Stewart Jones Art

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 knew preciously what I wanted to accomplish. I started with the sky and put in the colors of the atmosphere which included various shades of blue, raw sienna and violet. These same colors are also used in the landscape and help to unify the painting. Next I painted in the basic colors of the marsh grasses before moving to the distant line of trees on the other side of the lake. I put in the foreground trees, some of the branches and pine needles and my demonstration ended as quickly as it started. However I wasn't satisfied with the painting. The actual location of the lake was a two mi...

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 many places to park my car among the million dollar homes & golf courses but I did find a place at Bass Pond. I carried my gear to an opening where the water juts in close to shore. Walking around I found a lot of deer tracks. When I was half done with the painting, a deer went right through the marsh in front of me. I snapped a couple of quick photos and I plan to do a larger painting back in the comforts of my studio. By the way, it was 35 degrees when I did this painting. The gloves on my hands allowed my to paint for quite a few hours.