Snow Covered Mountains

The sky is painted first because it establishes the mood and quality of light for the piece. We’re making this a clear, sunny day in Truchas. The upper portion of the sky is White + Cobalt Blue while the part nearest the peaks of the mountains is a lighter mix of White + Pthalo Blue.

Please remember as you read through my blog, you may click on any image to view an enlargement.

Now for the beautiful, snow covered mountains in the distance. These are part of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range that extends from New Mexico, northward through Colorado. The name translates as “Blood of Christ”. Come watch as I paint…….

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Painting the Snow Covered Mountains

Trees line up behind the adobe wall that marks the boundary of the property. A few brush strokes of warm, rusty green are added into the foliage to bring them forward of the mountains.

Chamisa, found in abundance throughout the southwest, flourishes in the meadow beyond the courtyard. Mixes of Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Cadmium Orange + White, Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD + Pthalo Blue + White and Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD + White are used for the muted yellow blooms. Combinations of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow + MUD + White are used for the foliage of this New Mexico native.

The most distant part of the field is made cooler by lightly brushing over the previously painted Chamisa with mixes of Pthalo Blue + White. This helps to increase the feeling of depth.

That’s all for this session, hope you’ll come back to visit my studio soon and continue watching the progress. Have a wonderful day in this beautiful one Our Lord has gifted us! With Big Hugs,

ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

© Senkarik 2023

www.Senkarik.com

TRUCHAS!

Bet you’re asking yourself, “TRUCHAS, where in the world is that??????” This painting is based on my collectors’ retreat in the mountains of New Mexico, in the small village north of Santa Fe along the back road to Taos. They sent me several pictures to work from, with instructions that the painting doesn’t have to be an exact replica. They just want this painting to have the feel of their retreat, filled with lots of my colorful flowers, to enjoy in their home in Texas.

Please keep in mind as you read through my post, you may click on any picture to see an enlargement.

So here’s my sketch.

The basic plan of the painting is sketched up on the canvas with a thin oil wash of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin Original. I use a T-Square to make certain all of the upright lines on the building are straight and true!

They have a beautiful view of the mountains; we definitely want to include them in the scene.

The front door of the hacienda is really unique!

I’m taking Artistic Liberty and replacing the French doors, in the courtyard picture above, with that cool one from the front of the house, sans the screen door.

Chili Ristras are washed in with an oil mixture of Alizarin Crimson + Liquin Original.

The containers of flowers are drawn with the MUD wash, then labeled so I won’t forget my plan when I get to painting!

We’re all sketched up on the canvas and ready to begin painting in our next session. Do come back and watch the progress!

I’d like to invite you to subscribe to my blog, you’ll receive an email every time I publish a new post. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts, just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The one on the right for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session.

I appreciate you subscribing to my blog! And please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Videos! With Big Hugs,

ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

© Senkarik 2023

www.Senkarik.com

Welcome Spring!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog but just wanted to let you know, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. I’ve been playing with some new techniques for my Travel Sketches. I’m not quite ready to introduce them yet, you’ll just have to be patient and wait! BUT, I’ll be starting on a new collaboration soon. So, in the meantime, I thought I’d share what’s happening in our garden. Spring is my absolute favorite time of year! Rosie, our Texas Redbud Tree, is the very first to wake up from winter hibernation.

You may click on any of the images to see the picture larger.

Rosie’s tiny pink blossoms make my heart jump for joy!

Mountain Laurels are also starting to flower. I always know when these Texas natives begin bursting into bloom, their sweet Grape Kool-aid fragrance fills the warm air.

AND, my local grocery store got their first shipment of GERANIUMS!!!!!!!! There was NO WAY I could pass these pretty babies up! The first task when I got home was to plop them into my special wheelbarrow that a friend made for me. AHHH! SPRING!!!!

With Happy Spring Hugs,

ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

© Senkarik 2023

www.Senkarik.com

BREATHTAKING VISTA

The shutters and window are painted with shades of Cobalt Blue + a little bit of Ultramarine Blue + White and Cobalt Blue + White. As you read through my blog, please keep in mind: You may click on any image to view it larger.

The twisted trunks and long, twining branches of the Grape Vine, tumbling over the roof, are drawn into the wet paint of the wall and shutters. Bracing my wrist against the mahl stick gives my hand a steady base. What’s a Mahl Stick???? CLICK HERE to find out more!

Making the foreground building in shadow, with sunlight illuminating the wall behind it, is another method to give the feeling of depth in a painting. Even though brightly lit, the upright portion of the wall is just a little darker than the flat top surface.

Geraniums and Asters fill the terra cotta containers balancing on top of the sun drenched portion of the terrace wall.

