Watercolor Paintings - Art by Derek McCrea

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Cape Canaveral Lighthouse art print

Cape Canaveral Lighthouse art print. This is the closest lighthouse to my home of Satellite Beach. It is very close to NASA and overlooks the "I Dream of Jeanie" beaches from yesteryear and overwatches Major Nelson's antics with Jeanie. Lol. It is a different lighthouse for sure. limited edition signed and numbered print for $25
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Lighthouse Paintings

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Hibiscus 2 watercolor painting

Today I painted this flower watercolor painting. It is a flower from my back yard here in sunny Satellite Beach, Florida. I had to paint another one since the last one I painted. The last one I painted was pink and this one is orange/peachy. The colors of these flowers bring out the tropical atmosphere.
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Flower Paintings

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Pelican Painting

I painted this pelican painting today and taught my son how to do his first painting, we did it together, step by step. I felt proud. Available as a fine art print 11 x 14 inches for 30 dollars below.
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Pelican Paintings

Monday, April 14, 2008

Pelican 3

Newest pelican painting, the same one I painted yesterday but in a landscape profile. 11 x 14 inches available below as an original painting or fine art print in different sizes.
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Pelican Paintings

Sunday, April 13, 2008

pelican watercolor painting

Pelican watercolor painting, back to my painting a day - today I completed this pelican. I am going to start giving my son lessons on painting. this one is available as an original 11 x 14 or fine art prints below in different sizes using the drop down box.
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Pelican Paintings

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Albuquerque New Mexico Cityscape painting

Albuquerque New Mexico landscape painting cityscape architecture historical cafe and downtown city street watercolor painting pen and ink drawing original art for your home or business wall 18 x 24 inches 189 dollars

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Southwestern Watercolor Paintings

Monday, March 17, 2008

Sailing nautical art print

Sailing nautical watercolor painting fine art print seascape beach boat realistic artwork 11 x 13 inches 25 dollars plus 7 shipping.

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Beach watercolor paintings

Saturday, January 26, 2008

My Zazzle store

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Watercolor Paintings

Saturday, January 19, 2008

sea turtle watercolor painting

Sea Turtle by derekmccrea

For sale as a limited edition print: $20.00 Buy it now at Artbreak!

via Artbreak - Share and sell art online

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Watercolor Paintings

Sunday, January 13, 2008

January 2008 Art Newsletter

Derek McCrea's January 2008 Artist Newsletter
I completed a charity interior design project for Dianne Felton, a charity volunteer design project coordinator from Newport Beach, California. She was completing a project for a young girls room.
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http://www.derekmccrea.50megs.com

December art newsletter part 11 Dunes

Dunes

Dunes is my first watercolor painting of sand dunes on the beach. I had painted several sand dune paintings in oil and they are some of my favorite works. This work is available as an original and a fine art modern print.

This particular painting was inspired by a visit I took to Cumberland Island, Georgia. An old ferry boat surrounded by shrimp boats loaded up with me, my wife, my two children, my mother (a school teacher) and her students. This spot is an area of the Island that my wife, Sheila, thought looked very romantic as the trail opened up to the gorgeous view of the ocean and beach. I am from Georgia and have only been there once.

This part of Georgia is known as the Golden Isles and is comprised of Sapelo Island, Cumberland Island, St Simons Island, and Jekyll Island. There is a ferry that holds 60 people that departs and returns once a day to the island. I remember the island was very beautiful and one of the most tranquil desolate places I have ever been. The beach suffered less of mankind’s effects and appeared untouched. In the distance I could see wild horses throwing sand in the air, while racing down the beach..

There were no merchant stores or gas stations; no roadways; only the one ranger station that took good care of the sea turtles who returned to the same beach year after year to lay their eggs. The eggs then would hatch and return to the very same beach where they would continue the egg laying cycle started by their parents and grandparents.

I will never forget the several mile long beach side return trip back to the ferry boat at the end of the day. Me, being the only man of the bunch ended up carrying about 100 pounds of seashells in my rucksack for all of the students in my mom’s class. There is nothing better than a romantic walk on the beach while surrounding by tons of first graders. Other than that it was a pretty romantic, quiet day. After returning from the beach I had taken a picture of that favorite spot that my wife noticed over watching the beach and the sunset that beautiful day. Or, send me an email
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Beach Watercolor Paintings

December art newsletter part 10 sunflowers 2

Sunflowers II

This painting has a very unique technique applied to create depth and texture for a watercolour. I began this work with a pallet knife and gesso applied to 140 lb stock Arches watercolour paper. The gesso was applied to create structure for the flowers and a diminishing background with less granulation. After the gesso dried I painted the watercolor normal but could not apply a wet on wet technique as the gesso absorbs the paint when applied. The paint applied over gesso created a 3D effect for the overall painting.

“Sunflowers II” is one of my first watercolours. I became accustomed to completing oil paintings and I used many oil painting techniques with this watercolor painting. Many people have told me this painting reminds them of Leonardo Da Vinci’s floral works. That was not my attempt, as I stated this is a very original work, the only one I know of that is watercolor over gesso.

I have always loved sunflowers. When I was younger I can remember my Grandfather taking me out to the sunflower field. It was 67 acres of sunflowers. I can recall bringing back several sunflower heads that were dried for baking in the oven. The rest of the sunflowers were harvested and sold at the end of the season.

