Tony Conner » stream

Sketch of the Day – Feb. 27, 2012

TC — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:37:39 +0000

Feb. 27, 2012 - Sycamore Tree and Wallomsac River, North Bennington, Vermont

Sycamore Tree and Walloomsac River, North Bennington, Vermont. The large, old sycamore on the far side of the bank, with its branches reaching out over the river were the main attraction for this sketch although the river dominates most of the sketch. The color palette for this work reverted back to the winter colors, I’ve referred to so often in these posts. Certain subjects call for a palette that respects the local color. This one almost required it, if only to bring out the cool blue shade on the surface of the sycamore tree. In considering it, I suppose that the subtlety was part of the attraction of the scene.
Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

Sketch of the Day, Feb. 21, 2012

TC — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:59:51 +0000

Feb. 21, 2012 - Deep Woods Near Chester Vermont

Deep Woods Near Chester, Vermont. In traveling from one place to another and with a full schedule, it was difficult to find time for a sketch today. This scene presented itself so I pulled over and made a quick go of it.

I’ve always been attracted to sunlight filtering through the tree canopy and spilling onto snow pack. The contrast of deep gray shadows against the patches of light along with tree trunks displaying various conditions of light, shade and shadow is so appealing that I usually have difficulty not stopping everytime I see something like this.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

Watercolor Sketch of the Day – Feb. 13, 2012

TC — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:25:09 +0000

Feb 13, 2012 - Shimmering Stream Off Myers Road Shaftsbury Vermont

Shimmering Stream off Myers Road, Shaftsbury, VT. A busier day than usual kept me from doing anything too ambitious. This little stream flows under Myers Road at the intersection with Bennett Hill Road in Shaftsbury. I’ve passed it and noticed it many times, but never stopped to paint. Needing a subject to work on quickly, I thought of this little scene and decided to make it my sketch of the day. Normally on winter days, I find a good scene which I can see from inside my car. Meaning there has to be a way to see the scene while parked in a safe location. This view is actually not visible from any safe parking location, so I parked the car, jumped out with my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook and pencil and walked to where I could get this view point. I put the pencil sketch in, did my best to burn colors and values into my brain, and went back to the car. A couple times, I’d leave the sketch while it was still wet, get out, and go back over just to make sure I was getting the look of the scene. Finally, I finished after about 25 minutes. The sketch is about 4 1/2 “ x 8” and done in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

Sketch of the Day – Feb. 9, 2012

TC — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:43:14 +0000

Feb. 9, 2012 - Mid-winter Afternoon along the West River, Weston, Vermont

Mid Winter Afternoon along the West River, Weston, VT. Done on a bright, cloudless winter afternoon, the bright sunlight created bright blue shadows on the snow, cast from these houses and structures along the river. The West River is a slow moving river at this point and is actually frozen over Depicting ice, specifically in a frozen lake or river is a difficult challenge. While the surface is reflective, the reflections are soft and muted. At the same time the surface is generally much lighter than that of either standing or moving water. Compare the ice covered river and reflections in the middle left of this sketch to the moving water depicted in my sketch of the Williams River on Feb. 8.

This sketch is about 9” x 12” and was done in my D’Arches Watercolor Book. Again, the colors are all of those I’ve mentioned before as being my “winter palette” – ultramarine & cobalt blue, burnt & raw sienna. For this sketch, I did add a significant amount of cerulean blue – the sky was done with a single light wash, slightly graded darker to lighter from the top to the horizon, and in the lightly shaded snow areas in the foreground and middle distance. The deep greens of the pine and fur trees, I used Daniel Smith Quinacridone Deep Gold mixed with Ultramarine Blue.

Earlier I mentioned that the West River is a slow moving river in this part of the state. As many folks know, hurricane Irene, which was actually a tropical storm by the time it hit Vermont, did a great deal of damage when it came through. Although most of Weston escaped relatively well, the West River was a raging river during the storm. This video on You tube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59qE3GK0sw4– shows the river about ½ mile downstream from where I did this sketch. There is a dam at that point and the video shows water pouring over the dam and flooding the historic Weston Playhouse which is on the village green in Weston.
Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my Studio Gallery. It is open by appointment – please contact me to arrange a visit.

“On The Point” – New Watercolor Landscape Painting

TC — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:42:01 +0000

"On The Point"

This watercolor painting depicts the gradual and subtle changes that occur as winter changes to spring.Â During this time of the year the light is slowly becomes brighter and warmer, earth that has spent weeks under layers of snow begins to reappear and streams thaw and begin to visibly run at the surface again.

This scene is late in the day with bright slanting light and it’s associated long shadows.Â Like many of my works, this watercolor painting emphasizes warm/cool contrast in its color scheme – perfect for depicting the everchanging balance of cold and warm weather.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my Studio Gallery. It is open by appointment – please contact me to arrange a visit.

Watercolor Sketch – Covered Bridge

TC — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:21:55 +0000

"Bridge In Morning Light"

4″ x 9″

Private Collection

Since it has been non-stop snow here lately it has been hard to get outside for new material.Â In the case of this small watercolor painting, I went back to my sketch books.Â Covered bridges are plentiful in Vermont and are painted by many.Â Â It can be hard to take on a subject so well explored by artists over time.Â Most of what is to be said about the subject has been said.Â That said, I dove in anyway.Â The watercolor paper chosen for the painting is by Sennelier, a French art supply company known for its fine professional grade watercolor paint.Â The paper is from a small watercolor block shaped in this long horizontal (or tall vertical) format.Â The paper itself has a heavy coat of sizing which makes it “slick” – the pigments lie on the surface of the paper rather than becoming absorbed into the paper fibers.

The focus for this work was getting a good composition onto the unusual dimensions of the paper.Â Â A long span of covered bridge seemed to be a good fit for the page.Â Â Without any particular color scheme in mind, I chose colors that are favorites of mine – cerulean blue, Daniel Smith’s Quinacridone Deep Gold (I blogged about this color in a September post) and Dioxazine Violet.Â Â Â Deep Gold suggests autumn, so the painting depicts the bridge in autumn.

I am always attracted to light effects.Â Â Light as it appears early and late in the day is particularly appealing in the way the slanting warm light affects all the surfaces it touches and causes any standing object to cast long shadows. Â Â The combination of two cool colors and one very potent warm color suggested a play of light and shadow on the long side of the bridge.

The finished work seems to have captured the look.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

“October Leftovers” – New Autumn Painting

TC — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:22:35 +0000

“October Leftovers”

10″ x 14″

Another painting of the autumn season. The look of moving water reflecting the colors of the environment around it has become a new inspiration for my work recently. Like “Late Autumn – White Creek“, this painting features a stream and its banks, along with the trunks of the trees near the ground.Â This painting is a depiction of an autumn day in what I like to call “mid”-autumn – that time when leaves are beyond their peak and the branches of many trees are bare.Â What leaves remain have faded a bit in color.Â Despite the lack of leaves, the waning light of the sun means that there is darkness in the depths of the forests.Â The color scheme for this work is a favorite of mine – the complementary color scheme of blue and orange.Â In this work, orange and other warm colors dominate, giving the work an upbeat feeling even though this time of year is really a time portal to the darker days of winter.

This and other works on this site are available for purchase.Â Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site.Â Email me atÂ tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

New Painting Depicting Autumn

TC — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:53:43 +0000

“Late Autumn – White Creek“

11″ x 15″

Private Collection

The change of season from summer to fall to winter is rapid and dramatic from late September through late October.Â I have several works that explore this theme currently underway.Â This is the first of the works to be completed.Â More to come.