A lush Bougainvillea cascades over the wall in the foreground. Combinations of Permanent Rose + Cadmium Red Light + White and Permanent Rose + Magenta + White are used to make this “Bogie” warmer than those in the background, thus bringing it forward. Leaves are Viridian Green + Cadmium Yellow Medium. A few strokes of Pthalo Blue + White are made here and there to add coolness to the shadows.

These Geraniums are in shadow, consequently I use Cadmium Red Deep + Magenta and pure Cadmium Red Deep for the blossoms. The foliage is painted with mixes of Pthalo Blue + Lemon Yellow.

Various mixes of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White is used for Sweet Potato Vine spilling out of the closest container. It’s fun delineating the long tendrils topped by the heart shaped leaves.

Petunias, made of Magenta + Dioxazine Purple + White and Magenta + White, nestle in with the Sweet Potato Vine.

The Grape Vine, previously washed in with combinations of Sap Green + Liquin Original and Alizarin Crimson + Liquin Original, is now accented. Opaque mixtures of Sap Green + Lemon Yellow and Alizarin Crimson + White are used to finish the multicolored foliage.

BREATHTAKING VISTA 30 inches x 60 inches

AHHHH, we’re done! Come join me on the terrace, taking in the panorama of Santorini’s BREATHTAKING VISTA. Then we can take a stroll down all those steps to the azure water far below. Thank you for visiting my studio. With Sunny Smiles,

ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

© Senkarik 2023

www.Senkarik.com

Planting COLOR!

A colorful Bougainvillea tumbles over the wall on the right. Its bright bracts are blocked in with combinations of Permanent Rose + Cadmium Red Light + White, Permanent Rose + Magenta + White and Permanent Rose + White. The addition of Cadmium Red Light to some of the mixtures makes a soft, Coral color that pops forward from the cooler tones of the Bougainvillea in the background. The leaves are then added with several mixes of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium and Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White.

Please remember, you may click on any picture to see it larger.

Sweet Potato Vine is painted with the same mixtures of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium and Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White.

Angelonia, planted in the container on top of the wall as well as the one at the base, is painted next. First the leaves are blocked in with Sap Green + Lemon Yellow and Sap Green + Lemon Yellow + White. Next, the tall spires of the blooms are added with mixes of Magneta + White and Magenta + Permanent Rose + White.

Deep Red Geraniums are made with Cadmium Red Deep + Magenta, Cadmium Red Deep and Cadmium Red Deep + White. Leaves and flower buds are added with mixes of Pthalo Blue + Lemon Yellow + White.

Purple Asters nestle in the terra cotta container next to the Sweet Potato Vine. The pretty purple blossoms are blocked in with Dioxazine Purple + White and Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue + White.

The centers of the Purple Asters are Cadmium Yellow Medium and Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Red Light.

You can begin to see how planting these colorful flowers has increased the feeling of depth in the painting. That will become even more apparent as work progresses on the terrace on the left. Come back and see how it goes! With Colorful Smiles,

ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

© Senkarik 2023

www.Senkarik.com

Palms and LOTS of Descending Stairs

I’m ready to begin painting the Palm Trees. My reference picture is displayed on the laptop placed on the taboret to the right of my easel. Please keep in mind, you may click on this or any of the other images in my blog to see them larger.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Painting the large, fan shaped fronds of the Palm Trees. In the video I talk about the DOUBLE PRIMARY COLOR MIXING SYSTEM I use that Jack developed. CLICK HERE for a complete explanation.

The foreground wall, to the right of the steps, is painted with warm mixes of White + a teensy bit of Cadmium Orange and White + that same tiny touch of Cadmium Orange + a smidge of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson). This makes the wall come forward of the distant structures that had been painted with cooler Whites.

The steps are painted with cool mixes of Ultramarine Blue + a small portion of Cadmium Orange + White. The flat tops are lighter than the upright plane of the risers because they receive more light from the sky above. Bracing my wrist against the mahl stick hooked over the top of my easel steadies my hand to paint the details of the stairs. If you’re wondering what a MAHL STICK is CLICK HERE.

Moving down the hillside, closer to the viewer, the steps are painted with mixes in slightly different proportions of the same color combination: Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. More Cadmium Orange is used in these mixtures, which makes them warmer.

Shadows of the lacy Palm fronds dance along the base of the white wall on the right.

The terrace at the base of the foreground stairs is painted with mixtures of MUD + Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. The wide grout lines between the individual stones are dragged into the wet paint of the floor with some of the lighter colors from the steps.

We’ll be gardening in our next session, filling some of the flower pots. Grab some gloves and come give me a hand! With BIG HUGS and COLORFUL SMILES,

ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

© Senkarik 2023

www.Senkarik.com