Tony Conner » watercolor paintings

Sketch of the Day – April, 19, 2012

TC — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:51:35 +0000

"House On Orchard Street, Bennington, Vermont"

“House on Orchard Street, Bennington, VT” – This house is across the street from my kids elementary school and I used to see it often. I noticed it again on this particular warm, sunny spring day. On this day, the grass had started to green up, but the tree was still leaf-less. The bright sun was catching the fronts of the buildings. Overall a very cheery spring scene.

The sketch is about 7” x 10” and was done in my D’Arches Watercolor Book.
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. 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. 26, 2012

TC — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:09:38 +0000

Feb. 26, 2012 - Neighbors House And Yard From Den Window

Neighbors House and Yard From Den Window. Quick sketch done looking out the den window. Sunny winter afternoon – strong sunlight and shadows. I used the more colorful palette as with recent sketches in this one. In several of the recent sketches, I’ve mentioned using cadmium red and cerulean blue. This combination is a personal favorite of mine. Mixed fairly equally, the combination produces a light gray, delicate in color, but – due to the heavy opacity of the cad red and the large, sedimentary pigments in cerulean blue – the mixture can be dense and and rather opaque. The combination is best used in light washes. The shadow area on the house is done with this combination. Note that the colors tend to separate in a fluid wash – this is one of the things I enjoy about this particular combination.

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. 24, 2012

TC — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:30:10 +0000

Feb 24, 2012 - Farm On Middle Pownal Road, Pownal, Vermont

Farm on Middle Pownal Road, Pownal, Vermont. Seems that I’ve been visiting Pownal, VT a good bit recently. This small quick sketch was done looking at another farm in Pownal, this one along a dirt road known as Middle Pownal Road. Like my previous two sketches (Feb 22 & Feb 23), this one takes a minimal approach and puts more emphasis on the effect of light and overall design than it does on capturing reality. The color palette for this sketch is a return to the one from Feb 22 with cad red and thalo blue dominant and the addition of cerulean and raw sienna. Although this is a much less finished work than many others in this series, it’s simplicity brings focus to the main theme which is the bright, winter morning light striking the side of the barn. The sketch is built with all of the elements supporting that single theme – light struck trees, long shadows and snowy fields also capturing the bright sunlight.
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 23, 2012 – “Pownal Farm, Simplified”

TC — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:00:05 +0000

Feb. 23, 2012 - Pownal Farm, Simplified

Pownal Farm, Simplified. In a continuation of the theme from yesterday’s sketch, this work was also condensed to simple shapes in the form of a vignette. Like yesterday, this sketch was done early on a clear, sunny morning. From my vantage point, the farm buildings were backlit and cast large, long shadows into the forground.

Unlike yesterday’s sketch, the colors in this one are more realistic grays and browns, with liberty taken in the placement of cool and warm temperature passages to create interest through contrast.

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. 22, 2012

TC — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:05:29 +0000

Feb 22, 2012 - Winter Farm Scene, Pownal, Vermont

Winter Farm Scene, Pownal Vermont. This started out to be a more traditional sketch like “Marie Hill Farm, Andover Vermont” on Feb. 15, or Taraden Barn, North Bennington, Vermont on Feb 18, but a desire to get away from the winter palette that’s been mentioned so often in these posts lead to a different interpretation of this scene with a different palette of color. The light on this early morning was creating stark and bold shadows that were being cast across the road. That single element became the catalyst for thinking and creating this sketch in a much simplified way. In laying out the pencil layout, the farm buildings were simplified by paying more attention to their defining planes, and to whether a particular plane was in full light, in shade or perhaps catching a shadow. The idea of simplification also led directly to the notion that a vignette – or leaving large portions of the paper untouched – might be a way to emphasize the long, stark shadows. Working with the positive and negative space seemed a way to further enhance design over realism

