Skip to content

Category: Reference Photos

November 3, 2011
Kathy
3 Comments

New York Harbor From The Torch Cam

Posted in Reference Photos

New York Harbor From The Torch Cam

While doing a little research on the Statue of Liberty post, I discovered another great cam – The Torch Cam!  This cam is right on on the Torch and started operating on Oct. 28,2011. If you are a displaced New Yorker, a lover of boats, ferries and the sound of water, or just love New York  – this is the cam for you! It is high up the our lady Liberty's torch and has a terrific view of much of the harbor and the cityscape. I just love the sound of the boat horns, the lapping waves, and the seagulls. At night you can see the Brooklyn Bridge, the passing ferries,and buildings all lit up like Christmas decorations.

Statue of Liberty Torch Cam

Earth Cam - Statue of Liberty Torch Cam

Photo from Earth Cam Novermber1, 2011

I don't paint many cityscapes, but the Torch cam is a great reference if you do. If you paint boats, this is great for watching the movement and size comparison of the many boats that use the harbor.  Be sure to click on the panorama button for a wider view of the Harbor.

October 30, 2011
Kathy
5 Comments

Twenty Four Hour Difference

Posted in Reference Photos

Twenty Four Hour Difference

What a difference 24 hours makes! Friday I was taking photos of the trees nearby. The leaves were just beyond their peak of fall color and I wanted to grab a photo before I missed it completely. Twenty hours later…..SNOW!

Before and during October snow

October snow, before and after photos

The  3 inches of sloppy slushy snow has melted and everything looks like the first photos. Even the bushes that looked like someone stepped on them have bounced back.  If you experienced the October snow, hope you have bounced back to normal as well!

October 12, 2011
Kathy
6 Comments

A Tribute to Garlic

Posted in Art Work, Peeking Behind the Easel, and Reference Photos

A Tribute to Garlic

What's not to love about garlic? Just about any dish with garlic is delicious and it has a huge amount of folklore behind it.  What I like most about garlic though,  is how it looks.

SibStudio.com Garlic Photographed for painting

The entire bulb is wrapped in thin translucent paper – like nature's tissue paper. As you pull out each individual clove, they are also wrapped similarly.  It's like a little wrapped present from the garden. Once you get the clove unwrapped, the smoothness of the clove contrasts with the papery roughness of the bulb. It's an interesting vegetable and really fun to paint.

SibStudio.com garlic
As a tribute to garlic, I painted all the parts of the garlic – the bulbs, the paper skin, the cloves and the undersides with the hair-like  roots.  I chose a creamy white neutral  background to not detract from garlic. However it needed a few pops of color, so I added sage and forest greens as an ode to the garden it grows in and to add some depth to the painting. I also added a little touch of maroon – red in the garlic shadows to contrast with the green.  And if you look closely at the both the photos, you can see the subtle maroons in the garlic shadows.

SibStudio.com painting of garlic. Can be found on Etsy.com
And that is my tribute to garlic and a peek behind my easel.  

September 21, 2011
Kathy
Comments closed

Blooming Grasses

Posted in Reference Photos

Blooming Grasses

Can grass bloom? Sure it can! Most ornamental grasses bloom in the late summer and fall. Their blooms are plumes of  white or reddish bronze feathery tops.

 porcupine grass in bloom

This grass is called porcupine grass for the horizontal stripes on the blades. Also know as miscanthus sinesis strictus.

Plumes reach for the sky

In late fall, the grass plant begins with turn brown and wither a bit, but the plume stays upright through the winter months. That is when the grasses also make a rustling sound in the wind, while the plumes wave above. That sound reminds me of the beach in the winter.

Miscanthus in the morning

I often include glasses in my seashore paintings. They grow along many beaches on the edge of the sand. Adding them to the paintings adds a bit of texture and greenery to break up the tans and blues of the sky, sea, and sand.

September 16, 2011
Kathy
5 Comments

The Great Tomato Escape

Posted in Musing About Art, and Reference Photos

The Great Tomato Escape

What in the world? I opened the blinds this morning to see this….. 

tomato on gate

A not quite ripe tomato hanging on out on the gate handle.  Some blemishes, but no bite marks,  just hanging out.  I'm guess a squirrel hauled it up there on to the perfect eating platform.. Either that or the tomato was on it's way to jumping the gate for the Great Tomato Escape…. 

This would make for a odd  painting. Lots of contrasts: soft tomato, hard wood gate, dull gate, bright colorful tomato….Would the more philosophical among us read symbolism into a painting of a tomato on a gate handle?  Or would it just be a weird painting? Or could I turn into a children's art by painting it in a  whimsy style and creating a story around it? Or take it in the opposite direction and lean it into a Salvador Dali like surreal art ? Something to think about……   : )    Have a wonderful weekend!