The Pond at Glen Park

The Pond at Glen Park
Acrylic on paper
8"x10"
Chris Breier © 2017

I enjoy painting outdoors during the summer when the weather allows. On this occasion my brother and I decided to paint at Glen Falls. On previous painting excursions I have painted the waterfall at Glen Falls but this time I decided to focus on area with the ponds. A small strip of the pond is visible in this painting and it continues under the arch of the bridge. My brother and I refer to the park as "Duck Paradise" because that's where they like to congregate, although on this occasson they were hanging out at the other end of the pond so I didn't get a chance to put them in the painting.

It's a serene place to visit and and that's what I aimed to capture with this painting. It's a small oasis in the middle of the bustling village. Many people who work in the area spend their lunch breaks there. As a painter, it's a great location to spend an evening painting outdoors while listening to the sounds of rushing water and quacking ducks.

The majority of this painting was completed outside with a few finishing touches applied back in my studio.

I have also painted part of the gravel path at Glen Park,  Autumn trees at glen Park, a watercolor painting of the waterfall, and another plein aire acrylic painting of Glen Falls.

Lakeside

Lakeside
Watercolor and ink on paper
5”x7”
Chris Breier © 2016

The original painting is for sale. Can you spot the picnic table in this painting? At first I wasn’t going to include it but I realized that it could be used to create a sense of scale–it can be used to judge the height of the tree. I used mostly secondary colors in this painting (orange, green, and purple). The warmer colors were used on the trees in the distance which works well against the dark purple shadows in the foreground. 

Trail at Walton Woods

Trail at Walton Woods
Watercolor and ink on paper
5” x 7”
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is for sale. Fall is a good time of year to for painting lakes, I enjoy creating the mirror like reflection of the colorful leaves on the water. I managed to work in a small touch of red on the left, it’s an effective contrast to the tuft of green foliage on the right.

Autumn Leaves

autumn leaves
Watercolor and ink on paper
5” x 7”
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is for sale. I took a more abstract approach with this painting of Lake Audubon, I exaggerated the colors and used a looser approach with the drawing. I enjoy listening to podcasts and music while I paint and you may recognize the title of this painting as a jazz standard.

Ducks

The original painting is for sale. These ducks were eating dinner when I happened to spot them along the shore. I quietly stood on a bench to get better view of them and took a few pictures before they moved on. The ripple effect where the blue sky of the reflections meets the mixed colors of the trees was my favorite part to paint.

When I was working on this painting in my studio, a ladybug landed on the edge of the paper. I think he was interested in the excess water that was running off the edges. He watched me paint for a little but then he started getting in the way so I took the watercolor pad outside and set him free.