Early Evening - Original Watercolor Painting

The sky glows and the shadows lengthen as the sun goes down, giving this farmland a magical feeling.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com (click on the image). There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #8 - Heaven and Earth First

I'd like to talk about one way to make painting - and especially watercolor painting - easier and more enjoyable.  Paint all of the sky and the ground or water first whenever possible!  Then tackle the remaining content of the painting.  This is very simple to do in opaque media like oil, acrylic, and pastel, but it's also possible in transparent watercolor most of the time.  I've been doing this for a long time, and recently I've heard Joseph Zbukvic call this "painting heaven and earth first", and I really like his phraseology.

Since watercolor is transparent, it's impossible to paint a light passage on top of a dark one - the dark color just shows through.  Therefore watercolor painters get a lot of practice painting around shapes that will have a light value (called "saving the whites").  Saving the whites can also be done with masking fluid or masking film as an extra, preliminary step.  But the easiest thing to do is to plan your painting to minimize the need to paint around shapes, or to make these white shapes as few and simple as possible. I'll show what I mean with a few step-by-step examples.

The absolutely simplest situation is where everything that is layered "on top of" the sky and water or ground will be a significantly darker value.  In this situation, the entire paper can be first covered with sky and earth, and then the rest of the painting just painted on top of it.  Storm Approaching is an example of this sort of painting:

The sky and water were first painted over the entire sheet.  Then all of the other shapes were added on top, and are dark enough that the sky and water do not show through.

The next example, Off Prince Edward Island, is similar, except that there is a single small white shape saved for the boat hull and white water near the hull.  After the sky and water are painted, everything else is dark enough to be painted on top of the background.  First the large sail and land shapes are painted, and then the small details:

My final example is a painting of an old barn, titled Abandoned.  In this painting, the sky and ground are first painted, without worrying about the foliage, which will easily cover the sky.  However, the barn itself is "painted around", leaving white paper there.  Next, the foliage is added.  Finally, the barn and other details are painted:

The bottom line of this post is that when possible, paint "heaven and earth" first, only saving whites where a lighter value will need to be used.  Then proceed to smaller and smaller details.  Particularly in a transparent medium like watercolor, it is critical to plan the steps of your painting, so you can work from light to dark and thus minimize the negative painting required.  In opaque mediums, this is not as important, but it's still a good idea to approach paintings in some sort of "regular" way, working from large shapes to small - and in a landscape, "heaven and earth" are usually the largest shapes.

Meager Pickings - Original Watercolor Painting

This little farmyard has seen better days.

If you'd like to purchase this 7.5" x 22" original watercolor painting for $225 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #7 - Painting Reflections

We artists often want to add reflections off water or hard, shiny surfaces.  First, some general advice:

• Reflections always come vertically to the bottom of the picture plane, never at an angle.  This is a very basic difference between reflections and shadows.
• Reflections can be the same or a different value or color as the object being reflected.  If the reflection is an exact inverted copy of the object, the painting can be confusing, so it's best to adjust some element of the reflection to be different.
• Reflections, like shadows, look better if they don't perfectly imitate the shape of the object being reflected.
• Reflections usually have a different view of the reflecting object than the direct view of that object.  Because the light from the object goes down to the reflecting surface and then bounces back up to the viewer's eye, reflections show more of the underside of the object than the direct view does.
• It's wise to wait until the object itself is painted before painting its reflection, because some objects change as the painting progresses, and the reflection depends upon the object.

Let's first discuss reflections off water.  If the water is rough, the viewer tends to see little reflection of objects, but mostly reflections of the sky or simply a view through the water itself.  So in rough water, don't paint reflections of objects, or at the most, only hint at them, as in this painting, Morning in Maine.

For fairly smooth water, reflections are usually called for.  There are two basic and very different approaches, and the artist needs to decide which is most appropriate for the painting.  The first is a soft, diffuse reflection, normally painted with vertical strokes under the reflecting object.  In watercolor, the already-painted water can be rewet (after it is very dry!) and the vertical reflection paint strokes will diffuse, giving a soft reflection.  This technique is shown in this painting, Quiet Evening:

The second approach to water reflections is to paint hard-edge reflections, which loosely mimic the reflecting object but with some ripples to make the reflection shape interesting.  This technique is shown in this painting, The Red Dinghy:

When adding reflections to a shiny, hard surface, I generally find that a third approach sometimes gives interesting and convincing results.  This is to paint the reflection in rough, vertical strokes, leaving some untouched paper to give the reflection "sparkle".  In addition, when painting reflections on a hard surface, it's important to put some other marks on the surface - for example, lines representing cracks or seams - so it reads as a horizontal surface and not as a vertical surface or as water.  This painting, Fruit, is an example of this approach:

One final suggestion:  when painting any object sitting on a reflecting surface, it is important to paint a very narrow "crevice dark" along the bottom of the object.  If this isn't done, one can give the impression that the object - boat, fruit, person - is floating above the surface.  You can see a crevice dark in all of the example paintings in this post.

