Secret Harbour, St Thomas by Yvonne Pecor Mucci
Another beautiful day in St Thomas. The sketch is of Secret Harbour, a little cove across from Sapphire Beach which is sheltered from the trade winds. It is like swimming in an aquarium with perfectly calm clear water! I want to change the format from horizontal to vertical based on the photos taken when the final watercolor is painted.
Posted by ymucci on March 19, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/03/19/secret-harbour-st-thomas-usvi/
Sea Grape Trees at Sapphire Bay Sketch
I’ve been visiting St Thomas, US Virgin Islands over the past couple weeks. Stunning views. The trade winds were a little too strong for watercolor painting, but my sketchbook came in handy. Sapphire Bay is breathtaking and the Sea Grape trees provide welcome shade from the sun. I’ll make this view a little wider to show more of the ocean for the watercolor painting.
Posted by ymucci on March 18, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/03/18/sapphire-bay-sketchbook/
Wheel Loader Watercolor 16 x 20 Framed (sold)
Just finished this painting. I admire watercolorist Paul McCormack and tried to use some of his techniques for building skin tones. My skin tone palette was mostly Yellow Ochre, Cerulean Blue and permanent Rose. The granulation of the Cerulean Blue was a challenge and I may substitute Cobalt Blue (which was suggested in a demo) for the next painting that includes skin tones.
I also found that you really need to adjust the cast shadows to allow for the detail to be shown in the face. I never want to copy a photograph. The finished painting has to make sense and stand on its own.
For more information, or to commission a portrait please email me mucciyvonne@yahoo.com
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on February 14, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/02/14/wheel-loader-watercolor/
Southern New Jersey Barn – 19 x 23 Framed
Driving in southern NJ you’ll see some beautiful open spaces with active farms. This was painted trying a different technique on the grass.
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on February 4, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/02/04/barn-in-southern-new-jersey/
View From The Dock, Fairlee MD – 11 x 17 Framed (sold)
The goal was to capture a quiet landscape for the property owner which the family enjoyed all summer.
For more information on commissioned artwork mucciyvonne@yahoo.com
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on February 1, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/02/01/view-from-the-dock-watercolor/
Runner – 17 x 26 Framed
This painting was done specifically for a show with the show requirements being a woman artist and the subject being of a woman, but not a portrait.
I wanted it to be a wider format to portray distance and use the runner’s shadow to lead you into the background while the fallen leaves bring your eye back to the runner. I thought it was completed and now I am rethinking the skintones in the face. I’m not sure where I need to go with it, but something is off. This may be one of those paintings that I rework from the beginning.
For more information on paintings please email mucciyvonne@yahoo.com
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on January 21, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/01/21/training-26-2/
Hydrangea – 16 x 20 Framed
This hydrangea watercolor was completed this past summer. It is a tough subject because of the complexity of the flowers. The composition was arranged so that you come into the painting from the bottom left and move up through the blooms with the honeysuckle bringing your eye across and back down into the blooms.
I have a small plant in the back corner of our yard. For a few months in the summer the blooms change colors starting with a bright lime green and moving from pinks to blues and finishing with a dark green to burgundy. Honeysuckle is winding through the fence in the background.
For more information on paintings please email mucciyvonne@yahoo.com
This is a second try on the Hydrangea watercolor. I wanted to simplify it and make an attempt at painting in a loose style. There are elements I like about each version. Some like the first and some prefer the second which tells me there is not enough of a change.
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Second Try
Posted by ymucci on January 21, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/01/21/hydrangea/
Seashells by Yvonne Pecor Mucci
The holidays are over and it is time to get back to painting. I had set up a little still life of seashells during the holidays to hold me over till I figured out what the next watercolor subject would be. I sketched out the shells on 140 lb Arches paper but didn’t start it for some unknown reason. I woke to a dusting of snow on the lawn which was the perfect excuse to start painting something that reminded me of warmer days.
The shells were masked out and the background was painted using salt and splatter techniques to simulate the sand. Once the masking fluid was removed I began working on the shells trying to incorporate the colors used in the shells into the background with more glazing and splatter. Today it was almost 60 degrees, so maybe the painting helped!
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on January 7, 2012
https://yvonnemucci.com/2012/01/07/it-was-snowing-this-morning/
Linda and Greg’s 1750s Home (sold)
Shown above is a portrait of a 1750s home in southern New Jersey. It was commissioned by a friend to give as a gift to his next door neighbor. The challenge of this painting was the size of the property and the detail in the historic building. Luckily he asked me about it in early spring. There’s a very mature, desiduous, Bald Cypress tree which blocks out most of the building during the summer. If he would have called me just a few weeks later I would have had to postpone the painting until the fall when the Cypress had lost its foliage. I immediately drove over and took a series of photos which were combined into the view shown.
I opened up the Cypress to show the second fireplace and the roof line. If I would have left the tree as it was, it wouldn’t make sense in the painting. The other trees on the property were also critical because the property owners had planted most of them.
For a portrait of your home, please contact me via email mucciyvonne@yahoo.com
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on December 20, 2011
https://yvonnemucci.com/2011/12/20/1750s-home-in-southern-new-jersey/
Framed 16 x 20 By Yvonne Pecor Mucci
I travel to southern Florida quite often. You have to go pretty far south before you hit that beautiful blue/green water. As the title of this post states, it is one of my favorite places. I love the way the sky changes the color of the water. Every day is different and you can spend endless hours trying to capture the feeling you get when you’re sitting by the ocean.
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on December 1, 2010
https://yvonnemucci.com/2010/12/01/hello-world/
Intrigued (Framed 16 x 20) By Yvonne Pecor Mucci
Talk about a perfect day at the beach. Pictured is a typical day at the Jersey Shore. Strathmere beach is usually pretty quiet and it wasn’t crowded this day. The sky was solid blue and the light was perfect. I sketched this boy as he played and took a series of photos which turned into a beautiful painting. Right before we left, I gave the boys grandparents one of the black and white sketches I had completed.
I wanted to learn how to portray waves and putting the boy in the foreground gave the waves the right perspective. Plus it made the painting much more interesting. The color of the water and the sand is completely different in southern New Jersey compared to Florida. Much cooler colors.
This painting is currently on exhibit at the Gloucester County College.
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on August 20, 2010
https://yvonnemucci.com/2010/08/20/intrigued-strathmere-nj/
Whitegarden at Longwood by Yvonne Pecor Mucci
Painting florals in watercolor is a very popular subject which gives the artist and the viewer great pleasure. Keeping them light and loose is a difficult thing to accomplish. The branch was rotated and the background was kept out of focus to keep the viewer involved with the blossoms.
Longwood Gardens is a beautiful place to go for a walk. There are endless subjects which make beautiful paintings. I have a great many photos of flowers and trees which would take a lifetime to paint. I especially enjoy painting flowers during those gray winter months.
Once you have your photos and sketches, it is great to have a live cutting of the flower you are trying to capture. Your eyes are much better than a camera lense at capturing complex details.
All artwork is ©Yvonne Pecor Mucci. No reproduction without written permission.
Posted by ymucci on August 15, 2008
https://yvonnemucci.com/2008/08/15/florals/
Sketching subjects and making notes for paintings is so important. It gives you the overall tone for the painting. The camera captures everything, but it also flattens the scene. You can take notes on color and value for use when you’re in the studio. For me, making quick sketches along with taking photographs lets me figure out what I want to paint long before I pick up a brush.
The combination of sketches and photos gives me a higher confidence level when tackling a tough subject.
Posted by ymucci on February 2, 2008
https://yvonnemucci.com/2008/02/02/sketchbook/
Yvonne Pecor Mucci 