Nature Walk

Nature Walk
Acrylic on gessobord
8”x10”
Chris Breier © 2017

I've painted this lake many times over the past few years. Anybody who follows my work should know that I get a lot of my inspiration for my paintings from taking walks in nature or near bodies of water. I enjoy the solitude and the seclusion from the stress of modern life. I believe every body should take time away from cell phones, email, social media, and work each day to daydream and think about things.

Trees at Lake Audubon

Trees at Lake Audubon
Acrylic on Canvas
8"x10"
Chris Breier © 2017

This is one of my favorite paintings, I should probably keep it for myself and frame it. It has all of my favorite features: water reflections, fall foliage, interesting tree shapes, and dramatic lighting. I also used the point of the brush handle to scrape out the tree trunks on the opposite side of the lake. That's normally hard to do with acrylic because it dries so quickly, but if you're quick or mist the paint with water to keep it wet, it can be done. The original painting is available.

Audubon Sunrise

Audubon Sunrise
Acrylic on Raymar canvas panel
8"x10"
Chris Breier © 2017

This painting was something of an experiment with color. I had a photograph that had a pleasing composition but the colors were boring because of the overcast–so I decided to invent my own color scheme. I used mostly yellow oxide, orange, and purple. I was a little concerned that it would come out too colorful but neutralized some of the brighter oranges with the purple. The original painting is for sale through email $160 plus $10 shipping USPS priority mail with the standard insurance ($50).

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday Afternoon
Watercolor and ink on paper
5”x7”
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is available. I waited until a warm fall day to visit Lake Audubon to take a walk. I brought my camera with me to take reference photos and I used them to create a series of small watercolor paintings. They were created with a similar technique, I first sketched out the scene in ink and when it dried I added washes of watercolor. The paper is Fabriano Artistico hot press which has a smooth surface that works well for drawing with and ink pen; it also allows for subtle watercolor effects.

Birch Tree

Birch Tree
Acrylic on Gessobord
8”x10”
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is for sale, click to bid in the auction.

I enjoy taking walks around Audubon lake, it's located near a local library so I stop there when I have books to drop off. Some sections of the park are heavily wooded but I like how this birch tree adds interest to the lake by breaking up the space and the white bark is a nice contrast to the darker areas. I used light blue to paint in the shapes of the sky holes, which are the pieces of sky between the branches. When I completed the painting I thought the way that I handled the branches looked a little reminiscent of a Mondrian tree painting.