UGallery Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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Artist Joanie Ford started this piece with a carefully drawn and detailed image. "I had been to similar places in my life, and as I...

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An earthenware teapot and a piece of Unagi sushi rest on a warm wood table, balanced against a soft gray backdrop. A wash of su...

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Artist Judy Mudd captures a unique perspective on one of her signature rural landscapes, representing a grand old barn from the rear of the property. She uses...

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"So... The Hard Rock Cafe is at this location, but what really makes the site so beautiful is the surrounding buildings, and in particular the massive shadow ...

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"Vietnam is a country of contrasts - lowlands with lush green ricefields like this one as well as mountains around every corner," says artist James Nyika. "This picture was so compelling because of the huge color contrast of the bright luscious foreground and the greying distant mountains. I wanted to capture these contrasts that are pervasive throughout the country."

About the Artist
Artist James Nyika paints the glowing atmosphere of cities across the world. As a child growing up in Kenya, he found art materials at the student bookshop and also borrowed just about every art history volume from the British Council library in Nairobi. "I checked out the same books over and over just to stare at the art, to try and understand how it was created," says James. With family encouragement to study engineering, James moved to the U.S. and immersed himself in science studies at Boston University. Several years after embarking on a tech career, he set a goal to create at least one painting a week, never throwing away any works and learning as much as possible in his off hours. Today, James still balances his full-time career designing large software systems with his prolific output as a painter. "Painting is a great antidote to the regularity of a computing profession and I really value it for the uncertainty that it brings - something frowned upon when writing code."

Words that describe this painting: Vietnam, paddy, rice field...

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"My wife and I were invited on a tour of a very large ranch," shares artist Dwight Smith. "Of course, there were many outbuildings, sheds, and barns that were...

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"As an artist, I constantly look for the ordinary to elevate and give it the attention that it deserves," says artist Dwight Smith. "In this painting, it was my wife's dresser. A beautiful rustic antique walked...

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"There are many truly iconic architectural structures in Japan, and the Odaiba Bridge is one of the more memorable ones!" says artist James Nyika. "I wanted t...

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"I wanted to capture the key elements of the bay in a highly impressionistic way, painting almost a la prima," shares artist James Nyika. In this quick but en...

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In this soft Northern California landscape, artist Patricia Pendergast explores the expressive colors she experienced while on location. "I pushed the local c...

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"Preparations on a boat to go out fishing can be long, lonely, and time-consuming," says artist James Nyika. "This fisherman is preparing his boat for an even...

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"During an early fall morning on one of my daily strolls, I was coming round a bend and saw this sight - bright morning sunlight ...

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"This picture captures the dying rays of a winter evening at Fairwood Park in Maryland," shares artist James Nyika. "I wanted to portray the setting sun, warm...

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Using a wide variety of brushwork, artist Jill Poyerd set out to capture the beautiful, graceful lines of a set of aging poplar trees along a winter road. "Us...

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A panoramic autumn view of rolling hills and a sailboat on the bay in Northern California. The blue water provides a refreshing sight within the grassy straw-...

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"Milan, the center of fashion in Europe, is a beautiful city with fantastic classical architecture, trams and people milling about attending to their work," ...

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"My wife has been baking pecan pies for the holiday season," shares artist Dwight Smith," which inspired me to paint the still life. I love the warm colors of...

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A full moon illuminates fishing boats moored in still evening waters. "I was captivated by the sleek, beautiful boat at the forefront of this piece," says artist Judy Mudd. "It complemented the soft, quiet mood created by the glow of the moon in the sky above. The combination of these elements provides a gentle flow for the viewer's eye to follow." This watercolor is part of Judy's Moonglow Series.

About the Artist
For Judy Mudd, creating a work of art means much more than simply reproducing something she sees. “It is more than painting a subject, it is expressing a feeling,” she explains. Judy develops her paintings with thorough reconnaissance work. She goes out on photo shoots in a variety of atmospheric conditions, sketches outdoors, takes notes, and completes color and value studies. From there, back in the studio, she lets the paintbrush guide her. Outside of painting, Judy also leads watercolor workshops and runs a real estate business with her husband.

Words that describe this painting: impressionism, marine, moon, fishing, boats, calm...

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A culinary-themed still life featuring a Honeycrisp apple and sewing thimbles. "The beautiful profession of farming requires many hours of pruning or mending ...

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In this realist still life watercolor, artist Dwight Smith focused on the warm contrast of the bright red apple and wooden spools against the dramatic gradien...

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A western landscape featuring a quiet lake at the edge of a mountain range. Delicate, misty clouds pass overhead. "In order to conv...

