Virgin River in Zion Canyon Step by Step Watercolor Painting Demonstration

"A Patch of blue" Watercolor painting of the Virgin River in Zion canyon by Roland Lee

This is a big 22" x 30" full-sheet watercolor painting I started last week and finished up today. I am trying to combine some of the water reflection painting techniques I learned from David Drummond (see my Lake Powell paintings), with the more traditional reflection painting technique I often use for rivers. What caught my attention in the scene was the colorful reflection in the still part of the river. A look at the painting will tell you why I call it "A Patch of Blue." Click here for purchase information on this painting

Click on step-by-step paintings below for enlarged views

Photos of Desert Tortoises near St. George, Utah in the Red Clfifs Desert Reserve

I had another close encounter of the Tortoise kind on my walk in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. As I walked up the trail I spotted a tortoise ambling up the trail towards me. He was about 30 feet away, so I just stopped and stood still thinking he would divert his path. Instad he got closer and closer without turning. then I discovered what he was after. He walked right up into my shadow and plunked himself down for a nice rest in a shady spot right at my feet.

When I finally moved he quickly ducked in his shell, then wandered off into the desert shrubs. I don't know who was more surprised, him or me.

Click to see some more Roland Lee photos of desert tortoises in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

Series of Old Nauvoo Paintings - Painting of Nauvoo Blacksmith Shop and Red Brick Store

Roland Lee painting of Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store in old Nauvoo Illinois. My ancestor James Henry Rollins worked in this store Click here for more information about this painting



Roland Lee painting of the Webb Blacksmith and Farrier shop in Nauvoo Illinois. My ancestor Orin Nelson Woodbury worked in this shop. Click here for more information about this painting

Last summer we went on a LDS Church History Trip across the United States following the old Mormon Pioneer Trail, a route followed by many of my own pioneer ancestors. Of course I completed a number of drawings along the way in my travel sketchbook with the intention of doing a series of pioneer paintings. With encouragement from other family members I keyed in places where my ancestors lived and worked. For the past month I have been working on a couple of these paintings and it's been slow going. I kept changing them in one way or another tryng to capture what I both saw and felt about the experience.

I was able to follow the painting process on both of them with step by step photos which I will post as soon as I can get them ready for downloading. For now here are the two paintings.

James Henry Rollins Pioneer History

Joshua Trees and Cactus Flowers

I took my wife to the airport in Las Vegas (off to see our new granddaughter in Houston)and on the way back this morning I decided to use the Old Highway and stop off at the Woodbury Desert Reserve. Located on the Beaver Dam slope near Littlefield it is a forest of gnarly twisted Joshua Trees. The Joshua blooms were done but the wildflowers were perfect. Of course I had to share a few more pictures with you.

I noticed a strange side effect from my wildflower searches -- hay fever! I've been sneezing all day today, so I might have to cut back a little til the pollen quits blowing around.

Paintings Selected for Utah Watercolor Society Spring Exhibition

Two of my paintings were selected for the Spring Exhibition of the Utah Watercolor Society. The show opens May 15 at palmer Gallery in Salt lake city, Utah. The juror selected "Banjo Man" a very loose watercolor study of a man playing the banjo, and "Stone Buttress" a painting of the Kolob Canyons area of Zion National Park. The show was juried by noted watercolorist Jean H. Grastorf AWS, NWS. Stone Buttrress previously won Best of Show at the Southern Utah Watercolor Society exhibit at the St. George Art Museum.

Photos of Desert Tortoise and Wildflowers in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

I've taken up walking during my lunch hour as a way of getting in better shape and getting in touch with my inner "desert tortoise." I love the desert. I relish the feel of the sun on my back, the sand between my toes, and the solitude of walking alone in the outdoors. Just 5 minutes above my studio is the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, a wilderness habitat for desert creatures such as the Desert Tortoise. On my walk today I actually saw a little tortoise which is a fairly rare occurance. He was basking on a sandstone rock right in the center of the trail. He didn't seem to mind my shooting a quick photo before continuing on my way. As I looked back I was a little relieved to see him sauntering away from the trail to a safer location.


An added bonuse of walking the desert right now is discovering the spring wildflowers. Lots of white, yellow, and purple, but during the past week the cactus have begun blooming. It's not hard to spot them with their brilliant red blossoms.

How to Paint Skies in Watercolor - Workshop Demonstration

"Desert Sky" 6.5 x 10 watercolor by Roland Lee
Click here for purchase information

In yesterday's watercolor workshop I demonstrated how easy it is to paint skies in watercolor. In the painting above for the sky I used Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light, and Ultramarine Blue, letting the pigments mingle in a wet in wet wash for the cloud shadows. I like to complete the sky in about 3 minutes then let it go. This usually results in a natural looking sky with rich glowing light in the cloud areas.

After completing the sky I allow it to dry and paint in the distant mesa and a light wash over the foreground area, so I can evaluate my lights and darks. With the initial values in place I use my pencil to sketch in some of the shadows and details on the shrubs.

At this stage I bring the painting into sharper focus by putting additional darks in the shadow areas and adding the foreground elements. Finally I put in some strong directional shadows across the foreground. the painting should be finished, but I decide the sky might need a little more attention.

Ordinarily I complete the sky in one pass, but I feel that there needs to be a little more drama in the cloud shadows so I decide to apply a second glaze. This is risky business, since it can muddy up a clean wash if not done correctly. First I completely re-wet the sky area with a 1-inch flat brush and clear water. While wet, I touch a mixture of Ultramarine blue and Quinacridone Coral on the underside of the clouds to darken them slightly.

I like the new result better.

April 2008 Watercolor Landscape Painting Workshop at A Passion for Painting Gallery

I enjoyed spending the day with 7 excellent artists today who signed up for my April Landscape workshop, Sponsored by Becky Whitney at A Passion for Painting Art Gallery. I am always amazed at the raw talent that I see regularly in these classes. I love to see what they come up with, and today I saw some great stuff. I'm looking forward to another fun day tomorrow. Artists include: John Mangels, Lynda Burruss, Wendy Green, Faye Montrose, Gail Alger, John Sewell, Marilyn Goldtooth.

Fishing is an Art too!

Okay, I know this blog is about art, but fishing is an art too. The weather is warming up rapidly and our bass lakes are calling us. I stole away from the studio a few days ago with Robert Eves and my son Jon to see if we could roust anything up at Sand Hollow Reservoir. Unfortunately Robert's bass boat had a malfunction so we tried fishing from the shoreline. Robert taught me a new rigging using a Senko lure from Gary Yamamoto with a "Texpose" weedless rigging. You fish it extremely slowly crawling it over the rocky bottom. I managed to pull up this big largemouth bass with it and now I'm a believer too.

Photos: Top, My big lunker. Left: Robert Eves with one of his big catches on the Senko rigging.Left bottom: Jon helps Robert land another big'un.

Ivins Reservoir Photo on KSL TV

Nellie and I took an evening walk along the Ivins Reservoir in Kayenta this evening. We experienced a fantastic sunny day today with temperatures in the high 70's and it was the perfect end to a great southern Utah day. I sent this photo to KSL weather and it aired on television 10:00 news tonight.