Alaskan Spring 2022

Below is a view of the iconic mountain near my house called Pioneer Peak. This also was started in April but finished at the end of May, 2022. The watercolor measures 15" x 20". Like the painting below, the mountain and the Matanuska Valley still have a lot of Snow as well as ice. This is Alaska. That is how it is in April.

Started focusing my paintings on a local mountain Called Pioneer Peak. The winter snow has melted for us in the valley, but it will linger on another month or two on the mountains around us. Painted this version in the late afternoon of April. This painting has already sold and measures 11" x 15".

Winter 2022

 This I painted in my sketchbook from a photo. The weather warmed up a bit in February and the snow started to melt and created  large mud puddles. I liked the lighting in the photo. It had a moody feeling. I used a limited palette of mostly Ultra Marine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Cerulean Blue and Pthalo Green.

Below is a little watercolor sketch I did this winter for fun. It is titled, La Parisien. I used two colors Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna.

Watercolor I did of 1930s Actress Ann Harding from a Pathé Pictures lithographic movie poster. Fun to do the portrait in watercolor.

 

Fall Watercolors 2021

The below painting measuring 15" x 22" was painted on Winsor & Newton Watercolor paper. It was old watercolor paper that had been deeded to me. I wasn't impressed the first time I used it a while back, but I felt it worked quite well with this painting I call, "Palmer Pioneer Barn".

This is another Watercolor Sketch painted on cheap drawing paper. I paint quickly and try not to use much water because the paper is so thin, but still the paper buckles. It is basically a portrait of the Knik River valley. In the distant, not rendered, is where the Kink glacier located. 

This painting is of Wasilla, Alaska during the 1950s. The vintage cars fascinated me, I owned a car similar to the vehicle in the middle. I was also intrigued by the fact that the roads had not been paved yet.

Below is a watercolor about fall in the Matanuska Valley, north of Anchorage. It is a small lake near where I live that has rainbow trout in it. I have fished there many times and have not done so well. I felt like I needed a boat.The Alaskan sunsets there are stunning. The fishing can be good though. I witnessed a native Alaskan Fellow catch a huge 19 inch rainbow trout. He was fishing right next to me when he caught it. I vowed to go back the next evening and fish, but I got Covid. This is a nice painting. I sold it right away when I displayed it online.

This next fishing scene is about fishing on the Knik river in Alaska during the "Silver" run in August. A friend of mine who is an expert angler took me fishing. Each time we went the weather was different. This day was foggy. Quiet and peaceful. I painted this on 12" x 14" sketch paper using two colors, Ultra Marine Blue and Burnt Sienna. I also added touches of white gouache on the ripples and gravel shoreline.

Summer 2021

For summer I will start out with a flower, a red poppy, I painted for a notecard set that is available on my ETSY site, KenHarrisWatercolors. Click here to visit my shop, https://www.etsy.com/shop/KenHarrisWatercolors?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

It looks really nice printed on a notecard with a simple white background. These are not only beautiful cards, they are a unique and make a great gift. I painted the red poppy using wet and dry brush techniques.

The watercolor below I painted in August, 2021. It won a Premium 2nd Place in the professional Category at the Alaska State Fair this year. It measures 15" x 22" and is painted on Arche Watercolor paper. It is entitled, Matanuska Valley Sunrise. It is a view from the Palmer Hay Flats with the sun rising behind Pioneer Peak in the background. 

This is a unique view of Palmer, AlaskaI painted from a watercolor sketch of three other interpretive views of the Palmer Water Tower.

This is a painting of Matanuska Peak which I can sometimes see from my house.

Below is a watercolor sketch I did in Palmer, Alaska one day on location (plein air).

This is a quick watercolor sketch I did from my front porch one morning in the Matanuska Valley also considered Plein Air.

The above watercolor was a quick watercolor for a very small class I was teaching. I liked the design, thus I am showing it to you.

