April M. Rimpo Art: boats

Showing posts with label boats. Show all posts

Saturday, April 28, 2018

"Dockside" 5" X 31" fluid acrylic

Dockside by April M Rimpo

Dockside

Fluid Acrylic

8.5" X 34.5" with wood frame

Available for Purchase - Learn More Here

There are certain types of scenes that become part of who we are. Places that are calm and serene and memories of special times. This is one of those for me. The location doesn't seem to matter. For me this scene brings back memories from my childhood when we visited an aunt and uncle who had a place in Rhode Island near a dock. It also brings back memories of trips to the coast of Maine, Annapolis, Maryland, Santa Cruz, and Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound.

It's not that all of these places look exactly the same, but they all have docks and piers and a calming, relaxing effect on me. The sailboats bring back memories of sailing with a cousin in very small sailboat barely big enough for two.

Do you have great memories of places on the water? I'd love to hear them.

Click here to Contact April

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Paddling 10" x 20" fluid acrylic

Paddling by April M Rimpo

Paddling

10" X 20" fluid acrylic

Varnished and Mounted on Board

Ready to Frame

$325

Available at Touchstone Gallery online and in the Canvas Bins

Cherry blossoms are so fleeting, it seems like they have barely arrived and then they are gone. I enjoy relishing in Spring even after the Cherry blossoms, tulips, irises, and rhododendron have lost their color.

We've had a lovely spring, rainy days interspersed with bright sunny ones. The leaves have unfurled, filling in the view around our home with the natural calm of green.

This painting celebrates those earlier days of Spring, when we first emerge from winter.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

"Summer Breezes" 11" X 14" watercolor and fluid acrylic

Summer Breezes by April M Rimpo

Summer Breezes

Watercolor and Fluid Acrylic

Brushed Silver Frame

Available to purchase on April's website. The standard gallery commission will be provided to HorseSpirit Arts Gallery owners are they work to recover their business following the May 28, 2018 Ellicott City Flood.

Recently included in April's solo exhibit "Contemporary Landscapes" at Columbia Art Center you can now find this painting at HorseSpirt Arts Gallery in Historic Ellicott City, Maryland.

You might have noticed that Summer Breezes was done in watercolor and fluid acrylic. It started in watercolor only and matured quickly. The result looked too washed out for my liking and sat in my studio for months. Recently, I pulled it out of a stack of unfinished paintings and decided to work on it some more.

I decided that the first thing I would try was adding a very dilute layer of acrylic over the sky and water. I wanted to see whether bumping up the color intensity of the painting would speak to me. Well it worked. A combination of Cerulean blue and a cobalt violet blend I had been using for another painting made things start happening, so I immediately added some Cadmium Orange (hue) in the water reflections to make those more intense as well.

Those changes were enough so I printed out a new copy of my photo reference and went to work adding in details and intensifying the value contrast throughout the painting. There is nothing like a change in value to add dimension to a painting.

I also pushed the color in a few areas to add life and to provide more color balance throughout the piece. It is surprising how sometimes it only takes a couple hours to really turn around a painting.

Contact April here

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

"Full to the Limit" 20" X 12" fluid acrylic

Full to the Limit by April M Rimpo

Full to the Limit
Fluid Acrylic
18" X 12"
varnished and framed in brushed silver frame

Available to Purchase - Learn More Here

Full to the Limit is part of my traffic series on traffic jams and ways to manage traffic. No matter where you travel you will encounter some method to deal with traffic. Although the type of traffic is sometimes surprising, what surprised me more was that despite the method of travel there appear to always be traffic jams.

In Full to the Limit the canals in Amsterdam are the subject. Here you can see a slight bottle neck occurs at a set of locks. In fact I recall when I was photographing the scene that several near accidents seemed a moment away, but none occurred that day.

Although it will take a little hunting to find the cars parked along this canal, we heard that a fairly common accident on the canals was not with the boats, but instead cars getting too close to the edge and toppling into the canal. The adventures of travel.