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Artist Patricia Prendergast has spent many early mornings painting at this pond near her home, but this is a special piece inspired by the desire to depict th...

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A young girl reaches for her father's ready hand to guide her while she walks along a low wall in a lush garden. "I love gardens, and paint them often, so the...

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A quiet Northern California morning on a rural road. The marine layer has nearly burned off, intensifying the colors in the landscape and deepening the shado...

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Artist Patricia Prendergast began this pastoral view of the distant Sierra mountains by toning the whole paper with raw sienna watercolor. She lightly outlined the composition and then applied many layers of pastels. "Keeping in mind the works of some of my favorite impressionist artists, I allowed some of the raw sienna to remain visible throughout the painting," she says. "This resulted in the sky and ground planes feeling like a unified whole."

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Words that describe this painting: impressionist, mountains, clouds, sky, field, trees, Sierra Nevada...

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When artist Patricia Prendergast paints at the river, she often quickly picks up her camera and snaps photographs of other details ...

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Two robins face each other, a colorful display of red, yellow and orange oak leaves frame the scene. "Inspired by traditional Asian watercolor compositions and Western European painting technique, I created this composition to illustrate the harmony in nature between birds and flowers," says Suren. Part of his ongoing Birds and Flowers series.

About the Artist
Suren is an impressionist painter eloquently capturing nature, landscapes, and cityscapes in paint. His body of work reflects several different stylistic approaches. Suren’s scenes in oil are inspired by Impressionist masters Monet and Van Gogh, while his watercolor series of flowers and birds are influenced by Eastern styles of painting and the colors of the Middle Eastern environment. Suren believes his role as an artist is to remind viewers that we all are part of the same natural universe.

Words that describe this painting: robins, birds, fall, leaves, oak tree, fall tree, woodland, autumn, animals, nature, representational, watercolor painting, red

American Robins and Fall Foliage...

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"Living in Florida where it is hot and humid, I always get excited when the calendar turns to autumn with the remote promise of cooler weather," jokes artist ...

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"My mom gave my wife and me several cast iron pans of various sizes," says artist Dwight Smith of the setup for this realist stil...

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I painted this from a smaller painting that I did on site at one of my favorite spots along the American River. The sun was going in and out of the clouds, so it was tricky to get a consistent lighting effect. The surface is a sanded paper with a neutral lavender tone that sets off the luminosity of my pastel sticks.

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Words that describe this painting: tonalism...

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"Penguins are amazing family focused creatures, and I really do enjoy painting them," explains Catherine. She created this painting on heavyweight paper using primarily watercolor, with touches of graphite and gouache as well.

About the Artist
Impressionist Catherine McCargar expresses her deep admiration of nature through landscape paintings of Northern California. While she is well-versed in a range of media, her preferred medium for painting is watercolor. The fluidity of the paint allows her to capture the muted undertones and the fleeting light found in the natural world. While the backgrounds of her paintings are impressionistic, the foregrounds of her paintings are often highly detailed, showcasing her technical mastery over her medium.

Words that describe this painting: animals, penguins, animals, representational, watercolor painting, grey

Family Gathering...

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This whimbrel was trying to tell me something as he was leaving. Whimbrels don't talk a lot, so this image is amusingly unusual. He's painted in browns and gr...

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I painted this from photos that I took from a blind where we watched the Sandhill Cranes fly in to spend the night in the ecological preserve outside of Lodi, California. I painted it on a piece of black, sanded pastel paper trying to capture the beauty of the winter sunset.

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Words that describe this painting: winter, sunset, impressionism, landscape, impressionism, landscape, representational, pastel artwork, purple

After the Cranes...

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A group of inviting Mediterranean style homes in Palm Springs nestled against a backdrop of rocky desert hills, and watched over by a sentinel palm tree. "Thi...

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"This grouping of eucalyptus trees and bushes seemed like a tightly-knit family to me," says artist Patricia Prendergast. "I worked to portray that feeling by using an analogous color palette so that the sky, trees, bushes and grass all knit together."

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Words that describe this painting: California, landscape, eucalyptus, trees, bushes, tonalism...

Artist Comments
Part of artist Suren Nersisyan's Palm Tree series. He says he is drawn to their elegant shape and fresh tropical vibe. In this painting, Suren paid special attention to the bright sunlight radiating across the fronds, giving the study great depth and dimension.

About the Artist
Suren is an impressionist painter eloquently capturing nature, landscapes, and cityscapes in paint. His body of work reflects several different stylistic approaches. Suren’s scenes in oil are inspired by Impressionist masters Monet and Van Gogh, while his watercolor series of flowers and birds are influenced by Eastern styles of painting and the colors of the Middle Eastern environment. Suren believes his role as an artist is to remind viewers that we all are part of the same natural universe.