Fruit - Original Watercolor Painting

I often use this very colorful still life as the basis for a paint-along in my watercolor workshops, to get students comfortable with painting shapes with hard and soft edges, making soft backgrounds, trying the dry brush approach, and making marks with spatter and lines.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #6 - Understanding Cast Shadows (Part 3)

Our last tip addressed the direction of cast shadows in backlit scenes.  In this final tip, I'll discuss a few more details that will help your cast shadows make your paintings more pleasing.

I suggest you do not paint cast shadows separately, but paint them right over the already-painted object they are falling on.  With watercolor, this has to be done after the base color is bone-dry, or a muddy mess will be the result.

Let's consider shadow color.  Shadows can and do have color, and we can make our paintings more entertaining by emphasizing or exaggerating their color.  I haven't found a color formula for shadows that always works, but you can consider the following possibile approaches.  

• For outdoor scenes, shadows often tend towards blue or purple due to the cool nature of the light from the sky.
• A different approach involves painting over the base color with its complement.  For example, on a yellow object, a purple hue often works very well to represent a cast shadow.
• Finally, cast shadows can be livened up by painting the basic shadow and then charging in other colors.  For an impressionistic-style painting, it's not really necessary to "explain" where these charged colors come from, but claiming "color bounce" from nearby objects is a great excuse if you feel you need one.

Actual cast shadows are harder-edge near the object casting the shadow, and become softer-edged as the distance from the object increases.  Leaving a few soft or rough edges on cast shadows makes them look more like shadows and less like dark shapes cut out and glued down.  Of course, this is true for all shapes in our paintings - we need to vary the edges to integrate them into the painting.

I've found that when shadows fall mainly side-to-side in my paintings, they look best when all painted in roughly the same direction.  They also look better if their shape doesn't exactly match the shape of the object casting the shadow, but simply suggests that shape.  Care should be taken to connect shadows to the objects that cast them, so they "belong" to one another without an obvious change in color or value.  When figures cast shadows on the ground, these shadows "anchor" the figures in place and help to make them more realistic.

Finally, often a shadow is needed in a painting for design or composition reasons.  For example, many paintings can be improved by adding a dark shadow in the foreground, at the bottom of the painting.  This sort of shadow helps to lead the viewer's eye over the foreground and into the painting.  Such shadows can be added when needed without having to explain what object outside the picture plane is causing them.  I've included a painting with such a "dark doorstep" to illustrate this design technique.

If you'd like to review previous artist tips, you can find them all by going to the search box in the right-hand column of this blog, and searching for artist tips.

Port Penrhyn, Wales - Original Watercolor Painting

Port Penrhyn, Wales, just outside of Bangor, was built around 1800 to enable exporting slate from Penrhyn quarry. It's now a normal boatyard and docking facility. This view is at low tide, when many of the boats in the harbor stand out of the water - the sailboats on their double keels so they don't fall over.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #5 - Understanding Cast Shadows (Part 2)

Our last tip addressed the value (the relative darkness) of cast shadows.  This tip will focus on the direction of cast shadows in front- and back-lit scenes.  I'll specifically discuss shadows in sunny and moon-lit landscapes, but the same considerations apply for other light sources like lamps, and even multiple cast shadows caused by multiple light sources.

When painting a well-lit scene, we need not understand the theory of shadows.  We can simply paint the shadows as we see them.  It is when we are "adding" sunlight or moonlight to an overcast scene, rearranging the objects, or painting an entirely contrived scene, that we need to understand the theory of shadow directions so that our finished painting looks believable.

Let's first consider a sunny landscape with the sun above the top of our picture plane and behind the objects being painted, so that they are "backlighted".  Since the sunbeams travel in a straight line, any shadows cast by objects or people must lie along the line between the object and the sun.  This can be seen in the accompanying painting, appropriately named Shadows.

Here, the sun is positioned above the largest figure's head just above the top of the paper, and behind all of the objects in the painting.  You can see that the shadows approximately lie along a line drawn between the objects (the figures, or the boats) and the sun position.  But we have all heard that the sun is so far away that all its light beams are parallel, so... why are the shadows in this painting not parallel to one another?