You can see more "Traffic Jam" paintings at these links:

Traffic Jam at the Concert - Concert goes waiting on the ticket takers
Rush Hour - Enjoy the view when trying to get home
Traffic Jam III - Cyclists backed up at a crossing
Thoroughfare - Amsterdam: More bikes and trikes than you can believe
Traffic Jam II - No spot at the port for the incoming boat
Traffic Jam - Sometimes it doesn't take much
Country Tour - Cars waiting on a bike race
Trapped - Traffic congestion in a tunnel

Contact April here

Saturday, October 29, 2016

"Traffic Jam" 8" X 16" fluid acrylic SOLD

Traffic Jam by April M Rimpo

Traffic Jam

Fluid Acrylic

8: X 16"

SOLD

Traffic Jam is another one of those scene that I just had to paint. The combination of the shadowed versus light areas on the hillside and the light on the ferries was mesmerizing.

The title Traffic Jam is a bit tongue in cheek since this small town on the fjord had essentially no car traffic, but lots of ferry boat traffic. Two huge ships docked in this tiny town made me laugh, but also demonstrated how popular the tours on the fjords are. There may not be a lot of residents but there are a lot of people who want to see the pristine countryside. This was a truly beautiful place with wonderful views everywhere you looked.

You can see more "Traffic Jam" paintings at these links:

Traffic Jam at the Concert - Concert goes waiting on the ticket takers
Rush Hour - Enjoy the view when trying to get home
Traffic Jam III - Cyclists backed up at a crossing
Full to the Limit - An overloaded canal
Thoroughfare - Amsterdam: More bikes and trikes than you can believe
Traffic Jam II - No spot at the port for the incoming boat
Country Tour - Cars waiting on a bike race
Trapped - Traffic congestion in a tunnel

Since I'm often asked about my painting process and the pigments that I use I thought I'd include that information in this post. I started by using bubble wrap to dab various soft acrylic colors throughout the tree and grass areas. This adds a lot of texture to the painting.

The Golden Soft and Medium tube acrylics (dabbed on using small bubble wrap):

Diarylide Yellow (OPEN)

Manganese Blue (hue)

Titan Buff

Naples Yellow

N8 Neutral Gray

Pyrrole Red Dark

Leaf Green

Cadmium Red Light (hue)

Cobalt Blue

Quinacridone Burnt Orange

Phthalo Blue

Indigo

Once dry I use fluid acrylics for the balance of the painting. Building color through wet-into-wet application and later I layer more colors to provide depth.

Daniel Smith Quinacridone Coral watercolor mixed with Golden Fluid Matte Medium

Golden fluid acrylic – Cobalt Turquois

Davinci fluid acrylics:

Quinacridone Gold
Cadmium Red Medium (hue)
Leaf Green
Dioxazine Purple
Phthalo Blue
Cobalt Blue

Contact April here

Saturday, November 22, 2014

3" X 3" miniatures - a change of pace

Fire House II, Ferry Boat, On the Lake, B and O Caboose II by April M Rimpo

I've been painting a number of large paintings recently. The largest was 44" X 58" , another was 24" X 72", and several were 24" X 34", So when I rediscovered these 3" X 3" canvases I decided to do a few miniatures. Some of these miniatures were derivative of other paintings I've done this year. It was fun to figure out how to simplify these earlier paintings so they would work in this small format.

My favorite is the Ferry Boat since it was a subject I've planned to do for a while. I'm so happy with the result I now want to do it larger, but no doubt there will be several other paintings before I actually do the larger version.

Each was painted using Fluid Acrylic on a 3" X 3" Canvas and sells for $40
Fire House II and B and Caboose has sold.

