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.

Niawanda Park

The original painting is for sale.

I have noticed that many of my painting ideas are found while I'm taking a walk, this painting is no exception. It's a good way to exercise and to be creative at the same time, although if I stop to take pictures too often then it's not exercise.

Niawanda Park has a nice walking path that follows the Niagara River, which is left of the trees but not visible in the painting. I began the painting with a pencil drawing and then I used thin washes of acrylic paint to lay down the basic colors. I used thicker paint in certain areas such as the trees and grass.

Niagara River (SOLD)

Niagara River
5”x7” acrylic on Gessobord

I often walk along the Niagara River and on this occasion I took a few reference photos to work from. I found this stretch of the river to be interesting because I could use the tree to break up the space of the painting. The small structure in the distance is an old swing bridge that used to swivel around to allow large boats to pass by. The reference photo for this painting was taken during a summer when we had a minor drought and the grass was dried out. The warm colors of the grass created a nice contrast with the water.

Grand Island Bridge

Grand Island Bridge
Pen and Ink on watercolor paper
5”x7”
Chris Breier ©2014

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This ink drawing is the view of the South Grand Island Bridge from Niawanda Park.

Below is a time lapse video of me working on this drawing. You'll notice that I don't draw with pencil first, I start with the pen and just draw over any mistakes that I make. Also, in the beginning you can see me making hatch marks where the important shapes are located and then connect them.

I stopped the video when I thought it was done but then I decided that it would look more dramatic if I darkened the bridge so that it was in silhouette. I think this could be Framed Ink influencing me. It's more suited for comic book artists or storyboard artists but it has a lot tips about composition, using negative space and other topics that apply to the visual arts.

If you liked this drawing you may be interested in other painting or drawings of the Grand Island Bridge.

Grand Island Bridge

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The challenge of this painting was to simplify the complexity of the bridges. I accomplished this by merging similar shapes and by eliminating the minor details. There are two bridges; one is Northbound and the other is Southbound. They are much taller than they appear in this mini painting! That narrow strip of light blue is the Niagara River.

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Swing Bridge, Tonawanda New York (SOLD)

Swing Bridge, Tonawanda New York
Acrylic on paper
8”x10”
© 2014 Chris Breier

The top part of this bridge used to swivel to span the the width of the canal so that trains could pass over Tonawanda Creek. It’s located near the mouth of the Niagara River. It’s larger than it appears in the painting- roughly 26 feet tall.

Niawanda Bike Path

Niawanda Bike Path
Acrylic on Paper
8”x10”
Chris Breier © 2014

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I took the reference photo for this painting in the evening at Niawanda Park. You can't see it in the painting but the Niagara River is to the left, just over those shrubs. It's a nice place to exercise and cool off during the summer months. This is the perfect painting to contemplate when it's almost March and the low temperatures for the day are still in the single digits!

What grabbed my attention about this scene was the way that the sunlight was striking the trees. I experimented with painting this in a watercolor style with acrylics. This painting has a matte finish instead of the usual gloss finish.

Grand Island Bridge (SOLD)

This painting is of the South Grand Island Bridge at dusk. I was interested in implying the girders of the bridge without getting too bogged down in the detail. The fun part was painting the reflection in the water because it's a loose colorful abstraction of the bridge, but upside down.

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iPad Drawing of Niagara River

Niagara River. Drawn with Adobe Ideas.  © Chris Breier  2012

The riverwalk is a nice place to spend a day off from work! I drew this from a park bench that was strategically located underneath a tree.

One side note: Polarized sunglasses do not work well with an iPad. I turned it on and the screen was completely black–I thought I had forgot to charge it. Then I realized that the glass on the iPad must also be polarized. (If you look through two polarized pieces of glass and rotate them, they will appear to darken). I've experienced the same problem with the displays on digital cameras.



Below is a Google map of the location where I drew this.

If you like this you may be interested in more of my iPad Art