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!

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.

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.