The scene as it appeared on this sunny morning was very much in the manner of the other winter scenes I’ve created during the course of this series with grays, tans and browns dominating. Since this sketch became an exercise in simplification and design, the color palette was selected with simplicity in mind while also enhancing the overall theme. The brilliant light created deep blue shadows on the ground suggesting something other than the normal “winter blues”. It didn’t take long to decide to use thalo blue – a deep, dark, very cool and intense blue – for the shadows. In keeping with simplicity, a good complement to thalo blue was needed, so that there would be the capacity to mix some good darks and neutral grays. The choice for the complement was cadmium red light, a warm, slightly orange, red that works well to neutralize the intense and staining thalo blue. Along with these two, three other colors were included on the palette: cerulean blue – another cool, but light and very sedimentary blue, raw sienna – a trusty color from the “winter palette” and great for mixing light neutrals, and permanent rose – an somewhat intense cool red that, when mixed with cool blues, creates low intensity, dusky violets which are perfect for the shady side of a red barn.

The sketch developed rather quickly. The initial focus was on creating an acute “horizontalness” by essentially painting positive shapes from the left to the right border. This included the snow shadows at far left, the shaded side of the barn at upper left, distant mountain and dark foliage in the middle left, the “main” barn complex and silos in the middle right and the small dark piece of mountainside and lightstruck building to the right. At the same time, the horizontal sense was somewhat offset by tilting the large horizontal, positive shape slightly to the right.

It was a conscious decision to leave the few strong verticals – tree trunks and utility pole to the left and treetop in the middle right – unpainted, negative space, in order to create balance for the overall composition.

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.

Sketch of the Day, Feb. 20, 2012

TC — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:40:43 +0000

Feb. 20, 2012 - Neighbors House and Street Light

Neighbors House & Street Light. Of all the sketches done for this project, this is the first one I’ve hesitated to post. The scene looks out our front windows toward the street and our neighbors house across the street at night along with the street light that sits at the corner of his property. I knew it would be a challenging scene, with most of it in dark, or very dark values. Even so, I’m afraid this one has missed the mark. The street light is one of those that casts a distinct orange glow. The orange light infuses everything so that darks become browns and lights are low intensity versions of the street light. Despite my misgivings and in the spirit of doing what you say, I’m posting anyway and will look to redeem myself with another “nocturne” in the future.

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. 17, 2012

TC — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:00:53 +0000

Feb. 17, 2012 - LaClair Road Puddles, Shaftsbury, Vermont

LaClair Road Puddles, Shaftsbury, Vermont. This area of Shaftsbury, Vermont is one of my favorite places to paint – see the sketch from Feb. 13, which is part of this territory. I went there early on this morning to try to get a sketch done. This view looks east and includes a lonely stretch of dirt road that was very muddy from recent rain. The edges and shoulders of both sides of the road had standing puddles. From my vantage point, the puddles on the left were reflecting the dark colors from the trees and brush on that side of the road. On the right side, the puddles were reflecting the light sky and one puddle also had the reflection of one of the utility poles along that side of the road. Although for all of the sketches in this series one of my main goals is to develop the skill of capturing the feeling and effect of a scene very quickly- under an hour if possible – this one took almost twice that long.

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. 16, 2012

TC — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:23:35 +0000

Feb. 16, 2012 - Mt. Anthony and Westward Morning Sky

Mt. Anthony and Westward Morning Sky. This quick sketch was done early this morning looking west out of my studio window. I spotted this sky coming together while out walking the dog a little before the sun had actually risen. Once back home, I picked up a pencil and sketched Mt. Anthony and the other land forms nearby. The sky was then washed in quickly by mingling cadmium red, cadmium yellow, permanent red and cobalt blue together in the sky with an effort to catch and maintain the shape of the violet blue clouds within a relatively watery mixture. The most fascinating thing about this very simple scene for me was that the warmth in the western sky made it appear as if the sun was actually setting at that time of the day. The sketch is about 6” x 9” and was done in a Montval Watercolor Field Sketch book.
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.