The answer is that they are parallel.  Recall that in perspective, parallel lines converge to a vanishing point - in this case, the sun.  So it's a mistake to paint in the same direction all shadows that mainly come either forward or backward.  They need to be painted toward a vanishing point (roughly, not necessarily exactly).  This fact about shadows in paintings is not intuitive, so you may need to think about it, and even draw some lines up into your "sky", to fully make this fact your own.

I thought that two Artist Tips would take care of cast shadows, but I still have a little more to say about them.  Stay tuned for Part 3 in Artist Tip #6.

Western Summer - Original Watercolor Painting

This painting has been done with a wide landscape-type aspect ratio... cattle graze on a ranch out west.

If you'd like to purchase this 7.5" x 22" original watercolor painting for $225 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #4 - Understanding Cast Shadows (Part 1)

Shadows can make or break a painting of any representational subject - landscape, still life, or portrait.  Some artists don't hold clearly in their mind the basics of how shadows look and how they best "work" in a painting.  There are two different types of shadows: form shadows and cast shadows.  Form shadows are the lightness or darkness on a 3-dimensional form caused by the uneven lighting received by various areas on that form.  Cast shadows are basically different - they are shadows on one form caused by another form blocking the light.

In this tip, I'll discuss how to handle the value (darkness) of shadows.  In the next tip, I'll explain more, including the direction and style of shadows that I've found work best in my paintings.

Most artists understand that the most important element in any painting is not color or texture, but value.  So if we want our cast shadows to look convincing, we need to understand the value difference on a form between the lit part and the part in shadow.  On an overcast day with weak and diffused lighting, any cast shadow (if there is any at all) will be only slightly darker than the weakly-lit form it is cast upon.  But to give an impression of strong sunlight, there is a rule-of-thumb that I learned from artist Jan Kunz on how dark to make a cast shadow:  the shadow area should be at least 4 values darker than the sunlit surface.  This assumes a value scale of 10 values, grading evenly from white to black.  If you are not familiar with the value scale, you may want to make your own, or purchase one from an art supplier.  I've shown a few value scales above.  Then, by holding the scale next to your painting and squinting, you'll be able to tell the actual value of a particular shape.  Dark shadows can really cause a painting to "pop".

Another important point to keep in mind is that objects already in shadow don't cast an additional shadow.  Since the light on the object has already been blocked, there is no significant light left for the object to block further.  So if you place a figure in shadow, it won't cast an additional shadow, as you can see in the attached painting example.  Painting a shadow-in-shadow is an error that can make a representational painting look rather odd.

Lobstermen at Work - Original Watercolor Painting

Two lobstermen prepare for the day's work on a dock at Spruce Head Island, Maine.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #3 - Recovering White Paper

Since watercolor is a transparent medium, it is difficult to place white or light values in an area already covered with dark paint.  The best method to "save" a white area is to simply paint around it.  Another method is to mask the white area with liquid masking medium or tape to "protect" it from dark paint.  Very small white highlights can be painted with white gouache (an opaque watercolor).  These methods all work, and have pros and cons.  But it's the rare watercolor artist who hasn't occasionally realized the need for a white or light area after the mid- and dark-values have been painted.

One method to recover the white paper is to use a common household cleaning product - Original Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.  This is a white foam pad, available in many grocery and hardware stores, intended for household cleaning chores.  It is also great at removing watercolor paint.  This "original" type contains no chemicals, and works through the physical design of the pad.  Other "enhanced" versions do contain chemicals, and should not be used on watercolor paintings.

A piece of Magic Eraser is shown in the accompanying photo, which also shows the steps to be followed.  After the paint is completely dry (1), mask around the area to be "cleaned" with masking tape, making sure that the tape edges are snug against the paper (2).  Next, dip the Magic Eraser in water and squeeze it out so it is damp.  Then gently rub over the area to be whitened.  The small bits that you'll find are not pieces of your paper, but pieces of the pad.  Dry the area.  If it's not white enough, repeat the process until you are satisfied.  Then simply remove the tape, and you have your "recovered" white paper, which can be painted over without problems (3).

