the participating artists create a painting in advance of the event to be juried as the poster art for this event. This was my entry this year "Albin's Courtyard." I did this painting on

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-17656229033039068522010-02-23T08:29:00.004-05:002010-02-23T08:59:12.182-05:00

It is winter in Florida and I enjoy the chance to paint some of the grasses that are dormant during the cold season. A recent frost has changed the color of the grasses to a raw sienna hue. A friend of mine; Linda, and I took a recent trip to Seminole State Forest west of Sanford. We stopped to do a painting of a small lake Linda and I came across. There was a variety of flora that I wanted to

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-6844801865512855752010-02-17T08:23:00.006-05:002010-02-17T08:50:58.386-05:00

It was a slightly cool morning in Florida, our local plein air group was supposed to be painting at Wekiva State Park. However when I got there I realized I was the only one who showed up. This is not the first time this has happened. After a brisk walk around Sand lake in my winter coat I drove back to the main springs. A flock of wild turkeys greeted me in the parking lot and I was able to

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-78547795175857072252010-02-10T08:30:00.002-05:002010-02-10T09:02:18.610-05:00

Previously on Friday January 8, I posted a blog and an image of a plein air painting I did at Kiawai Island. When working in my studio I like to take plein air studies and recreate them on a larger scale. I can also use additional references from photographs I took while on location. This painting "Kiawai Island Deer" was composed in such a manner. In the comfort of my studio I can take as long

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-24938508136322244142010-02-02T08:35:00.005-05:002010-02-02T08:59:57.382-05:00

I did a quick trip through Boston early last fall. I was only able to spend a short amount of time there and I didn't have time to do a painting but I did manage to take a few photos. When in my studio I like to experiment and push myself to create different moods and use different techniques. I started off by using masking fluid to preserve the light areas in the reflections on the waters

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-20703215142539282302010-01-24T18:59:00.006-05:002010-01-24T19:27:10.142-05:00

This week I did a watercolor painting demonstration for the Lake Mary Woman's Club. I had 45 minutes to do this demonstration and I wanted it to be large enough so everyone in the back of the room could see the progress of the painting. My favorite paper is 300# Arches cold pressed full sheets which are 30 x 22. Prior to the demonstration I did a plein air painting study of this composition and

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-84378847770976208102010-01-08T16:18:00.005-05:002010-01-08T16:40:35.143-05:00

Having the chance to complete my first plein air painting of the year took me to Kiawah Island S.C. I was visiting a friend for the New Year holidays and took the opportunity the first day to go out early and find a place to paint. I had it in my mind I wanted to paint the marsh in the winter. The earthly colors attracted my attention instead of the typical green pallet in Florida. There were not

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-11160926025354709662009-12-30T15:27:00.010-05:002009-12-30T15:46:16.077-05:00

I am fortunate to get to do commissions of peoples houses. This home is located in Rhode Island. I did the painting for a man as a Christmas Gift for his mother. He grew up in this house. His mother is 93 years young and living in an assisted living home back in Rhode Island. This painting was presented to her as a gift from her son and now she has it hanging above the mantel in her room. I did

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-55854630364479357182009-12-15T08:34:00.007-05:002009-12-15T08:53:27.027-05:00

While people in the mid-west are staying inside as the blizzard passes I have the opportunity to paint outside in the warm weather. I met a few friends from our local plein air group at Kelly Park last weekend in Apopka. We get to see a little bit of autumn in Florida. It actually comes in December and some of the leaves are changing color before falling to the ground. I found a vacant spot on a

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-36208534665470142082009-12-08T08:16:00.003-05:002009-12-08T08:37:02.936-05:00

Another painting I did while in Savannah was along River Street. It was a quiet morning and a cold front had dumped rain the night before onto the streets. It was still drizzling when I set out to paint. A cup of coffee and a donut from the local convenience store seemed like a good way to start the day. I had found a location the day before that was covered by an overhead walkway of a local

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-86019324033991469692009-11-23T21:42:00.003-05:002009-11-23T21:53:10.408-05:00

I was in Savannah attending a wedding when I was awaken by the sounds of a foghorn early Saturday morning. I was only 2 blocks from the Savannah Harbor so I grabbed my easel and paints and went to see if there was anything going on. When I arrived, the river was mostly fog and I couldn't see the other side of the harbor. A tugboat and a cargo ship appeared mysteriously out of the fog, only to

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-13922752689051242052009-11-17T08:37:00.010-05:002009-12-08T08:38:40.315-05:00

Almost every morning at the Crescent Beach Paint Out I was up in time to watch the sunrise come up over the horizon. I did a number of paintings of the sunrise that week. Sometimes I would be setting up to paint while it was still dark. This was evident one day when I realized the Arches watermark on the painting was upside down. Starting the day by painting the sunrise not only gets me started

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-53033773142599597232009-11-05T08:24:00.002-05:002009-11-05T08:38:03.966-05:00

I just completed painting in the Crescent Beach Plein Air Paintout. Over a week of painting on location along the beach and near the city of St. Augustine. Forces of Nature was an old cedar tree I found growing along the banks of a canal that led to the Intracoastal Waterway. I spent the afternoon with that tree for three days in a row. Trying to capture the light and strength that nature cast

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-11549760845392417652009-10-23T08:25:00.007-04:002009-10-23T09:07:58.283-04:00