One more, which I did actually in 2020. I painted this quickly on student drawing paper. You have to paint dry because the paper does not handle water well. It is a man fishing in Alaska based on my own experiences and imagination. Is imagination a bunch of memories creatively rearranged?

Winter 2021

Winter in Alaska is interesting–it is very cold as well as beautiful beautiful. Especially the color of the sun on the snow. It's all about the light! The image below is one of my notecard paintings. It is of Forgrt-Me-Not. I sell watercolor notecards with blank insides so people can send a note! I saw a slogan the other day that basically said, "Send a Notecard and Brighten Somebody's Mail Box, not their In Box."

The painting below is about southern California. It is a commission I did recently of The San Clemente pier in Orange County, California.

Below is another commission I just completed a few weeks ago. It is about a morning sunset at Cape May, New Jersy. I enjoyed making this painting.

The fishing boat is from a photo I saw on FB. It is a fishing vessel docked at Newport, Oregon. It is sketch I did in my sketch book.

This next is a rerun. It is from a photo a friend of mine took in France. I suspect it is near Giverny.

FALL 2020, Alaska and Beyond

This is the second wave watercolor I painted. It measures 15" x 22" (38cm x 56cm). I like the abstract quality of the wave I discovered while painting it. I wanted to portray the motion and power of the wave. It has already sold.

The painting above is of a winter sunset here in Alaska. The days are short as the sun travels along the southern horizon. The trees are dormant and the air is crisp and cold. The size of this water color is 11" x 15" (28cm x 38cm). Click photo to view a larger size.

Fall surprised us with natural beauty. The beauty of Alaska changes almost every day into a new event of wonder. Below is a painting based on a lake I go fishing at.

This tapestry of color was growing in front of our house. Our front yard transition from a lush free forest spotted with wild flowers to a kaleidoscope of fall fauna.

Alaska Farm was inspired by one bright, crisp fall morning in Alaska. The color had almost faded, but the lighting on the landscape was beautiful.

Snow came at the beginning of November this year. I completed this watercolor sketch of the front of our property from inside the house looking out the window. It was painted on an old piece of Fabriano, Italian watercolor paper. I liked the texture on the paper. 

The above watercolor is a sketch I made this fall from a photo I took when I was in Aix-en-Provence in 2010. I like the old buildings. I wonder if Cézanne's sense of geometric shapes was influenced by his home town. See his painting below.

The flowers below, were a quick sketch I did while visiting relatives. I painted them quickly in an impressionistic style for fun.

  

Summer in Alaska 2020

This watercolor is of Iris setosa. It is a rhizomatous perennial from a wide range across the Arctic sea, including Alaska, Maine, Canada, Russia, northeastern Asia, China, Korea and southwards to Japan. My watercolor painting, shown here, is part of an eight card note set of Alaskan Wildflowers available at my ETSY shop, Ken Harris watercolors. https://www.etsy.com/listing/851756451/alaska-wildflowers-note-cards-set-of-8?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1

This next watercolor, Pioneer Peak, I painted on location then I finished it at my studio. The Sky and Mountain were fu to do. I did a pencil sketch of the mountain to study the form of the peak. The rest was thoughtful composition, try a few different directions.

The watercolor below is the first watercolor I did of the summer. I went out at 8:00pm at night to paint it. In Alaska during the summer I can paint till probably 11:00pm. I stopped working on it at 9:30pm and finished it a few weeks later in my studio. The lighting in Alaska even at 11:00pm is amazing.

The flowers below, are of Wild Roses that grow all over the Matanuska Valley in the spring. I have never seen so many roses, just growing wild. Alaska has a large variety of unique wild flowers that grow in the fields in the summer. They are growing all around our house.

Two renditions of the same subject, the Palmer, Alaska water tower. These were studies in different color and value treatment based on the "California Style".

This watercolor I started on location is of a water tower in the town of Palmer, Alaska. It maybe the tallest structure in the town, so it is the local landmark that the residents are proud of in this eclectic town. I like the lighting.