Friday, October 17, 2014

"A Clutter of Kayaks" a 20" X 36" varnished gallery wrapped paper

A Clutter of Kayaks by April M Rimpo

While out painting one afternoon I watched a pair of men unload kayaks from their vehicles and place them along the edge of the estuary. There were a dozen kayaks by the time they were done, then gradually more people began to arrive. They all dressed in life vests, got into the kayaks, and headed out for what appeared to be a lesson. I don't know how long they stayed out on the water because they had not returned before I finished painting for the day. It was clear they were all having a great time.

These kind of moments, when people are out enjoying their environment, always speak to me. After selecting sections from a variety of my photos from that day, I composed this painting, included some of the sailboats in the distance that were also on the water. Then I decided on a color scheme I felt would feature the kayaks while also making them at home in their surroundings.

A Clutter of Kayaks

20" X 36" fluid acrylic on

Gallery Wrapped and Varnished Paper

$1730

Using a lot of gray to emphasize the stillness of the water also helped communicate the distance between the kayaks and the bridge. This was an unexpected result, but one that might be helpful to me in future paintings.

This painting is done in fluid acrylic on watercolor paper, then gallery wrapped around a 1.75" stretcher, and varnished to provide UV protection and to seal the paper from its surroundings. Because the paint wraps around the edge of the stretcher bars it can be hung without a frame, if desired.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

"Shipping Port", 10.25" X 24" watercolor

Shipping Port by April M Rimpo

Shipping Port

watercolor

10.25" X 24" image

16" X 30" brushed silver frame

$615

AVAILABLE NOW FOR PURCHASE HERE

I layered washes over that soft pastel area to the right of the cranes to add structure to the crates. Although the ship was in the foreground I simplified shapes on the ship so the lines and structure of the cranes could be the stars of the painting.

Monday, October 22, 2012

"Port of Call" 12.5" X 28.5" watercolor

Port of Call by April M. Rimpo

Port of Call

watercolor

12.5" X 28.5" image

19" X 35" brushed silver frame

$1400

Port of Call depicts the hustle and bustle of New York, but this time at the port. Like my painting Morning in NYC this painting was derived from a photograph I had taken from the Empire State Building. It’s amazing all you can see from the Empire State Building. The port of call in NYC is across Manhattan Island, but the ships are so large they stand out from the rest of the view. The bright red ship and the white ship made a natural composition. All I needed to do was eliminate some of the smaller ships and boats and reduce some of the clutter on the docks to make the scene easier to understand. After a recent trip to NYC I noticed a train yard with a large number of shipping crates. I had photographed the crates, so the shipping crate photo was a color reference for crates that are stacked on the dock.

Since the red ship is the star of this painting I wanted most of the scene to be neutral in color to help emphasize the ship, but it was important to have a few additional spots of red to make the ship fit in with the rest of the painting. There is an adage you hear when you study art that it is important to repeat colors, shapes and line 3 times but to have the repetition be different sizes to make it interesting. It is often referred to as the Momma, Poppa, Baby Bear rule. I think I first heard it in a workshop with Chen-khee Chee nearly 15 years ago. If you look around the painting you will find different spots of red in different sizes where the ship is the Poppa-sized red. I think you'll find the Momma red easily, but you may have to work a little more to identify the Baby Bear shapes.

When you read my bio you hear me talk about how I love watercolor because I can work more loosely and freely, letting the paint run and reacting to what is happening. Even though that is true I also find occasionally doing a painting like this one is very relaxing for me. Instead of being constantly on my toes deciding what to do based on what is happening with the paint, I work in a very controlled manner allowing me to get the lines in the city correct. The challenge, however, is to make sure the focal point stands out and is not lost. My decisions when designing and painting are which details to make clear and which to subdue so they don't detract from the star.

To see other city-scape paintings by April see these other blog posts:

I have limited edition archival prints available of many of these paintings.

