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Step-by-step: Painting the bell tower and waterfall of Longwood Gardens

Chimes Tower at Longwood Gardens, Watercolor. 9"x12". Here's a step-by-step look at how this watercolor landscape was made.  Inspiration was rooted in many family visits to Longwood Gardens outside of Philadelphia. We had ice cream near this pond that features a small waterfall and a bell tower from which musical chimes can be heard playing. Step 1 I sketched out the composition, placing the tower in one of the thirds of the image.  Step 2 I placed washes of blue for the sky and green for all of the areas of foilage. I also placed base colors for the tower, dry ground, and stones.  Step 3 Next, I used richer and darker greens to make shadows in trees, bushes, and ivy on the tower. I also began coloring shadows in the tower. Step 4 I painted more shadows under leaves and stones to suggest detail, using a variety of light and dark greens.  Step 5 I painted shadows and details for the left half of the wooded...
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How to draw - step by step process drawing a cow in pencil and ink

Longhorn cow.  Pen and ink sketch.  2017 I took photos of the steps taken to draw this longhorn cow for day 4 of Inktober. We encountered this very pretty cow during one visit to Lake Tobias. The materials I used were: a cell phone photo, sketchbook, .07 mechanical pencil, kneaded eraser, Faber Castell ink pens and brush pen, and a water brush filled with a mix of reddish watercolor ink.  1) First, I drew a rectangle box to contain the shape of the body and a triangle that would contain the shape of the head. I then drew straight lines to mark off angles and body parts. Next, I began drawing lines to define the cow's form. 2) I drew lines within the straight line boxes to define the animal's form and parts. 3) After the shape of the cow and its parts were defined, I began to draw little details and mark areas where shading and color could be added later. 4) I outlined the pencil lines with ink and used a water brush filled with ...
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Storefront Plein Air Challenge

Saturday, September 2, I went out at 7:30 AM to paint the Leola Thrift Shoppe. The sky was overcast, but I wanted to complete the storefront challenge opened by James Gurney, which had officially ended two days before, and also start using my new customized outdoor easel. I setup my watercolors and began with a careful sketch of the storefront. I used a ruler to help with straight lines and angles and to estimate perspective. When the shop manager arrived, I explained what I was up to and requested permission to continue. She was very encouraging and expressed interest in seeing the final result. Customized outdoor easel After correcting the sketch to a satisfying degree, I began painting quickly, mixing and adjusting colors as needed on the fly. It began to rain, so I held an umbrella in one hand after unsuccessfully clamping it to the side of the easel. Before opening time, two associates, one of whom happens to have plans to study art, arrived and came over to see my ...
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