Sunset at Buffalo Harbor

Acrylic on Gessobord
8" x 10"
Chris Breier © 2017

I visited the Buffalo Harbor on a Sunday evening with my brother, it's a great place to take a walk and relax. The weather was great and the sun was close to the horizon. I brought my camera so that I could take reference photos to work from in my studio. I was looking for a scene that would include the boats and the reflection of the sun in the water.

Yachts and Mills

Yachts and Mills
Acrylic on gessobord 3/4" thick (cradled)
16"x20"
Chris Breier © 2017

I happened to stumble upon this boatyard when I was walking around the Buffalo waterfront. The buildings in the background are part of General Mills which is still active. Depending on which way the wind is blowing, I can often smell the aroma of Cheerios when I walk around the city on my lunch break. I assume they also make the chocolate variety because the neighborhood occasionally smells like brownies.



The large shadow on the left side of the building is from a billboard and the horizontal shadow below it is the shadow from the Skyway. I was going to eliminate it, but it's a subtle way to incorporate the Skyway into the painting. It's somewhat of an icon in the city and you can tell when the winter weather is especially severe because it closes down.

I like how this painting captures Buffalo's industrial history and the recreational aspsect of being located on the Great Lakes.

The gessobord is 3/4" thick with the edges
left unpainted. It has a wire attached
to the back so it's ready to hang.

Boat Hulls

Boat Hulls
Acrylic on gessobord 3/4" thick (cradled)
16"x20"
Chris Breier © 2017

I had spent the evening taking pictures of the Buffalo waterfront when I spotted these sailboats at a local boatyard. The sun was setting so I had to hurry before the boats disappeared into the shadows. I kept snapping pictures but I couldn't get anything that I liked. I was close to running out of daylight when I had the idea to find a different vantage point, so I squatted down and took a few pictures. Bingo! All of the distractions on the ground were out of sight, and the blue sky provided a simplified
background.



Most of my paintings are on 1/8" flat panels but for this painting I used a "cradled" panel that's 3/4" thick. I left the edges natural. There's a wire on the back so it can be hung without a frame. If you prefer a frame, the Ampersand Float Frame is a simple solution and you can do it yourself, or you can take it to a picture framer. Here are the instructions for how to install the float frame.

Most of my paintings are on 1/8" flat panels
but for this painting I used a "cradled" panel
that's 3/4" thick. I left the edges unpainted.
There's a wire on the back so it's ready to hang!

Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen
Pen and ink, and watercolor on paper
8”x10”
Chris Breier © 2017

Watkins Glen is a great place to visit during the summer. I like to eat lunch by the water and then take a boat tour of Seneca Lake. This drawing is of the boats docked at the marina. I used pen and ink for the drawing and then applied washes of Payne's Grey watercolor. I used the Payne's Grey because it has a slight blue tint which I thought would be more interesting than the neutral gray that I get from ink.

Country Boats

Country Boats
Watercolor and ink on paper
8"x10"
© 2017 Chris Breier

When you first glanced at this painting I bet you didn't notice the house peaking out between the trees in the background. While I was working on this painting, I daydreamed about what it would be like to live there. I could take the boat out on the lake on a hot summer day, and tend to the tomato patch in the backyard. Perhaps a fire pit would be nice for those cold summer nights. Someday...
The original painting is available.

Boats at Newfane Marina

 

Boats at Newfane Marina
Acrylic on Raymar canvas panel
8"x10"

I've painted this marina a number of times already, mostly in watercolor. I decided to take a more impressionistic approach and paint the basic shapes in a loose manner. A marina often looks like a jumble of white abstract shapes with an occasional splash of bright color, and few vertical masts. While that sounds simple, it's often difficult to reduce a subject matter down to it's essence. Painted on archival 1/8" thick Raymar canvas panel. This painting is available.  Bid in the ebay auction

Watercolor: Heat Wave

Heat Wave
8" x 10"
Watercolor on Paper

The temperatures are more tolerable now that it's mid-September. This summer has been the hottest summer I have ever experienced. Whenever it gets hot and humid I like to escape to Olcott where I can relax by the water and cool off. I'll often drive out there with my brother on the weekends. We packed a lunch and spent the day relaxing by the lake. Before we left, we stopped by the marina to take some photos of the boats. I enjoy the sounds of the water and the seagulls, I think it's because I associate it with warm weather and summer fun. While the heat can be uncomfortable, it won't be long before the temperature drops down to single digits and then I'll wish it was "scorching hot" again! You can watch me paint this in the YouTube video below. The original painting is for sale.

Wilson Marina

Wilson Marina
8"x10"
Watercolor on paper
Chris Breier © 2016

The original painting is for sale. My brother and I spent the day at Wilson Marina working on paintings. At the end of the day we were going to head over to Bye's popcorn stand where they sell popcorn and caramel corn. It's a small white wood shack in the front yard of a house where they sell popcorn, it's very similar to a produce stand. We've been going there since we were kids. But first, I insisted that we stop at the boat harbor to take some pictures because it was "Golden hour" where the colors and shadows are dramatic.

I painted this in one session in my studio. You can watch the entire process on YouTube, the video is below.

The January 30 in 30 painting challenge is complete!

A sample of the 30 paintings
that I posted over the past month.