Contant April here

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Monday, September 3, 2012

"Tall Ship Gloria", 23" X 10" watercolor

Tall Ship Gloria by April M. Rimpo

Tall Ship Gloria

watercolor

10" X 23" image

16" X 29" brushed silver frame

$550 framed

Contact April Regarding Purchase

Tall Ship Gloria is from the country of Colombia. It sails to events around the world, including events held in London prior to the 2012 Olympics and to Baltimore's Sailabration earlier this year. We saw the ship in Baltimore; no trip to London for us this year.

I loved their enormous flag on the back of the ship and the sailors wearing their flags colors in a row along the rail. Since nautical flags us the same colors as the Colombian flag they were perfect little accents. Although normally all the sails are the highlight to me when I see tall ships, all the color in the flags was just to hard to resist, thus Tall Ship Gloria was born.

Friday, August 17, 2012

"The Dugouts", 10.5" X 28.5" watercolor and fluid acrylic

The Dugout by April M. Rimpo

The Dugouts

watercolor

10.5" X 28.5" image

16" X 35" brushed silver frame

$800

In case you have not read the other posts about the creation of this painting, here is a recap of the motivation followed by my thoughts on the last few steps of the painting process.

A beautiful beach at Santa Catarina Palopo, Guatemala was the inspiration for this painting. This was the first time I’d seen the dugouts used by the Guatemalan men to fish on Lake Atitlan. Although much of the paint had faded and flaked from the hulls of these handmade boats, there was enough remaining to show the rainbow of their previous colors. In the distance some modern boats were visible, which will allow me to emphasize the difference between modern influences caused by tourism and the indigenous traditions of the local population.

You may recall in my last post that I had completed the shadows under the boats and that they looked too dark against the white of the paper. As I painted in the boats I found that the shadow right beneath the boat needed to be bluer and darker than the shadow further away from the boat, so I added some darker blues to these portions of the shadow. Some yellower greens were added on the left to show they were closer. The man and distant boats were also completed. I feel the final result really captures the beauty of Lake Atitlan and dugouts in Santa Catarina Palopo.

To read more about the creations of this painting read my other two posts on this painting.

To see available prints check my store.

* Contact April regarding purchase outside the United States

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

"The Dugouts" - continued

The Dugout - WIP#2 - Establishing the darks

Early in a painting I like to establish some dark colors so I have a range of comparison between the white of the paper and the darkest darks. While I am adding light and medium value passages, this range prevents me from being too dark or too light in other areas of the painting. Before I started to add the darks early I found much of my work ended up mid-range to dark in value with few lighter passages. Basically, I got dark everywhere since I didn't know where I was headed. By adding the shadows early they provide the reference point that I need. At this stage the shadows under the boats appear almost too dark since they are adjacent to white paper, but as the painting develops they will appear much lighter.

You can see I have also added dark colors in the interior of the 3rd boat. Since these areas are surrounded by some mid-value shades they don't seem as harsh as the shadows, but they are actually about the same in value. I've also added some color to the lake and some of the other dugouts. It is always interesting to me to see how just a pale color (as in the lake) is enough to make the bow of some of the more distant dugouts stand out. John Salminen commented in a workshop I took on how using a variety of pale colors in an area can be more effective than using wider value ranges. I was surprised when he said this, but have found it to be very true.

In my last post, the 3rd dugout only had the rough edges of the pale green acrylic paint on the side. I've now added tan and pale blues where the paint had worn off with use and time. Next time I'll post the completed painting.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

"The Dugouts" - First steps

The Dugout - Work in progress by April M. Rimpo

A beautiful beach at Santa Catarina Palopo, Guatemala was the inspiration for this painting. This was the first time I’d seen the dugouts used by the Guatemalan men to fish on Lake Atitlan. Although much of the paint had faded and flaked from the hulls of these handmade boats, there was enough remaining to show the rainbow of their previous colors. In the distance some modern boats were visible, which will allow me to emphasize the difference between modern influences caused by tourism and the indigenous traditions of the local population.

