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. 

December 2014

Well, we are ending up the year. I have been painting a lot in my sketchbook, which I don't feel so intimidated about, and I have been learning so much by doing that. The more you paint the more little secrets about how to paint is revealed to you. The more you paint the more confident you become and you also paint much faster as well. Below are some paintings from my sketchbook. The one directly below is Regents Park in London. My son took this photo. If you are interested in buying an original watercolor, print, or note cards of any of my art email me at: ken@kenharris.com.

Below is somewhere in the Caribbean from a photo I saw on FB.

The tugboat is a harbor tug in Newport Harbor in California. I have always liked tugboats. Probably because I worked on them for a short while when I was younger.

The grapes are a sketch I did for fun. I grew up around vineyards when I was a kid.

This is a re-run of Le Grand Marche d'Aix. It is a painting that hangs above my stove.

Fall 2014

Fall has always been my favorite season. Growing up in northern California I liked the colors of the  grape leaves and the changing weather. We had what is called an "Indian" summer then. The days could get warm but the nights were cool. These were a hint to Thanksgiving and Christmas. My first painting for fall was painted on the central coast of California. It is entitled Baywood Sunset. If you are interested in buying an original watercolor, print, or note cards of any of my art email me at: ken@kenharris.com.

This painting I finished in November. It is entitled, "Bright Winter Morning in Aix".

The Next Painting Is of Newport Harbor, California. I started it on location and finished it at home. I find that a good way to work. I obtain my information on location and then personalize it when I get home.

This is a sketch I did on location in Huntington Beach on an unusual hot day recently. click on the painting to view a larger version.

This is a painting, quarter-sheet (11" x 15"), of the beach at Encinitas California. I started it on location and finished it in my studio. Dong Kingman employed the same practice. He would start a painting in the morning. Go home take a break and then finish what he was working on. This painting and others  are available to purchase. Contact me at ken@kenharris.com.

The title of this painting Is "Davis November". I used a limited palette of Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and Indian Red.

This is an abstract watercolor I was influenced by JMW Turner

 This is about Tasmania. It is based on a photo an Australian Friend sent us.

Below is a still life I did this fall 2014. I did it with my students.

The beach scene below is a of a fall sunset at Newport Beach, CA. 

The vineyard is in the San Luis Obispo Wine growing region of central California.