I find this method especially useful for creating white sailboat masts against an already painted background.  I feel that painting around white areas is the best approach, but this method is very useful when I realize that I need a white area after most of the painting has been completed.  I recommend that this be used mainly for small areas, but it is possible to use it for large areas as well.  You may want to watch this video which shows how I used it to modify a very large area of a painting:

Wales Mud Flats - Original Watercolor Painting

Vast mud flats appear at low tide in most inlets along the northern Wales coast. Many of the boats at anchor simply rest upon the mud when the sea is out. Most sailboats in the area have double keels to keep them from falling over, and seamen must plan their arrivals and departures to avoid low tide.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #2 - Flattening a Finished Watercolor Painting

Watercolor paper expands when wet and shrinks when dry, and often not uniformly.  Most watercolor painters struggle with the resulting ripples in completed paintings.  We've all seen a rippled painting framed, and not looking very good because of the gaps between the rippled paper and the flat mat.  A ripple along the top edge is particularly bad, as the overhead light casts a shadow from the mat, leaving a scalloped dark pattern at the top of the painting.  So... how does one flatten a finished painting?  If our paintings are professionally framed, the framer may have a large flat iron to flatten them.  But if we're doing our own framing, we need an approach that doesn't require large and expensive equipment.

I've tried a number of approaches, including:

1. Dry-ironing the painting on a hard, flat surface.
2. Steam-ironing the painting on a hard, flat surface.
3. Dampening the back of the painting and pressing it flat under a board and weights.

Approach 1, dry-ironing the painting, is quick and works somewhat.  If the paper is badly wrinkled, it's difficult to get the larger ripples out.  And although an ironed painting is "locally flat",  it tends to curl toward the iron at the edges, though this may not cause a big problem once it is held in place by a mat.

Approach 2 can lead to disaster (listen to the voice of experience).  The steam can push through the painting and deposit some of the paint on the flat surface, smudging the painting when the paper inevitably moves while ironing.  I do not recommend this approach at all!

Approach 3 works best for me.  A fellow artist, Marlene Gremillion, told me about it.  I very lightly mist the back of the painting I want to flatten, being careful to not get it too wet.  I then put it face down on a hard flat surface, and put a rigid board on top of it.  I then put some heavy weights on top of the board.  Often, I make a sandwich of painting, board, painting, board, etc. before putting on the weights, and flatten several paintings at once.  After about 3 days, the dampness is gone, and the paintings are flat.  I've included a photo of this setup in my studio.

So, if I must flatten a painting and I need to frame it right away, I've found dry-ironing it is a decent approach.  But if I have a few days, misting the back and pressing it flat works best for me by far.

You can automatically get a link to these tips twice a month by signing up for my email newsletter Here.

Valley Dreams - Original Watercolor Painting

This painting was inspired when I saw the beautiful Tywy valley in Wales. I hope it draws you in, as it does me, and makes you yearn to explore this charming valley of river and farms.

If you'd like to purchase this 7.5" x 22" original watercolor painting for $225 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Artist Tip #1 - Preparing Watercolor Paper for Painting

There are many methods of preparing watercolor paper prior to beginning to paint, including:

1. Tape the dry paper to a board and paint.
2. Soak and then staple the wet paper to a board and let dry, then paint.
3. Soak and then tape wet paper to a board and let dry, then paint.
4. Soak on a board, sponge off, and then start to paint on wet paper.
5. Soak on a board, dry the surface with a sponge and a towel, then paint.

Most watercolor painters prefer a flat, dry surface to work on.  Since the paper expands when wet, and shrinks when dry, method 1 usually results in paper with "waves" once wet watercolor is applied.  Some artists don't mind this, but for those who do, methods 2 - 5 address this problem.

Methods 2 and 3 are called "stretching the paper".  Method 2 is very robust, but requires a sturdy board and lots of heavy-duty staples.  Method 3 is simpler, but I've never been able to get the tape to stick adequately to hold the drying paper taut.  A problem with both these methods is that one must wait quite a long time for the paper to dry, so the paper has to be prepared beforehand.  Method 4 is very simple, but only suitable for people who like to paint very wet-on-wet, and it can take a long time for the paper surface to become dry enough to hold hard edges.

I prefer method 5.  I first put my paper (with the drawing completed) face down on my watercolor board (I prefer Gatorboard, which is light, rigid, and waterproof) and soak it with a sponge.  After a few minutes, I turn it face up and soak it again.  After another few minutes, I sponge off the excess water with a sponge, and then pat the surface dry with a regular bath towel.  This leaves me with the paper wet internally and on the back surface, and sticking to the board with no tape or staples, but with a dry enough painting surface to hold hard edges.  Another advantage of painting on "damp" paper is that I find it easier to get smooth washes without dry areas and blooms.

Before the paper begins to dry and lift from the board, usually after 15 to 30 minutes, I apply 4 bulldog clips to hold the paper flat while I complete the painting.

Choosing a paper-prep method is an individual thing, and not all watercolor artists proceed in the same way, but if you If you have never tried this method, I encourage you to do so.  I'd be happy to answer any questions posted as comments here, or you can contact me at jim@jimoberst.com.

Farmland - Original Watercolor Painting

In many areas of America, small farms like this dot the countryside. This fertile, flat land is one of our most important resources.

