PLAY IN PROGRESS

Here are some progress shots of the painting that I'm currently playing on (I don't call it "work in progress" because it's too much fun to create). The most recent shots are at the beginning, so just scroll to see how the painting came together. Click on the image to see a larger version.

WHARFSIDE REFLECTIONS

This painting is based on a picture of a foggy Nova Scotian fishing wharf that I took on Canada day 2023. The title is a nod to my previous painting "Dockside Reflections" because the theme is so similar: namely, that the dock in the foreground is reflected in the water and the background fades away in the mist.

Aug 5, 2023

I'm almost done the main part of the painting, all that's left after I finish the warehouse and blend the foggy trees some more is the experimental part I've been thinking about. It may or may not work. If it doesn't, I risk ruining the original but at least I can photoshop it out of the prints!
I don't plan on posting anymore progress shots, so the next post will be the final product!

July 31, 2023

It feels like I've been painting this for months, but the photo on which it is based was taken on July 1st!
Here's the latest progress with some of the warehouse and the foggy trees in the background complete.

July 21, 2023

... and now the fishing boat has a reflection too!

July 19, 2023

Here's the latest on my latest. I've added the reflection of the trees in the water beneath the wharf...

July 16, 2023

Got a chance to paint today for the first time in days, and added some more detail to the wharf....

July 8, 2023

I was painting too much today to do any painting 😀. (I've been painting the outside of my house).
Here's the latest on my watercolour painting in progress. I've got more of the wharf done.
There was no flag in the original picture, but I figured, since the picture was taken on Canada Day, it needed to be added.

July 7, 2023

Zoom in on the boat, eh?
I've got the preliminary play done on the fishing boat. One of the things I love about watercolours is how they can make things like the antenna structure look misty if I use lots of water and don't overwork the area. The background is supposed to be shrouded in fog, after all.

July 5, 2023

Here's the pencil outline for my next painting. Based on a photo I took on Canada Day, it has all my favourite things to paint: rocks, old wood, old buildings, and (of course) boats. You can't see it now, but the whole background will be shrouded in fog. I have something new I want to try. Fingers crossed that it will work!
Next step is to research old fishing warehouses to see how I can decorate this one...

LIGHTING IN A BOTTLE

I've been very much enjoying painting boats inside bottles over the last few years, so I'm going to shake things up and paint a lighthouse inside the bottle this time! The fabulous background is from a trip to Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy.

June 16, 2023

Presenting the finished watercolour painting: "Lighting in a Bottle!"

Visit the product page for this painting to get more information about how it came to be and the Easter Eggs hidden within. It's a long story, but it's well worth the read!

June 11, 2023

I can't remember if I've already mentioned that I'm planning on calling this painting "Lighting in a Bottle." Figured it made sense and was an amusing play on words.
Anyway, here's today's progress. I've finished the rocks surrounding the bottle, and have tried to render the ones in behind as if they're slightly out of focus.
Now on to the sea and sky!

June 7, 2023

I'm grateful to have been able to carve out some painting time after such a lengthy break. Progress is going pretty quickly with a handful of rocks (as well as my lost smartphone) new today...

June 2, 2023

The bottle is coming along. All that's left is the neck...

May 31, 2023

Finally getting a chance to get back to painting after the big move to Nova Scotia, so I thought I'd pick up where I'd left off on my "Lighting in a Bottle" painting of the Grand Manan lighthouse in a bottle on the Long Eddy beach.
I've now got the bottom of the bottle complete!

Nov 23, 2022

I've given the lighthouse a proper base and am loving how the distorted background behind the lighthouse looks like a dark and stormy sky, giving the whole thing a moody feel.

Nov 19, 2022

It didn't take long to come up with the perfect title for this painting. Although I had initially liked "Lighthouse in a Bottle," it didn't take long to realize that "Lighting in a Bottle" was much better because of the fact that it played with words and against expectations.

Nov 18, 2022

I started painting the lighthouse in the bottle at the Home for the Holidays Show in Markham, Ontario.

VOYAGEUR SPIRITS

We're joining this show already in progress! I've been doing a lousy job keeping this page up to date so here's a current progress image of my latest boat in a bottle painting, this time a voyageur canoe with passengers against the background of Burleigh Falls.

Sept 18, 2022

I know that, like our children, we’re not supposed to pick our favourite paintings, but I’m not going to lie: this one has struck a chord within me.
Presenting my latest watercolour painting: "Voyageur Spirits." I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out

Sept 18, 2022

Portrait of the artist's son, hard at play. He's been asking if he can paint a part of it for days, so I finally gave him a spot...

Sept 13, 2022

I'm taking my time painting the details of the background behind the #voyageurcanoe #boatinabottle, and I'm very happy with the way it's turning out...

This will be my last post until it's finished! Probably in the week of Sept 19th!

Sept 9, 2022

More of the rock on which the #boatinabottle with the #voyageurcanoe is resting. Does it look sufficiently wet?

Sept 7, 2022

I shifted my attention away from the blurry background today to focus on the foreground (focus - get it?)

One of the challenges of this composition was to interpret the rock on which the bottle is resting as wet. Obviously, the source image made it look that way, but I'm trying to enhance aspects of it to make the wetness even more obvious. So far, I'm happy with the results.

Sept 6, 2022

The background behind the bottle will be based on pictures I took of Burleigh Falls earlier this month. Here's a chunk of that background made to look blurry in order to make the bottle and the canoe look more like models.

September 5, 2022

I was at the Kawartha Arts Festival in Fenelon on the weekend, and demonstrated watercolour painting by starting to add a background to the bottle

Summer 2022

I started this painting in July, and worked at it during several of my art shows. At this point, the bottle with the voyageur canoe and passengers is pretty much done and I will begin to add the background.

SNOWY OWL

Just as I was thinking about getting back into painting, a friend of mine posted an awesome picture of a snowy owl online, and I was inspired! This will be a big painting (30" by 22"), and will depict a rural agricultural scene with lots of split-rail fences!

Dwayne R. James

Watercolourist & Writer

Play in Progress

WHARFSIDE REFLECTIONS

LIGHTING IN A BOTTLE

VOYAGEUR SPIRITS

SNOWY OWL