Although this painting will be primarily watercolor, I felt fluid acylic would be helpful to achieve the look of the flaked paint on the boats. The acrylic is painted very wet and when partially dry (a hairdryer can be used to speed up and control the drying process) you use a spray bottle of water to remove the paint that is still wet. The dry acrylic that is left on the paper has rough edges. I first learned this technique form Nicholas Simmons to paint foliage since it leaves a random texture in the plants and leaves; I felt the same texture would work here. This was done on the 2nd and 3rd boats from the front. The 3rd boat shows the result of the acrylic. Once dry I used watercolor to add the other colors of faded wood and darker shadowed areas, This is shown on the 2nd boat from the front.

Stay tuned for future posts where I'll discuss other techniques used in this painting.

Monday, July 23, 2012

A Favorite Color Scheme demonstrated in "His Dugout"

His Dugout, 32.5" X 23.5", fluid acrylic
and watercolor, by April M. Rimpo

His Dugout

acrylic & watercolor on paper

32.5" X 23.5" image

39" X 31" silver brush frame

One of my favorite color schemes is a triad that uses primarily blue and orange with smaller hints of green.

Source: www.colorschemedesigner.com

I use www.colorschemedesigner.com to preview the triad and zero-in on the shade of blue and orange that I want to use. Often the next step in my process is to use Adobe Photoshop to vary the colors in my reference photo(s) to try out my plan. The Photoshop version never looks quite like the final painting, but gets me close enough to know whether I want to go forward.

His Dugout is an abstract, representational painting that shows a Guatemalan man beside his dugout. He was getting ready to repair the dugout using a molten, tar-like substance in his wooden boat. As I mentioned in my blog post on Basket Maker, few of the Guatemalan men wear traditional clothing, but many of them build and use these dugout boats. I'm sure I'll paint examples of these boats in the future.

His Dugout received an Honorable Mention Award at The Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 34th Annual International Juried Exhibition. Many thanks to Pat Dews for selecting this painting for the exhibit and to Frank Webb for granting this award.

Click the link at right to hear me discuss this painting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jht7P1m60bI

Like many of my paintings I used a combination of fluid acrylic and watercolor in His Dugout. Only two acrylic colors were used: Da Vinci Leaf Green 945A and Da Vinci Cerulean Blue (Hue) 921A. I wanted the bright intensity I could get with acrylic for these light valued colors. The balance of the painting was done in watercolor. Below are three photos:

A picture of my source photograph before I manipulated it to push it to my desired color scheme.
An initial work in progress (WIP) after lying in the first blues and establishing some of the darkest values.
A later WIP photo after many of the orange hues had been added.

Established dark values and a variety of blue hues

Below are some of my other paintings in which I used a similar blue/orange triad color scheme

Taking a Break

Woman with a Wrapped Hat

The Vendor

Related post on combining fluid acrylic and watercolor

To see available prints check my store.

Shop my Online Store

Copyright April M Rimpo

Saturday, April 28, 2018

"Dockside" 5" X 31" fluid acrylic

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Paddling 10" x 20" fluid acrylic

Sunday, March 19, 2017

"Summer Breezes" 11" X 14" watercolor and fluid acrylic

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

"Full to the Limit" 20" X 12" fluid acrylic

Saturday, October 29, 2016

"Traffic Jam" 8" X 16" fluid acrylic SOLD

Saturday, November 22, 2014

3" X 3" miniatures - a change of pace

Friday, October 17, 2014

"A Clutter of Kayaks" a 20" X 36" varnished gallery wrapped paper

Saturday, February 8, 2014

"Shipping Port", 10.25" X 24" watercolor

Monday, October 22, 2012

"Port of Call" 12.5" X 28.5" watercolor

Monday, September 3, 2012

"Tall Ship Gloria", 23" X 10" watercolor

Friday, August 17, 2012

"The Dugouts", 10.5" X 28.5" watercolor and fluid acrylic

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

"The Dugouts" - continued

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

"The Dugouts" - First steps

Monday, July 23, 2012

A Favorite Color Scheme demonstrated in "His Dugout"

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