2016 Ken Harris Watercolor Calendar available on Etsy.

My 2016 Ken Harris Watercolor Calendar is now available on Etsy. When hanging on the wall it measures 11" x 17" (28cm x 43cm). It features 13 months and 13 watercolors. Click on second image below to see all twelve paintings for this year. It is digitally printed on 60 lb. cover stock. Click link below to order:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/252309060/2016-watercolor-calendar?ref=shop_home_active_3

Summer/Fall 2015

Starting in July here is one of my summer watercolors I just completed. It is a painting of somebody contemplating the next step in their life. The model for the watercolor is my wife. The size of the painting is 15" x 22" (38cm x 56cm) If you are interested in purchasing a print of an original contact me at ken@kenharris.com

Finished this painting the morning of  7/12/15. It is of a stone wall with some wild flowers in Kempford, UK. It was from a photo I took there 5 years ago. To buy this painting as a card go to: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KenHarrisWatercolors?ref=hdr_shop_menu

The sketch below  is a watercolor study of a charcoal drawing done by Andrew Loomis. He was an incredible painter and illustrator. I have been reading his books to learn about drawing the figure and to learn more about color. What I like about doing color paintings from Loomis' charcoal sketches is that he has already established all the basic, structural values. Structural values are the foundation for any painting.

Below is a painting about Northern California, where I am from. It is different from Southern California. In some ways more rural. This is from a photo I saw on Facebook of a friend's ranch. I liked the design of the clothes "wagging' in the wind. The light hanging clothes against the shadowed background of the trees and building. Light against dark..

The painting below, I finished at the beginning of August. It is a copy, or my translation, of the Birth of Venus by Raphael. It was done in Acrylic. It has been hot in California this year so painting out in the garage with acrylic is a bit tough. The paint dries too fast. I discovered this Flo additive for the paint. It really thins the paint. Almost like watercolor it seems. It helped finish the painting. See more of my art at: http://www.kenharris.com

Today is the end of August. The month went by too fast. It has been very hot. Our house has no AC. I started this at the beginning of the week and did a bit each night when it was cooler. Finished this AM, 8/29/15. This is a story of a back street in Aix on a hot summer morning. 

I did the watercolor below of Cassis 9/9/15. Cassis is on the Mediterranean coast of the south of France, in between Marseille and Toulon. This is a view of the harbor on a lazy summer afternoon. The size is 30cm x 44cm (11" x 15").

Below is another painting from the south of France. It is a subject I like. There are some good places to paint. This is of a square in Aix-en-Provence. It is early evening on a hot summer night. It is painted on a half sheet of watercolor paper, 15" x 20". 

This is painting below is of the Edison Electric plant in Huntington Beach, CA. It measures 15" x 20" and is painted on 300 lb. watercolor paper.

This is a watercolor image of the Clarkson Bridge in Cullman, Alabama. First built in 1904, the unique truss bridge (invented in the U.S.) stretches 270 feet over Crooked Creek. Cullman is a beautiful area of the united states. I really enjoyed working on this painting. The motivation of love is a great power when painting.

Below is another version of Notre Dame, Paris during a rainy day in July. To help get the feeling of rain, I painted clear water onto the paper and brushed in vertical strokes of color into the wet areas.

This painting of the boats at sunset took I completed in approximately 1.5 hours. I painted the reflection of the sky first in the water are. Then I painted in the sky. While the sky was still wet, I brushed in the trees with a one inch flat watercolor brush. The color bleeding slightly into the sky. With my finger nail (like Turner), I scraped out a few preliminary tree trunks and branches. Next, I proceeded to draw the boat and quickly painted the rocks with a round brush. I finished by adding dark reflections of the trees into the water and put in a few more scrapes with a razor blade. 

Watercolors for May-June 2015

Finished painting Below June 14, 2015. I am studying VALUE PATTERNS. Value patterns are the foundation for any painting. Upon those patterns we build our subject and decoration. I will be explaining value patterns hopefully in the future. If you are interested in buying an original watercolor, print, or note cards of any of my art email me at: ken@kenharris.com. You can also buy some of my art and note cards at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/kenharris1?ref=hdr_shop_menu.

This is a painting about a summer evening in Paris. The sun does not go down till about 9:30-10:00pm. The street is Blvd. Diderot. This painting measures 11" x 14". 

I was in Paris looking out the window of my hotel, watching people walking in the rain. I saw these two young women walking, so I took a photo of them for a possible painting. I first did a sketch in my sketchbook. Then I did the painting below on watercolor paper. This painting is available in the US and EU at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/kenharris1?ref=hdr_shop_menu

This is a painting I did at the end of May, 2015. I did it on location in northern California and adjusted it when I got home. It is good training to paint on location because you have to observe. You learn a lot about light and atmosphere; how things are constructed. As many have said before me, "Nature is your best teacher".

