Stewart Jones Art

One of my favorite places to paint is along the Wekiva River. In Central Florida, this river begins at Wekiva Springs and travels north for 15 miles to join up with the St. John’s River. From there the St. John’s River flows north and enters the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville. This painting was done as a demonstration for my watercolor class. I was drawn to the palm hanging over the River. Each time I  take a trip down the river the palm gets a little closer to the water. Soon the palm will have completely fallen into the water but I have captured it at this moment in time.

Palms at the beach, blue sky’s with cotton candy clouds; sea oats dancing in the breeze. One of those exciting paintings that brings the landscape to life. Usually when I go to the beach I paint the ocean. But sometimes I look the opposite direction and watch the clouds build up over the land. The wind blows through the palm fronds and pushes the clouds further into the distance. Shadows crisscross the sand and create movement at your feet. I feel like I am at the beach, without showing the ocean in the painting.

My painting is from a recent class demonstration. I loved boating along the St. John’s River and painting the different views. Above is a winter scene along the river in Florida. The cypress tress have lost their leaves and the trees take on a violet hue.  I got off my boat along the river edge and walked up the bank. This is the view on the backside of the river bank. I have fun painting clouds in the sky with watercolor. After the class, I spent more time putting the reflections of the sky and trees into the water.

I am always searching for old subjects to paint. Objects with rust greatly appeal to me. Rust is made when iron is exposed to oxygen over a long period of time. I feel rust helps tell the story that the object is old, weathered and worn. Which means it has been subjected to the effects of weather over many years of use. Creating rust and old peeling paint in watercolor require special techniques. Masking out areas and creating texture with dry brush are two methods I use to create the appearance of rust and peeling paint. I am not sure if our modern vehicles will look as interesting after fifty years of use because of the plastic, aluminum and other material we now use to build our vehicles.