A day in the sun, Part 5 - Playing around

The final chapter to the "A day in the sun" series.  These are some pictures that are either very beautiful or of me and my friends playing around in the sun.

A bug's view.

Blossoming lilacs.

Holes in my pants vs. flowers in my hair.

All smiles.

Apple tree contrast.

Jumping swings.

Big feet, small swing.

Small feet, long legs.

Unstable.

THE END

A day in the sun, Part 5 - Playing around

A day in the sun, Part 4 - Water

Water is the theme if this series.

Muddy day.

Lying low waters.

Watery passage.

Round water?

Seagulls scavenging far away.

Seagull island.

Into the river.

A day in the sun, Part 4 - Water

A day in the sun, Part 3 - People

Something else I did while I was photographing the Ottawa river was to take pictures of strangers and people hanging out on the river bedrock that was exposed because of the lack or rain.  I wonder what they are all doing? Contemplating, enjoying, beautifying, relaxing and apparently biking!

Scraping the sky.

Biking by bedrock.

Miniature earthlings.

United people of the river bedrock.

Lost in wonder.

Reflections.

A day in the sun, Part 3 - People

A day in the sun - Part 2 Rocks, rocks and more rocks.

Here are some more pictures that I took on that beautiful sunny day.  The uniting theme of this set is rocks.  Enjoy!

This picture was taken from ground zero.

Rocky landscape.

Amongst the stones.

Debris amidst pebbles.

Pondering the rubble.

Attempted Inuksuk?

Perched on steep escarpment illusion.

Corrugated texture sedimentary rock.

A day in the sun - Part 2 Rocks, rocks and more rocks.

A day in the sun - Part 1 - the world is round

Last Tuesday was a beautiful day.  My friend Karine called me up in the morning and proposed we spend the afternoon in the sun.  What a great idea.  I probably should have worn something less warm.  It was so hot out there.  After all, the weather forcasted only 16 Celsius degrees. 

Then again, the only predictable thing about weather, is that it is unpredictable.

View across the Ottawa river (French: Rivière des Outaouais) (Algonquin: Kichisìpi).  That means I'm in Gatineau (Hull sector), Québec looking at Ottawa, Ontario.

The water was low and what a rare opportunity it was to take pictures.

The world is round - and so it seems on some of the pictures I've taken.

The Ottawa river is quite long.  The total length of the river is 1,271 kilometers (or 790 miles).

The world is round - These are not man-made rocks, but sedimentary rocks, most likely from the Champlain Sea  from the last ice age that covered parts of Québec, Ontario, New York and Vermont 13 000 to

10 000 years ago.  This part of the world was once inhabited by seals and whales.

Source: http://hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca/2001_champlain2_mb/index.html

The world is round - Once sediments, now rocks.

Layer upon layer of sedimentary rocks.

In this false-color image, water is black, vegetation is shades of green and gold, and snow is red.  The Ottawa River come into the image at top left in the image and flows southeast.

source: http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/6312/Ottawa.A2002114.1555.267.500m.jpg

A day in the sun - Part 1 - the world is round

Waterfalls

With summer just around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to create a "nice day in the forest" kind of painting.  The main themes are light, shadows, and nature.  I used acrylic paint and glazing/washes techniques.  I used a lot gesso to create light in this composition and many washes to create shadows.

click on picture to enlarge

With a different light.

Waterfalls

Coastal sunset

Coastal sunsets are very interesting because the colors take on a warm tones, enriching the already magnificent environment.

Coastal sunset

Multicolor bird

How enchanting is it to paint certain small fragile animals.  They truly inspire sympathy.

To create this painting, the following colors have been used:

 

Titanium White  

Primary Yellow

Yellow Ochre  
 


Bright Green
  


Hooker green

Cobalt Blue



Ultramarine Blue 



Bright Red
  


Black

Step 1:  Creating the background


I created the background with mixes of yellow ochre, bright green and titanium white with different proportions to create different tones of color.  To give the impression of vegetation, I took a large flat brush to fill in the background with long brush strokes.

Step 2: Melting the colors

I continued the background by melting the existing colors with new tones.  I mixed yellow ochre with orange (yellow and red) and white to create warm colors that I painted on the greens. I then proceeded to add yellow ochre to the bottom of the composition.  Finally I traced the branches in the foreground.

Step 3:  Starting on the bird

I painted the inner part of the bird with red, orange, and a little bit of yellow.  Red on the head, orange on the chest and yellow on the orange on the bottom of the bird.  Then I continued the main branches with bright green, hooker green and some white.  Notice how the lighter colors detach themselves from the background.

Step 4: Creating contrasts

With a fine brush, I painted the head and the wings of the bird with cobalt blue and ultramarine blue, creating a strong chromatic contrast. And with a flat medium sized brushed I deposited some orange touches to the background.

Step 5: Foreground and finishing touches

With a pink mix and some white I obtained a soft tone to color the beak.  I used ultramarine blue to color the head and to vary the color of the feathers on the bird`s body.  Finally, I added the finishing touches to the legs, the tail and the head.

Multicolor bird