Above is a watercolor I did for a Music CD project. You are looking at the T-Shirt version of the watercolor. I could have posted just the illustration, but I wanted to show the context. I also did the typography for the piece. If you are interested in buying my art, I now have a store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/kenharris1?ref=hdr_shop_menu. You can also go to my website at www.kenharris.com.

This is a fine watercolor I did back in 1988. It is truly a blast from the past. The words of a song from the Byrds comes to my mind, "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." Click on the image to see a larger view.

This is a larger version of a watercolor I had done before of Newport Harbor, California. It measures approximately 28 inches high and 40 inches wide. It is a nice piece. It is adorning a home by the beach in southern California.

Below is another painting of Newport Harbor, California on a foggy, cloudy morning in June. I started it on location and finished the painting in my studio. The drive from location to the studio gives you time to re-think your design.

Below is a selection from my latest sketchbook. It just evolved onto the page from my brush (mind).

This painting I did from a photo I took while driving through Huntington Beach, California. I saw the pattern of the trees against the sunset and stopped my car and took a photo with my phone. The incoming fog and primary colored sunset created an "other world" type of atmosphere. It measures 15" x 22" unframed (half sheet size). It is for sale for $900 US dollars.

Below is a quick sketch from a photo I took on location. I like working with ink.

Below is a Watercolor based on a drawing from my sketchbook that I posted earlier this year. It is of Regents Park in London UK. It was painted on 300 lb. French watercolor paper.

The next painting is an older painting I re-worked about three weeks ago. I tried to add some darker values to give the piece a little more visual interest.

April 2015

Well spring has come. It is a fresh clean year. The air is crisp in the morning and the flowers are blooming. Below is a piece I started a few weeks ago, but finished last night.

This watercolor is of the Green Man pub located at Putney Heath in the UK. It is a nice pub to visit and relaxing on hot days during the summer. It measures 11" x15" and is for sale on my website: www.kenharris.com.

A quick smaller version of the streets of Aix-en-provence. If you are interested in buying an original watercolor, print, or note cards of any of my art email me at: ken@kenharris.com

I am recycling this image just for fun. It is an acrylic image of the Cinque Terre. Actually it is town of Vernazza, one of the "five cities" on the western coast of Italy. It is available as a card for sale at:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/236740994/cinque-terre-note-cards?ref=shop_home_active_1

March 2015

The painting below is of Oxford, UK. The painting tells a small story of a tourist enjoying a beautiful, late afternoon in July. If you are interested in buying an original watercolor, print, or note cards of any of my art email me at: ken@kenharris.com.

Just to let you know, the watercolor below measuring 11" x 15"(quarter sheet) is available on my Etsy store. It is a watercolor of the vineyards of San Luis Obispo, California wine region. It available for those interested in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK. Click Link below:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/216404441/original-watercolor-of-san-luis-obispo?

This is one that I may have posted before, but I like it. It is of Provence. They say artist should paint what they like. I like the rural country and towns around Provence.

Below are the latest paintings, as of March 1st, I have completed. I find it hard to make time to paint. It is easy to get distracted and not manage time well. Yet I find joy in painting watercolors and drawing. Today on my drive to work I saw clouds that look like they were painted with watercolor. The clouds looked a bit like my clouds in the watercolor sketch below, only better. The title of my sketch is, Jesus Walking on the Water.

The watercolor below is of Newport Harbor, California. It measures 15" x 22". It is painted on Arches 140 lb., cold-pressed watercolor paper. I started it a few weeks ago on location and finished yesterday, March 1.

Here is another painting I just finished as well. It measures 11" x 15". I have been painting my local scenic points of interest. 

Below ia painting of Fairford, UK. They have the Fairford Air Tattoo there every year in the summer.

Winter 2015

If you have a US mailing address you can now buy some of my art at my ETSY store, kenharris1

https://www.etsy.com/shop/kenharris1?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Here is my first painting for 2015. It is a watercolor based on a photo I took in
Paris near the Louvre in 2013. The title is Les Trois Femmes. The water in the foreground is there because it had down poured a few hours earlier. It was a hot and humid day in July. Click on any image to see a better view.

This  was painted January 8, 2015 from a photo I took in 2013. It is entitled Gray Skies Over Paris.

Below is Crystal Cove State Beach, California. It is a beach located in Orange County California. It has been preserved to look like it did in California 60 years ago.

This is watercolor is of Los Osos in late September. Great sunset that day.

Below is an oil painting version of the above painting. It is entitled Morro Bay Sunset.

This painting below is entitled The Streets of Paris. I painted it from my emotional memory and a photo I took when I was in Paris in 2013. 

This is an old watercolor I did A few years back when My wife and I went to the San Bernardino Mountains.

Here is another older watercolor form 1997. It is a painting entitled Snow Gums. The location is near Mt. Buller in Victoria, Australia.

This  I just finished this morning, February 6. It is watercolor of Newport Beach, California. If you would like to buy some of my art go to kenharris1 on Etsy.