The Inspiration Behind My Paintings (Part One)

I often take my painting equipment with me when I go on tropical vacations. There are times when I sit on the beach or in a chair and paint right on location. Other times I take photos and create the painting back in my studio. In either case, the true inspiration comes from the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of the tropical environments.

While going through some reference photos recently, I thought that I would show you some examples of the actual scenes and the paintings that sprung out of them.

We begin with my location on Magens Bay beach, where I painted plein air. I'm holding the resulting painting (Tree at Magens Bay).  The original is available at: Tree at Magens Bay

Tree at Magens Bay by Alan Zawacki

A photo of a small deserted island ocean pool in the Exumas (Bahamas) and my interpretation of the scene (Ocean Pool). The original is available at: Ocean Pool

Ocean Pool by Alan Zawacki

A photo of a terrace scene in St. Thomas and the resulting plein air painting (South Terrace Blossoms) created on location. The original is available at: South Terrace Blossoms

South Terrace Blossoms by Alan Zawacki

And lastly, I snapped this photo on Siesta Key Beach, Florida one day as a little girl searched through the shallow water.

 And, my painting – Siesta Key Searching. The original is available at: Siesta Key Searching

Siesta Key Searching by Alan Zawacki

I continue to be captivated by the beautiful little things in tropical places. I want to capture then all.

Stay tuned for Part Two of The Inspiration Behind My Paintings in the near future.

Have a great weekend,

Alan

This One’s for Me

One of the perks of being an artist is the ability to decorate the walls of my own place with paintings (that I’ve created). I had done a painting a while back of a Caribbean porch scene and gave it to my step-son as a gift to help decorate his place. I always had an attraction to the scene of relaxing on a porch that sits on the clear turquoise Caribbean water – so – I created another larger one for me.

I call this 48”x48” acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, Deckside Happy Hour. I may list it for sale sometime in the future, but for the time-being, I am going to enjoy it on my wall.

Have a great weekend!

Alan

Depth Perception

I have always been fascinated by the phenomena of the reflectiveness, refraction and transparency of water. It can be easily seen by standing at the end of a large swimming pool or in knee deep crystal clear Caribbean ocean water on a sunny day. 

As you look at the water in the distance, you mostly see the reflection of the sky on the surface of the water. As your eye draws a little closer to where you’re standing, the surface reflection diminishes and you begin to see through the water to the bottom. Also, at the transition point, underwater objects seem flattened by the angle of your line of site sight and the refraction of light through the water. As you look down toward your feet the refraction diminishes and you see objects in there truer form.

This is what I wanted to portray with this peaceful painting, Depth Perception (24”x48” acrylic on gallery wrap canvas).

Depth Perception by Alan Zawacki

Clouds and blue sky reflect off of the surface of the calm water in the distance. As your eye moves down closer to where you are standing you begin to see the somewhat flattened appearance of the coral outcroppings on the bottom. 

 

Depth Perception - close-up detail

Then, you look down just a few feet away and you can see completely though the water at the fish swimming around their coral homes. The sunlight that penetrates through the shallow water dances across the bottom in fleeting geometric shapes. 

Depth Perception by Alan Zawacki - available on Houzz

I enjoyed this process so much, I think I will have to do more of these scenes. 

Have a great week, everyone!

Alan

Progression of a Still Life

I occasionally get the inspiration to create a still life painting, especially when the weather outside is not favorable to setting up for a location plein air painting. This time, I thought that I might document how I go about creating a still life. There are many, many artists that are much better at creating still life paintings than I. But since I enjoy it, I will continue to practice, practice, practice.

First, I set up a make-shift arrangement in my studio with some direct lighting on the subject.

Then, I quickly sketched the composition in pencil, just to see if I liked the layout.

OK. I liked that, so I used some paint to lay in the basic shapes.

Now, I wanted to apply some basic color. It didn't have to be spot on at this stage. I just wanted to get it close.

Next, I wanted to refine the color and shapes a bit more.

It's time to lay in some background. I used a white blanket for my actual set-up because that's all I had at the time, but I wanted to create a colored background to add interest. I also began to work on the reflections on the glass of wine.

Lastly, I darkened the background again, added the cashew nuts, and refined the color and detail.

The framed painting ---- Simple Snack (11"x14" acrylic on canvas board).

That was fun. 
By the way, when I was done, I ate and drank the props. Can't let anything go to waste.

Have a great week,
Alan