The Art of Watercolour

I have a 6 page article in the Art of Watercolor magazine from in the 16th issue (October-November 2014). Here is a PDF. It's fun to be in a magazine, and there is a lot of other good work in it as well. I use a lot of drafting tape and toothbrush in my work, I tried to show an example of how I use it in thew article. I always forget to mention I learned the technique from Alain Gavin, who teaches in Evanston, IL.

Engine 4436 in Progress

I don't know how it will end up, but I start by trying to full in all the darker areas to separate light from dark. Otherwise, the drawing looks like a mess. I hope I'm half way.

LaGrange Country Club

Here is a recent project I did with Manuel Avila Associates. At first glance, they seem like sketches, but Sketchup created the fake sketch look, and we did basic watercolor washes on top. They're purposely meant to convey an unfinished design. We use Sketchup to box out views and and add repeating detail, like chairs and tables.

Quincy Dredge details

I want to add one more detail from my dredge painting. I've been trying to create more texture to approximate the roughness of rust. These are scanned pieces, and I find them interesting on their own. It's done with layers of paint and dripped/sprayed masking fluid.

Quincy Dredge

Quincy Dredge No.2 was used for reclaiming copper tailings in Torch lake near Houghton, MI. It sank over 40 years ago, but sits just off the road like it sank yesterday. In winter you can easily wander through it.

Osceola Copper Mine

This is one of the newer mines left standing on the Keweenaw peninsula. I used the existing pile of rusty old parts, but moved them around and turned the building so it was looking at us.

Another Train

This is a train in front of the Ogden, Utah train station. It's in great shape, but I felt like making it look run down, rusty, and very cluttered. I made two changes in the train for compositional reasons, and I bet train enthusiasts would find them right away.

Century Mine No.3

Century Mine No.3 Hoist House I have been fascinated by the copper mines up in The Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, and this is my favorite one because it's the only one that's mostly wood. I love the exploded, deteriorated nature of it, including the fact that it's sitting quietly along a side road with no fences or signs. I mirrored the Hoist House tower on either side, because I love the repetition of it. I also enjoyed creating depth inside the big opening for the mine car.