Two Blue Jays – Which do You Prefer?

It’s been a while since a post – again! Let’s face it, time spent at the computer is time NOT spent painting or drawing or writing. Well, a lot of writing is at the computer, but you get what I mean. Time spent creating is not the same as time spent telling about creating.

On to today’s good stuff! Here are two watercolors of a blue jay. Same format, same colors – Cerulean Blue, Manganese Blue and Mars Black –worked at the same time. One is much better to my eye, what do you think? Do you like #1 or #2, this one or that one?




I’m curious which one is more appealing to you. The winner will become a greeting card in my Etsy shop so please comment!

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.

A Bird of Different Sort: Watercolor Rooster

This is an older painting from several months ago that was never posted. He's actually the first bird of the sort that I've been doing lately. I was so pleased with him; it gave me the push to try the other birds.

He's a little larger than 5 x 7 and painted only with Quinacridone Gold, Indigo, and Quinacridone Red. The green in the tail is from the Quin. Gold and Indigo mixed - I love that color every time it appears!

His face is sharpened with a touch of Prismacolor colored pencil that looks like Tuscan Red and Goldenrod. I didn't write them down and don't remember now which ones they were.

I hope you like him - he was a first of a kind!

Western Red Tailed Hawk Drawing - Colored Pencil on Dark Paper

I enjoyed drawing the hawk in the earlier post so much, I thought I'd try again. Here's a 5 x 7 Western Red Tailed Hawk drawn on Mi Tientes paper with Prismacolor pencils. Again I used a minimal palette of Indigo Blue, Dark Umber, Light Umber, Goldenrod, White and a touch of Black. I don't know the color name of the paper, but it is very dark and cool toned.

In hindsight, I would have done this differently. This color is incredibly hard to see to draw! My initial sketch lines - which are usually very light as is my habit - were nearly invisible. Also, the colors I chose harmonize well with the subject and the paper, but seem to lack sparkle.

There's some of this paper left and next time, I'll try a white bird for that lift it seems to need. Either way, I'm still pleased with how the hawk turned out, especially the expression, and it was really fun to do.

I'm still experimenting with watercolor toned grounds, but it looks like an art supply order for more colored paper is in the making!

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

Watercolor Painting: A Green Beetle!

This is a little different subject, but I've always been fascinated by bugs. Not just the pretty ones like butterflies either. Maybe a new series here, there's surely a lot of interesting bugs out there! What do you think? Any favorite bugs?

If you are wondering about the birds, I'm still working on birds of prey. As usual, the first painting is not what I had in mind so am working on more that I'm happy with. Currently in progress: American Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon and Coopers Hawk. I'll post soon with news on those.

In the meantime, there is a set of 4 note cards available at Etsy or directly from me if you prefer.

New Watercolor Bird Paintings - Chickadee and Wren

"Busy"
Original Watercolor Painting
5" x 7"

"Pensive"
Original Watercolor Painting
5" x 7"

These two are already in my Etsy shop if you are thinking of Christmas already.

Oh and there's a cardinal too, but he's being held off for a bit. The colors and layout are unconventional so I'm giving him some breathing room to decide if he's OK. Here's a sneak peek; any thoughts?

More Original Watercolor Bird Paintings - Wren and Oriole

I've been working on more birds and will have new paintings to post soon. In the meantime, I've been remiss in keeping updated as someone close to me pointed out that she had not seen several of the completed paintings posted. Sorry!

Here are two previously finished works. The Oriole is one of the backyard and best loved birds. I just love that he is orange and black and looks mischievous. Perfect for Halloween.

"Notorious", 5x7 original watercolor, Male Northern Oriole, Available

In painting this series, I seem to have an affection for Wrens. I'm happy to say that this Marsh Wren has a wonderful new home but I am working on one or two more.

"Songster", 5x7 original watercolor Marsh Wren, Sold

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

A Bit of Black

Another bird! This mockingbird drawing was lightly sketched with graphite and finished with colored pencil. Colored pencil is nice for the detail it allows, but fairly time consuming to lay down the pigment.

This little (5x7) drawing has only a limited color range - blues, grays, a little yellow and a bit of black.

I'm finding these birds to be extremly enjoyable so have started more for watercolor sketches. We'll see how those go.

A Flash of Blue

This is a quick drawing from yesterday. After getting the initial sketch down and starting to put in the dark eyes, beak and feathers with graphite, I wanted more. He is a Blue Jay after all. So, I added pastel chalks and was much happier.

This is one of a very few bird drawings I've done and it was very enjoyable. Maybe there are more in my future!