This is the second time that I've participated in the 30 in 30 painting challenge. I had a lot of fun with the subject matter, I even painted a vintage bicycle and a lighthouse. I appreciated all of the encouraging comments on facebook and my blog. To continue to see my paintings follow this blog or follow me on social media (Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, and Flickr).

Boatyard on Niagara

Boatyard on Niagara

Watercolor on paper

8”x10”

Chris Breier © 2016

The original painting is for sale. For this painting I used a limited palette of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, although I used a small amounts of other colors towards the end. I like working in a limited palette because it simplifies the color choices and I can focus more on the values.

Boatyard, Olcott NY (SOLD)

Boatyard, Olcott NY
8”x10”
Watercolor
Chris Breier © 2015

It was particularly hot on the day that I took the reference photo for this painting. Every time I visit, I notice this sailboat sitting in the same spot and I wonder if anyone takes it out on the water.

I was pleased with how the sky turned out, I painted clean water onto portions of the sky and then painted “wet into wet” to achieve the soft color transitions in the clouds. Foliage can be a trap; it’s better to represent the leaves with broad brush strokes with rough edges instead of trying to paint each individual leaf.

Newfane Marina

Newfane Marina
8”x10”
Watercolor & Gouache
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is for sale. I’m pleased with how the clouds turned out in this painting, even if I did get a few spatters on them. Would you believe me if I told you those are birds? Anyways, the sun was at low angle and the bright white of the boats created nice reflections in the water.

Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing
Watercolor and Gouache on paper
8”x10”
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is for sale. I started this painting with the wet into wet technique; I brushed clean water onto the paper and then applied the colors to it while it’s wet. This creates a softer look because the paint spreads out as you apply it, softening the edges of the brushstrokes. The distance that it spreads can be controlled somewhat by paying attention to how wet the paper is.

The soft edges were used to create a sense of distance by making some of the pilings in the distance blurry and lighter in value compared to the ones in the foreground.

Yacht Club

Yacht Club
5”x7” acrylic on gessobord
Chris Breier © 2015

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

I’ve painted boats on the water numerous times so I thought I would shake things up and paint a few yachts that are in storage at a local boatyard. It’s fun to walk around and see them close up. The hulls are normally hidden underwater so painting them on land allowed me to paint the shapes of the rudder and centerboard.

In case you’re wondering, the centerboard is the shape was on the bottom of the hull. I had to Google “yacht anatomy” to figure what it was called, I know nothing about boats.

NFTA Boat Harbor (SOLD)

NFTA Boat Harbor
5”x7” acrylic on gessobord
Chris Breier © 2015

I painted another of version of this boat harbor but this one includes more of the industrial architecture in the background. If you’re from Buffalo you may recognize the shapes of a few of the buildings. The Rand building is the one with the antenna on top of it. The tall building on the left is One Seneca Tower, formerly known as One HSBC Center.

Boat Harbor

Boat Harbor
5”x7” acrylic on gessobord
Chris Breier © 2015

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

I have painted boat harbors repeatedly, it’s a difficult subject to paint because of the complexity of boats. The secret is to simplify and merge similar shapes into larger shapes. The trick to creating a mirror like surface on the water is to paint the same colors that are in the sky but in reverse order.

Boats and Condos

The original painting is available.
This is another view from the observation tower at the Erie Basin Marina. I used a zoom lens to get a closer view of the boat docks. What attracted me to paint this image is that it’s realistic and yet it has a number of abstract qualities. The docks created a number of patterns and I enjoyed painting the silvery reflective surface of the lake. The roofs of the condos create another pattern of shapes and the dark shadows create a strong contrast with the water.

You may also be interested in another painting of a view from the same observation tower at Erie Basin Marina.

Yachts

8” x 10”
Watercolor (Qor watercolor on Arches rough)
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is available.
I took the reference photographs for this painting late in the day when the shadows were long and the sunlight was warm in color. What caught my attention was the way that the sun illuminated the grass and how I could use the green grass to contrast with the blue/purples. The long shadows add some directional lines in the painting and I used dry brushing to emphasize the texture of the gravel parking lot. I have painted this boatyard before, it's located near the grain elevators and the Skyway-which can be seen in the background.

Boats, Seneca Lake

Boats, Seneca Lake
8”x10” Acrylic on Paper
Chris Breier © 2014

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When I started this painting I knew that it was going to be difficult because of all of the complicated boat shapes. What make them difficult to paint is that they’re all white or off white which means that I have to create those shapes with a limited range of values (the value of a color refers to how light or dark it is). It’s much easier to define shapes if there’s a sharp edge with contrasting colors and values, such as a dark blue shape next to a bright yellow.

Watkins Glen Boat Harbor

Watkins Glen Boat Harbor
Acrylic on paper
8”x10”
© Chris Breier 2014

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I’ve painted Seneca Lake many times and I never become bored with it. I think the clouds are the most successful part of the painting. I got the colors of them just right with the muted blue/purple and the brighter warm whites on the tops. The sky can often be the most difficult part of a painting because sometimes there’s nothing interesting going on in the sky and I have to exaggerate or fabricate what’s there. The other problem is that the clouds and color gradations have to look spontaneous and not too fussed over.

Some of the motivation for creating this painting was an experiment to try to give the impression of a boat harbor without going into all of the minute details of every single boat. I did pick out a few of them and some details. This is always the challenge- to keep the painting spontaneous and yet capture enough detail to make it look believable.