Painting II

Tenley Ohnemus “Hot Air Balloon”

4”x6”, watercolor on paper, 2026 

This is my baseline piece that we did at the beginning of the class, I made a watercolor painting of a hot air balloon. I got my inspiration from Pinterest because I liked the bright colors and peaceful background. I wanted the painting to look calm and colorful, and I thought a hot air balloon would be fun to paint.

I started by sketching the hot air balloon and the background onto the paper. After that, I added watercolor paint and created a border around the painting to frame it better. I tried blending different colors together in the sky to make it look soft and smooth.

The hardest part of this painting was the sky and the shading in the background. I made the sky too light at first, and it was difficult to get the colors to blend the way I wanted. Watercolor was challenging because once the paint dried, it was hard to fix mistakes.

Even though I struggled with some parts, I learned a lot from making this painting. I learned that shading and color balance are really important, especially with watercolor. If I painted this again, I think it would turn out better because I understand the mistakes I made and how to improve them next time.

Tenley Ohnemus “Zebra”

8”x10”, acrylic on canvas, 2026 

This painting is our animal assignment and I picked a zebra, because it is my favorite animal. I wanted to challenge myself by painting the zebra’s stripe patterns and making them look natural and realistic. The contrast between the black background and the zebra’s bright stripes helps the animal stand out and be the main focus of the piece.

I started by sketching the outline of the zebra onto the canvas and planning where the major stripe patterns would go. To start the painting, I did the neck first because it looked the most complicated. Once I was finished with that section, I did the middle of the body before moving toward the back and front. I focused on creating curved lines that showed the shape and roundness of the zebra’s body, especially around the hip and shoulders. As I continued, I added the legs, tail, and details in the face.

The most difficult part of this painting was creating the stripes and making them follow the form of the zebra naturally. The front legs and the face were especially challenging because the stripe patterns were more detailed and less predictable. During this process, I learned how important line direction and shading are in creating movement and depth in realistic painting.

This artwork is realistic in style. I wanted the painting to capture both the beauty and strength of the zebra while also showing the patience and focus that went into creating each stripe. My favorite part of the painting is the body and back area because I think the curved stripes successfully show the form of the zebra and create a sense of movement. Overall, this project helped me improve my attention to detail and become more confident in painting complex patterns.

Tenley Ohnemus “A Day in Paradise”
4”x4”, acrylic on canvas, 2026

This painting is called A Day in Paradise, and is a sunset painting with a beach and water at the bottom. I wanted to make the painting feel calm and peaceful, like a place someone would want to relax and visit. I used bright colors like pink, orange, and yellow in the sky to make the sunset stand out and look warm.

The first thing I painted was the sunset background. I blended the colors together across the canvas before adding the beach and water. After that, I worked on the waves and tried to make the water look like it was moving. I used different shades of blue and white to create the tide and waves.

The hardest part of this painting was definitely the water. I got frustrated because the waves did not look realistic the way I wanted them to. I kept trying to fix them, but I still did not really like how they turned out. In the end, I added more islands and beach areas to cover parts of the water and improve the painting overall.

Even though I struggled with this project, I learned that sometimes artists have to change their ideas and work through mistakes. My favorite part of the painting is the sunset because I think the colors blended together really well. Overall, I am proud that I kept working on the painting and finished it instead of giving up.

Tenley Ohnemus “Tiana's Flowers”
7”x9”, acrylic on canvas, 2026

This painting was originally supposed to be Tiana’s Bayou, but I did not like how it was turning out and had to switch what I was doing. I looked at the painting and thought about what I could visualize in it. I decided to add flowers because I thought they would fit well in the open space and make the painting look better than I could with what I originally had planned.

I already had the whole background painted, so I started by drawing the stems and leaves for the flowers. At first, I was only going to paint one flower, but there was still a lot of empty space on the canvas. I looked on Pinterest for easy flowers to draw and used those ideas to help me decide what to add. That is how I ended up painting the tulips with the lavender in the middle.

The hardest part of this painting was the lavender. At first it just looked like a purple blob, so I had to keep shading by adding black and white paint to make it actually look like lavender. I also got frustrated because my original idea did not work out the way I wanted, but changing the painting helped me like it a lot more in the end.

My favorite part of this painting is the flowers because I think the shading makes them look more realistic. I also like how the flowers stand out against the dark background. This project taught me that it is okay to change your idea while you are working because sometimes the new idea turns out even better.