Shiny Designs has Moved!

Click here to have a look around. I’ve been working hard to get the new site ready for you and it’s lighter and brighter and prettier. There’s even a housewarming gift –for you! From now until the end of August, download a watercolor cardinal greeting card (that’s him up there) as a PDF, formatted and ready to print on regular cardstock.

Having the blog and site all together is going to be better all around with more up to date posting and new stuff. If you’re reading in your Google reader or your inbox, you should get your updates as usual. Be sure to bookmark the new site while you’re there.

Go on over now and get your free cardinal card, have a look around and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.

Drawings! Cardinals! In Colored Pencil!

OK, so that's a lot of excitement up there in the title. But, it's been such a long while since I posted and almost as long since drawing and painting that I got kind of wound up.

This is the first drawing after being away for while and I could sure tell in my rusty hands and eyes. It's sketched lightly on Champagne Mi Tientes and then the color is worked in with Prismacolor colored pencils. In trying to stick with limited colors, I chose Tuscan Red, Scarlet, Poppy Red, White and Black.

Overall, it's OK but I didn't like the texture of the paper - too mechanical. Nor am I happy with the stiffness and lack of life in the bird; perhaps it's a bit overworked.

So, I did another drawing exactly the same- sort of.



Here's Cardinal #2, same paper (except on the smooth side), same size (5x7), and the same colors. To me, it seems fresher even if there's less detail. This one was much easier to draw and complete; I could feel myself loosening up as it progressed.

Colored pencils are a big draw for me, but I'm still getting comfortable with how I want to use them in a less precise manner. I'm enjoying exploring these small drawings and am trying to do some everyday. I've got another couple to show very soon.

Thanks for looking and any thoughts and comments are always appreciated.

Red Tailed Hawk Drawing

I haven't done enough drawing lately and was feeling the lack. So, here's a Red Tailed Hawk on gray paper. I think it's Canson but it was in a stack of miscellaneous paper with no marks or labels so that's a guess. This hawk is actually a warm toned bird in shades of brown, golds and cremes so my choice of cool colored pencils makes it look much starker.

I sketched the bird lightly with a fine point pencil, then used four Prismacolor colored pencils for the body and beak: Black, White, Indigo and Warm Gray 50%. Two more colors were added to enhance the eyes: Light Umber and Goldenrod.

This was a relatively fast study and, for what it's worth, fast for me means around 30 to 45 minutes. Overall, I'm pleased with it but, as usual, there's room for improvement.

Working with the pencils on the colored paper did start me thinking about using watercolor to tone and drawing on that. SO, I've got a couple of those lined up to experiment with. Let's see where that goes!

On a painting note, a new cardinal is available at Etsy. I think he looks festive, so he's a Christmas Cardinal with the name "Waiting."

"Waiting"

Christmas Cardinal

5 x 7 Original Watercolor Painting

More Birds! Watercolor Paintings Cardinals and Oriole

"Red"
5x7
Original Watercolor
For Sale: Etsy

I just finished another set of birds with a pair of cardinals and an oriole. They are all posted on Etsy if you want to see "Red" and his mate "Little Red" as well as "Notorious" a northern oriole.

I had the idea to make a mini demo of one of them to share how I paint them. You know, scanning it at various stages of WIP and explaining what I was doing. Of course, the one that I chose to document, a male ruby throated hummingbird, is the one that just did not turn out well! Funny how things go that way. I’ll try again next time.

If you've got a favorite bird you'd like to see or any thoughts on these, let me know. I'd love to hear from you!

Another Watercolor Painting - Serene Cardinal

Another cardinal - number 8 in the trials mentioned in the previous post. He is more serene than the first one. Painted the same way but with an entirely different result!

It's amazing what can happen if you just try a little. After so many wonderful people, both online and off, encouraged me to continue with the birds, I was bold enough to paint a few to list on Etsy and have had the good fortune to sell a chickadee. You can see the remaining listings over there on the left.

Of course, I'm just as excited as a kindergartner at a carnival! I'm planning more small paintings and have a notion for birds of prey in larger formats. Any thoughts or ideas?

New Painting - Watercolor Cardinal

Thanks to everyone who has encouraged the birds, I hope this is appealing. It's loose and sketchy in feel, but hopefully captures the right details and says Cardinal.

This is number 7 of the trials that I did. It took me that long to get one I was pleased with - it's on the back of an earlier one that was unfinished because it was too bad to proceed! There are three that are finished and I'll post the others soon.

The process for painting these is very straightforward. I sketch the bird lightly in pencil and then paint the first loose layer of watercolor. This layer is painted in a combination of wet on wet and wet on dry methods. I moisten the paper in some areas of the background and then paint the bird letting the colors mingle in the body and the colors spread into the background. This first paint application is the most important as well as the easiest to make a mistake.

After letting it dry, I add the spatters for texture and dry again. The last step is to add the small details and harder edges where necessary as well as modifying the body forms to look more realistic. After painting, I sharpen the eye, beak and feet with colored pencil, if necessary.

Materials & particulars- Finished size: 5x7, Winsor & Newton watercolors on Arches 140lb cold press paper, Prismacolor colored pencils