Words that describe this painting: tropical, island, foliage, palm trees, coconut palm...

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A path leads into dense woods, punctuated by old growth eucalyptus trees and bright, dry grasses. Quickly passing fog glows with afternoon light. A common sig...

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Artist Catherine McCargar based this painting off of a plein air piece she created while standing in the middle of this walking path and horse trail. "I had t...

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Patricia set up her easel at one of her favorite spots along the American River and painted a small study of the early morning scene. Then she went back to he...

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I really enjoy combining realism with very impressionistic, almost abstract brushwork. The areas of this painting that are loosely interpreted are meant to e...

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A bright day in the high desert plains. Pastel yellow, pink and blue balanced with the earthy tones of the landscape. "Landscapes when viewed in the open plai...

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A figure takes a quiet morning walk in nature. Warm sunlight dances across wispy clouds, creating a pastel display above the earthy landscape. "Getting away t...

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An original culinary-themed still life created in the realist tradition. "I got the urge to paint golden delicious apples, so my wife and I picked up some at ...

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Abstracted garden flowers in a cool palette of blues and pink, with a touch of warmth. "This piece is my interpretation of a wintery scene, evoking images of ...

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Patricia set up her easel on an early fall morning to catch the beauty of the fog rising off of the river. The sun was just beginnin...

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"A tranquil setting for a picnic or an early afternoon nap," says Patricia. The eucalyptus trees create a frame for the pond, the mid-ground bushes and the di...

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A joyful wedding bouquet, done in a loose watercolor style with warm, rich hues. Red, yellow and pink blossoms set against a complementary abstract background of cool blues, greens and greys. Part of Karin's signature series of exuberant floral...

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A spring garden scene, done in a loose and spontaneous watercolor style. Bright hues of yellow, pink and purple splash about the green foliage. Part of Karin'...

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"The sunlight danced across the water and on the foliage hanging over the stream, creating a frame for the deep woods beyond," Patri...

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During a recent plein air outing near her home, Judy saw a man walking his dog on a downtown street. The brightly colored awning and decorative lamps, combine...

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A bouquet of flowers in a wintery palette of blues and pink. Free flowing watercolor, excited brushwork and strong diagonals create a dynamic composition. On ...

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"An original watercolor that gives homage to a time when grandma or mom baked desserts and cooled them by fresh air," says Dwight. "The windowsill in this pai...

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Dwight Smith's realist watercolors revolve around uncommon relationships and the balancing of opposites. He pairs subjects that typically don't appear together to tell humorous, and often personal, stories. Dwight says of this painting, There is a thrill in growing a garden. My parents had a rather large garden when I was growing up. My brother and I reluctantly had to take care of it. Garden Popup #3 pays homage to that time but with humor. I imagined a radish popping...

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When the vineyards are showing off reds and golds during the early months of autumn, I head out to stand in the midst of them at my easel. This painting was done in the Livermore Valley wine country where the charming house nestled amongst the lively vines grabbed my attention. I am drawing the viewer's attention to the house by softening the edges of the painting.

About the Artist
Impressionist Catherine McCargar expresses her deep admiration of nature through landscape paintings of Northern California. While she is well-versed in a range of media, her preferred medium for painting is watercolor. The fluidity of the paint allows her to capture the muted undertones and the fleeting light found in the natural world. While the backgrounds of her paintings are impressionistic, the foregrounds of her paintings are often highly detailed, showcasing her technical mastery over her medium.

California Wine Country...

Artist Comments
This is a rendering of one of my favorite trees. It has such character and sits by itself in a riverbed that is dry most of the year. I wanted to create a moo...

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This is my interpretation of a section of the American River near my home. I tried to convey the feeling of peace that I get when walking in this area with the ducks and birds for company. I added the path for a little sense of mystery as to what we might see in those trees beyond the river. I created this piece on Ampersand Pastelbord and it will need framing for display.

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

View down the River...

Artist Comments
I painted this from a photo I took at Stafford Lake on a cloudy, rainy day. As I worked on it, it started to feel like a night scene to me and I thought it would be fun to add the moon and its reflection. I like how it provides a counter point in this monochromatic design.

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Moon over...

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I painted this on a piece of blue-grey sanded pastel paper. I let much of the paper show through in the water and just 'scumbled' across it to create some lig...

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Black turnstones are small hyperactive solitary shorebirds that, on Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara where they can be found in abundance in early winter, ra...

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Why is this bird with a clearly white breast so named? Because it's never in breeding plumage in Santa Barbara - I guess you have to go to the high Arctic to ...