Tag: snow

A painting of a lake in winter, snow covered trees on the horizon line and a blue sky with some orange and yellow accents.

Upgrading and continuing to learn new skills

A painting of a lake in winter, snow covered trees on the horizon line and a blue sky with some orange and yellow accents.
©2024 Carolyn A Pappas, Morning Light after the Storm. Digital painting.

Last year I did more drawing on Procreate than I ever have before. For the first time, I started feeling comfortable in the app. I still have a lot to learn though. Learning to draw digitally is really like learning a new medium altogether.

This is my first finished artwork of the year and I did it on Procreate. I just upgraded my iPad to a newer and bigger type and of course, I wanted to make a picture on Procreate immediately after setting it up. This is based on a photo I took of the lake the morning after a big storm (the only one we have had so far this winter). I also got some new brushes and I was trying them out here. In this painting, I was using brushes meant to simulate fountain pens, alcohol markers and oil paint with a dry brush.

I am always looking for brushes that would most closely approximate my own drawing style with ink and watercolor. In this case, I deviated from my normal style, but I had a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more experimenting this year and building up my confidence and competence in Procreate.

winter house painting

White Christmas at the Château

winter house painting
©2016 Carolyn A Pappas, White Christmas at the Château. Watercolor and white gouache, 8 x 8 inches.

Recently I got the chance to work on some album artwork for my good friend Robert Louis. He just released his brand new collection of instrumental jazzy Christmas songs, A Robert Louis Christmas. I’ve been playing it in the background and wishing for the semester break.

This was a fun and challenging painting to make with all the architecture, snow and monochromatic values. I love winter scenes!

Check out Robert Louis on facebook, listen for free on SoundCloud, or download the album on cdbaby.

colored pencil landscape sketch

Weather Notes (4/3/2016)

What a strange weather day this past Sunday was! I woke up to heavily falling snow and even lost power for a time. By midday, the snow stopped, fog was rolling in over the lake, and the wind picked up—blowing into my house at a 90 degree angle. By late afternoon, most of the snow was gone and the sun had returned, but the wind was still wild and the waves had whitecaps.

I made this sketch using Derwent Watercolour colored pencils, which I haven’t picked up in a few years. I really got lost in it for a time, and enjoyed myself immensely.

colored pencil landscape sketch
©2016 Carolyn A Pappas, Lake Sketch (4/3/2016). Derwent Watercolour colored pencils in large moleskine sketchbook.
pen and ink winter trees

Bonus Art Day

The blizzard we had yesterday turned out to be a blessing in disguise, an extra day off work and time to spend inking and watercoloring. I made the picture below, plus got a good chunk done on something else which is in progress. I had fun experimenting with the circular format (4 inch diameter) and now my little card is on its way in the mail as an after Christmas thank you note.

pen and ink winter trees
©2015 Carolyn A Pappas, Snow Trees 1. Ink and watercolor on 5 x 7 inch greeting card.