I had a chance to go out painting early when I was staying in Connecticut in October. The fall leaves were just starting to change into their warm autumn hues and there was an early morning mist raising over the river. Hundreds of geese were flying overhead and landing in the field next to the river. I resisted the temptation to add these geese into the painting. I was interested in capturing the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-30407965710605102592009-10-07T08:25:00.004-04:002009-10-07T08:45:58.673-04:00

I often do a painting for young couples when I am invited to their wedding. Hopefully finding a subject or theme they can both share. In this case I did a painting of the church they were married in on the third of October. This painting was done en plein air on the day of my niece's wedding. There was a 60% chance of rain that day which you can see in the sky I painted. I finished most of the

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-52285185872024923432009-09-22T08:29:00.002-04:002009-09-22T08:32:49.136-04:00

This is a painting of the Wekiva River I did as a demonstration at theCentral Florida Watercolor Society. The Wekiva River is a 30 mile river starting in two separate fresh water springs in Central Florida and ending in the St. Johns River. I previously did a plein air study at this location and a value sketch to work out the basic composition. My demonstration was to emphasize how I use plein

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-10356219447194584412009-09-04T08:48:00.003-04:002009-09-04T09:06:50.596-04:00

One of my favorite places to paint is the Winter Park chain of lakes. This painting shows one of the canals that link the chain of lakes together. I enjoy being one of the first boats on the water in the morning. The water is tranquil before the boats and the wind create a disturbance on the surface. One particular morning the sun lite up this boathouse as I was going through the canal. I created

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-15622855253830975022009-07-28T08:45:00.004-04:002009-07-28T09:16:58.813-04:00

Lake Mizell has been one of my favorite places to boat during the past 25 years. This small lake on the Winter Park Chain doesn't get much activity; which is why I like it. I have done numerous paintings from this one lake. I have seen the shore line change considerably from when I first started coming here. Once half of the lake had no homes, now there are homes that cost over 3 million dollars

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-58761723540017506652009-06-30T19:24:00.005-04:002009-06-30T19:43:11.214-04:00

This was one of those paintings I have been wanting to do for years. The bass is actually mounted and is hanging on a wall in my home. It came from a fishing trip almost 20 years ago. I used to do a lot of fishing and not much painting. Now I do a lot of painting and not much fishing. I caught the fish on Lake Mizell in Winter Park.  The background, I photographed years ago too. I thought it

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-41350764378564068732009-06-19T09:42:00.006-04:002009-06-30T19:50:38.254-04:00

I decided it was time to do a painting in my studio from my trip to the farmer's market in Sanford. The market is only a block away from my studio at Gallery on First. I usually take a stroll through there every Saturday morning to stock up on vegetables for the week and see what else is new. I eliminated the distracting background and framed the vegetables by painting a dark complementary

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-76663258306214782612009-06-03T12:13:00.001-04:002009-06-03T12:22:05.830-04:00

This house was painted as a commission by friends of the owners of the home. I traveled to South Daytona at the end of May during the rains that created excessive water in the area. The sun peaked through the clouds for about 5 seconds and gave me just enough time to photograph the scene before disappearing behind the clouds for the rest of the evening. I did create a plein air painting without

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-89693785174146398742009-05-20T16:24:00.003-04:002009-05-20T16:41:18.715-04:00

My objective on this painting was to paint the reflections in the water. I had a short time to do the painting on Lake Osceola as the sun was setting quickly. I ran out of time as darkness enclosed me. Thus I packed up my gear and completed the painting at a later date. I added the darker shapes in the background area, shadows under the dock and some darker brush strokes on the front and shadow

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-82383425148136549042009-05-11T20:57:00.007-04:002009-05-11T21:15:58.800-04:00

This painting; "Lavender Lady," was started during the Winter Park Paint Out.I ran out of time and did not complete it for the reception. Later, I spent about a half of an hour working on this painting to add the darker shade of green on the pads and added some transparent accents.

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-67059251426408523852009-05-04T10:06:00.000-04:002009-05-04T10:13:48.506-04:00

The Winter Park Paint Out is over and was a tremendous success for the Polasek Museum. Hundreds of visitors toured the museum and came to see 24 unique artist work on their paintings and demonstrate their talents. I created the painting "Morning Light" while enjoying the gardens in front of the Museum. The gardens were the most magnificent I have ever seen them this week.

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-48965732282402410232009-04-26T23:07:00.000-04:002009-04-26T23:26:33.295-04:00

Here is a painting done on the Sanford Garden Tour the last weekend of April. A dozen plein air artists from Central Florida painted at the homes of residents who had gardens on the tour. We all feel very fortunate to be able to paint in the the gardens of homes and not have to worry about taking care of the flowers and landscape.

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-13795253005779504112009-04-23T12:17:00.000-04:002009-04-23T12:24:39.956-04:00

Occasionally on my way to the studio I pull off the road and do a painting of the landscape. One Saturday morning in February I drove over the Lake Jessup bridge and decided to do a painting at the Lake Jessup Conservation Area. This is an area that is flooded during heavy rains as part of the St. John's River ecosystem.

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582113215953005835.post-58520054305698503352009-04-23T12:08:00.000-04:002009-04-23T12:15:08.743-04:00

I will be one of twenty‐five artists that will gather throughout the city of Winter Park, FL to paint plein air during the first annual Winter Park Paint Out.Plein air is a French term that means in the open air, referring to the fact that the artists will be painting exclusively out of doors. Artists have five days to complete their works during this event. All submitted paintings will be

Stewart Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02619119665304629856noreply@blogger.com0