Paintings

[Watson]

Inspiration is an awesome quality to motivate with direction, focus and concentration. Unfortunately it doesn't usually stick around to see the job done.

This particular painting was started several decades ago, and then inspiration went away. The canvas moved with me to three homes, and was one of many incomplete painting that should have been tossed out. But I looked at it a few weeks ago, I thought I can finish this one. Inspiration had returned for this piece. So this one literally took about 30 years to complete.

I'm working on several such paintings, waiting in storage all these years, now getting finished with a new inspiration.

[sponge]

Good one, Watson. Was this painted from life? If so where was/is it - if you can remember after all those years. :)

[Watson]

It was more from the imagination, but there is a falls that I visited on occasion, but it was more wet rocks than meandering water. And a bit of a steep climb to the top, but the foliage is about right.

This is a still earlier painting, likely painted after visiting the same falls. This is a bit over exposed from the original. I guess I was to close with the flash.

[zetreque]

I like the meandering one. You could call it finished if you wanted.

[sponge]

You've captured the atmosphere for sure.

[BioWizard]

Hey Watson! I didn't know you paint. Cool stuff. Avatar bear is still my favorite (my artistic taste is a bit retro).
Always happy to know more artists are around.
Shall we move this thread into the Arts forum (and maybe split off the bit about economics)?

[Dave_Oblad]

Hi Watson,

I'm really enjoying your art. I especially like the one with the Water Mill. I haven't done any digital art in a very long time so thought I'd shake out the cob webs and try to mimic your Mill in Digital. Took about 2 hours to build the model and about 4 hours to texture everything.. but here are the results:

The Water Mill

I tried painting years ago.. too hard.. needs lots more patience than I have..lol.

Bravo on all your art my friend. You're a very talented fellow.

Best regards,
Dave :^)

[zetreque]

I have never seen a 3d landscape created to emulate a painting which emulates a real landscape done before. Well done! I like looking at them both at the different nice qualities.

I especially like the meadow areas in the background and how they each have a different feel.

PS: I'm not sure we need to split off any part of the thread. There is an economics factor to art. :)
I could support my statement but I don't want to get off topic so we could split that part off I guess.
It is great to have your paintings as part of art on the forum Watson (and Dave)!

[Watson]

Hey Watson! I didn't know you paint. Cool stuff. Avatar bear is still my favorite (my artistic taste is a bit retro).
Always happy to know more artists are around.
Shall we move this thread into the Arts forum (and maybe split off the bit about economics)?

Yes, but the paints were put away for some years. Just in the past several months that I pulled it all out of storage and set up a bit of a studio. It was always the plan for some day. Year of the Monkey is some day. Who knew. It wasn't marked on the calendar?
Seems it is like riding a bike. I'm posting a painting a day on twitter, if you do that.
https://twitter.com/DWiliamson/media

[Watson]

Hi Dave,
I recognized it immediately. The digital really has an interesting look. For some reason I thought you could do your pictures a bit quicker than that. Given your commitment of time, I appreciate your picture of my picture og Grant's Mill. Here's the mill from about the same angle http://www.grantsoldmill.ca/ but I had a better vantage point to paint from probably in about 1995-97.

[Dave_Oblad]

Hi Watson,

Did a Google search on Grant's Old Mill. Very interesting.. lots of images.. mostly after its been reconstructed and restored. Here is one such image from Twitter:

Current view of Grants Old Mill

Older photo of Mill

Cool.. Now we have your Painting from about 20 years ago, my rendition of your painting and now a photo as it stands today.. a museum open to the public. Some photos show the inside and the front.. very neat!

Best wishes,
Dave :^)

[Watson]

This was my back yard growing up. We had the on going commentary of our favorite #NHL players breaking, shooting, scoring, or of coarse the big save? And someone always won the Stanley Cup, at dinner time.

Painting of the day. https://twitter.com/DWiliamson

[zetreque]

Nice, I like the raccoon too.

[Watson]

Thanks. That was one I didn't really like at the time. Something about it didn't appeal to my eye. It was more put away out of frustration than finished to my satisfaction.
Now I do like it.
As an artist, you need to push your own limits. You also need to know when to stop.

[dandelion]

Very nice, thanks.
(I'd seen some of this thread before but didn't find it when I meant to comment.)

[weakmagneto]

LOVE the raccoon painting, Watson. That raccoon looks so cute! :)

[Watson]

LOVE the raccoon painting, Watson. That raccoon looks so cute! :)

Well hello stranger. Thank you. It has grown on my over the years. Now I really like it too. Funny, I have all these paintings, and no place to hang them. My home is almost all windows.

[zetreque]

LOVE the raccoon painting, Watson. That raccoon looks so cute! :)

Well hello stranger. Thank you. It has grown on my over the years. Now I really like it too. Funny, I have all these paintings, and no place to hang them. My home is almost all windows.

Irony

[Watson]

This is one a several paintings I have on the go at the moment.

[zetreque]

Prince

[Watson]

Yes, Prince. Here is the progression so far.

[Watson]

Here is the more or less finished painting.

[Watson]

In answer to your question some time ago, zetreque, Prince took about 6 weeks, but it did sit unattended for long periods, or maybe I would intend to work on it, but just sit, thinking about it. Very frustrating.

Other times a work comes together more quickly. This one, I started yesterday afternoon and finished, more or less today. May still tweak it, but maybe not.

It is the gas station of my childhood just up the road. Painted from a photo, and best memory I could come up with. It is now a restaurant, garden center. Also working on the local railway station from the same period.

My work is at https://twitter.com/DWiliamson

[Watson]

This one is the old rail Station, that served our community up until about 1960. The building is now a museum of sorts, so that part is accurate. The locomotive in the back is part truth, part Harry Potter. I'll have to tweak the roof and landing a bit. Good to have a couple on the go at the same time.

[Watson]

What do you think? To subtle?

[Watson]

A recent painting of the Coast Guard.

[zetreque]

Watson,
Ever painted fireworks before? You just gave me the idea that painting some fireworks might be a way of celebrating the up coming holiday in silence. :)
A moment of silence for those who have given their lives to make their country (where ever you live) what it is today.

[Watson]

It is hard to painting a bright object like the sun or moon without it looking like a patch of white paint. I imagine the same for fireworks, looking like spots of colored paint. Using clouds and reflections can give the sun and moon some context, but I don't know how that would work with fireworks. I'm sure it can be done and likely has been done. But I'll keep it in mind.

[TheVat]

With fireworks, you might have to go all Jackson Pollock. Heh.

[Watson]

Some how I just don't see that happening.