Today in the grocery store we see organic this and organic that with the price of the items doubled because the products are organic. I was born and raised in a time and place where everything I ate was organic, on a huge 2,000 acre farm. Sunflowers remind me of good times and hard fu work while growing up on a family farm. One day I hope to have my own garden and grow my own favorite organic fruits, nuts and vegetables and sunflowers will be among that organic garden. 9 x 12 inches

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Sunflower Paintings

Beach Watercolor Painting

Dunes 3

This painting is an 18 x 24 inches original watercolor and is also available as a fine art modern print. It is a huge modern artwork of a beach nautical seascape. The foreground is high beach dunes. You can't see the beach but you know it is there! The location is Cocoa Beach Florida, while I was staying at the Ron Jon Surf Resort. Cocoa Beach is the nearest beach to Orlando, Florida the city that hosts Disney World and Universal Studios.

While driving down A1A in Cocoa Beach there are certain areas where the land has been purchased by large companies and you can not view the dunes from the road. This spot is a place road side where you are very close to the beach right off of A1A and this is a view from the street as a tourist would see while passing by. There is little undisturbed beach front property remaining in Florida.

Brevard County, the county for Cocoa Beach is the home of three time surf champion, Kelly Slater. This are is also the place where the TV show “I Dream of Jeanie” was filmed. This particular painting is a scene only a few feet from “I Dream of Jeanie Lane”. I personally loved that show when I was growing up. Brevard County is also the home of Cape Canaveral Florida where NASA launches the space shuttle and other numerous rockets.

My intent with this painting was to be very basic. Very little is sometimes just right, especially when it comes to watercolours and keeping the look soft. The sand on these sand dunes feels like baby powder under your feet and I tried to replicate that in the work. The darker shades of beige in the sand are light damp spots from dripping from the overhead sea oats and shadows. The sea oats are also a protected plant. The reason that the sand dunes are high is they protect the land from the erosion caused by high energy blasting waves especially during the hurricane season. The sea oats in the sand assist in providing stability for the earth to provide a natural barrier for the elements and the ocean. 11 x 14 inch fine art print 25 plus 7 shipping.

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Beach Watercolor Paintings

Blue Ridge Mountain landscape watercolor painting

Blue Ridge Mountains

I completed this painting while living in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The painting is from a trip I took to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Many people each year travel here to this spot to watch as the leaves change colors in the fall. While a traveler camps out over the period of a 3 to 4 day weekend they can wake up each morning to see a difference in the colors of the nature around them. The color change is that noticeable.

During the travel to this location we had elk eating in the fields beside my truck and we stopped and stood within feet of the elk. The road offered wondrous cliff side views that took my breath away. Although my wife seemed frightened by my driving so fast and close to the edge I was not afraid unless we came up on some black ice. I learned while living in Germany not to underestimate black ice on the roads in the winter as it forms in the shady parts of the road where the sun does not melt the water drainage turned ice form the night before.

The painting replicates both an impressionistic and a realistic scene as the real thing is not much different from this painting; that is how beautiful this natural mountain range is. Flowing hilltops and sinking valleys where the treetop horizon flows smoothly as though a cloud on the ground. In this scene in fall it is morning and my windows are filled with leftover dew from the night before.

The mountain range is at such a high altitude I am unsure if this is clouds I am seeing amongst the valley or is this fog? I find out later in the day as the fog lightly lifts away and clouds remain amongst the terrain. The morning sun is to my east, my right as I am looking over a cliff at this fabulous site. 9 x 12 inches
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Landscape Watercolor Paintings

Daisies watercolor flower painting

2 Daisies

2 Daisies marks the beginning of my floral close-up whimsical impressionistic series of paintings. This painting fits nicely in a bright, colorful room to make the room even more bright and colorful. I used the wet on wet technique for painting this work and it is my first daisy painting also.

The brilliant splashing effect and cool colors in the background promote the mix of whites and light grays composing the flowers in the foreground. The sunflower buds are a mix of wet on wet yellows with orange and raw umber mixes applied to the wet yellow. The key to this technique is not having wetness on any of the outside of the flower bud.

When painting wet on wet I keep the portions I do not wish to be affected dry. Watercolours are indeed magical when working wet on wet and they have their own identity. You can never replicate an image that was painted wet on wet; not even the artist themselves.

9 x 12 inches original painting
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Flower Watercolor Paintings

Tybee Island Lighthouse

Tybee Island Lighthouse

Created in 1732 the Tybee Island Lighthouse stands watch over the seas near Savannah, Georgia. The lighthouse is only several hundred meters from the ocean. Half way between the ocean and the lighthouse, on the beach, there is a cabana where romantic weddings occur as a local tradition. The historic site brings out the romance during weddings and many visits by tourists each year.

To me this painting symbolizes the lighthouse as the watcher and protector for the seamen. For centuries this lighthouse has provided a landmark for navigation for fishermen and sailors coming to the New World. Imagine how many lives the shining beacon that lighted the path back to land has saved.

The Tybee Island Lighthouse is by far the most powerful architecture structure on the beach. Travelers feel the wind in their face and the sand on their feet as they talk relaxing walks down the beach shoreline. Wherever you are on the beach the lighthouse is in view. The lighthouse has over watched weddings; romantic walks, and watched patiently as times have changed over the centuries. It stands tall as a monument for pride and freedom.

I have seen many lighthouses and this one is by far my favorite as the mood is so romantic at this location. It is near Savannah, Georgia, another historical city where you can still visit the past. I painted this painting en plein air on Tybee Island. As I painted the painting 2 weddings occurred at the site. Notice the sky in the painting. I captured a realistic view of the sky on that cool fall Saturday evening. The tree is black for a reason. The sun was setting in the east over the Atlantic Ocean and the palm tree appeared black. The palm tree is actually painted with India Pen and Ink utilizing a quill. When I look at the painting today I remember clearly the relaxing feel in the air, and am reminded of the feeling of love and commitment surrounding me on that day. 11 x 15 inches limited edition print 32 dollars
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Lighthouse Paintings