If you'd like to purchase this 7.5" x 22" original watercolor painting for $225 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

On the Farm - Original Watercolor Painting

This farm scene was inspired by a barn in Paron, Arkansas.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

The Road to Tywyn - Original Watercolor Painting

The trip down the Welsh coast from the north to Tywyn is very beautiful. This shows the road curving through the green Welsh countryside, with distant hills to the east.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

In for Repair - Original Watercolor Painting

This is a tug in dry dock that I photographed a few summers ago in Rockland, Maine. Tony van Hasselt put me on to it. I like painting the shape of boats, and here I particularly like the sunlight and shadows playing on the side of the tug.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

The Tywy Valley - Original Watercolor Painting

This is a view of the Tywy valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales, from an overlook at Dinefwr castle, near Llandeilo. On this day the distant hills were shrouded in mist.

If you'd like to purchase this 9" x 15" original watercolor painting for $175 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Fresh as Spring - Original Watercolor Painting

Flowers like these reflect the beauty of nature.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 11" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Muskeg Sunset - Original Watercolor Painting

The dark silhouette of shoreline and trees provides a stark contrast to the glowing sunset over the water.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 22" original watercolor painting for $250 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique, original painting to your collection!

Rough Seas - Original Watercolor Painting

Rough seas and stormy skies make for a strenuous and exciting day of sailing.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique, original painting to your collection!

At Anchor - Original Watercolor Painting

Two ships lie at anchor far out in the harbor as evening approaches.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique, original painting to your collection!

Summer on the Farm - Original Watercolor Painting

The shade under these trees looks inviting on a hot summer day.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 22" original watercolor painting for $275 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Florida Canal - Original Watercolor Painting

Southwest Florida is riddled with canals, so folks can have direct access to the Gulf of Mexico from a dock behind their house. The foliage is lush, and the weather is usually sunny. This beautiful scene is from Goodland, Florida, just southeast of Naples.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 11" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Becalmed - Original Watercolor Painting

It's a dead afternoon at this backwoods marina.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 22" original watercolor painting for $300 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Off Prince Edward Island - Original Watercolor Painting

During a trip to Prince Edward Island in the Canadian Maritimes, I saw this sailboat heading out to sea. I was intrigued by the deep color of the sails and the unusual rigging.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 11" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Rockport Motif No. 1 - Original Watercolor Painting

This building on the harbor at Rockport, Massachusetts is famous in the art world. It is such a popular subject of artists that it is called Motif No. 1.   This is an unusual view, from the rear of the building, with the harbor in the background.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 22" original watercolor painting for $300 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection!

Kihei Beach, Maui - Original Watercolor Painting

Hawaii has a lot of beautiful scenery. This is a view from the beach at Kihei toward the west Maui mountains. I wish I were back there right now.

If you'd like to purchase this 15" x 22" original watercolor painting for $300 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection.

Arlington Hotel - Original Watercolor Painting

This painting shows the Arlington Hotel looking south on Central Avenue. The Arlington is a Hot Springs, Arkansas landmark, and dominates the northern end of bathhouse row.

If you'd like to purchase this 22" x 15" original watercolor painting for $300 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection.

White Ibis - Original Watercolor Painting

Anyone who has spent time on the American Gulf coast has seen the White Ibis. They're strange looking birds, with long downturned beaks, that tend to flock together and search for food in shallow water. I saw these birds by a lake at the Naples, Florida zoo, but they're all over the place in southwest Florida.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Add a unique original painting to your collection.

Fishing Shack - Original Watercolor Painting

This fishing shack and wharf can be seen from the small bridge at South Thomaston, Maine. It is on the Weskeog River just off Penobscot Bay. The tide is in and the fisherman is probably out working on his boat.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  I only sell originals, no prints.

Goodland, Florida - Original Watercolor Painting

Goodland is about as far south as you can get on the west coast of Florida. Here is a scene on one of the canals in Goodland.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  I only sell originals, no prints.

Big Biker - Original Watercolor Painting

Here's one of my favorite portraits. This is based on a guy I saw at the annual Arkansas Folk Festival at Mountain View, Arkansas a few years ago. He was sitting on a chair, not on a bike, but he just looks like a biker. I love the beard.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.  I only sell originals, no prints.

In the Grass - Original Watercolor Painting

A fishing boat is docked near the high grass, preparing for its next trip.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.

Nature's Bounty - Original Watercolor Painting

Here's some of the most colorful fruit you'll see.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it securely on my website www.jimoberst.com. There are additional paintings for sale there, and my smaller paintings are available on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.