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!

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!

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.

Watercolor Bunny Notecards

Finally! After quite a bit of searching and fussing, I've been able to make the bunny available as note cards. The first printing was disappointingly pale and that's not how I want my work to be seen. SO, after persevering with local printers, I was able to get them printed to my satisfaction.

They are available at my Etsy shop or directly from me. Special requests and your thoughts and comments are always welcome!

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

Watercolor Bunny Postcard

Here's a 4x6 watercolor postcard painted to send as a thank you note to a friend for a wonderful birthday present. She was so thoughtful and gave me four - FOUR - books from the Artist's Photo Reference series published by North Light Books.
This little fellow is from page 75 of the Wildlife book. He's painted with French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna and a touch of Paynes gray for texture. Not too bad for my first bunny!

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

Two Color and Pattern Studies

First, I did this:



Then this:




These are both painted with the exact same colors -Permanent Rose, Winsor Lemon and Manganese Blue. I did add a little Cobalt Turquoise to the second one in some of the leaves.

These are preliminary paintings for a portrait. It seems like a good idea to make them as paintings on their own so these are finished 5 x 7 pieces.

Thoughts and comments are welcome. The portrait is underway, but I'll let there be a little mystery about which way it goes.

Portrait and Color Study for Swap

This is a portrait of Nadine (her blog here). We did a portrait swap where we each worked from a photo (which I have misplaced or it would be posted too -sorry!) of the other person. It was both interesting and challenging for me as I don't normally use this type of photo and had not seen her in person. It's amazing what you learn about someone's face!

It's watercolor, 8 x 10, Arches cold press with a touch of colored pencil here and there to finish. Three colors used, all Winsor & Newton - Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Rose and Winsor Lemon. The scan has obliterated some detail in the eyes.

When I do these portraits, I often do a small (5 x7) color and pattern study concurrently to help me work out the details. That's here:

Postcards from My Garden

A card for a friend - it's ready to go in the mail tomorrow. These little 4x6 postcards are just the thing to keep in practice with paints and such when time is short.

I sketched the plant and flower head in pencil, quickly painted with watercolor, lettered and inked with a black gel pen. Overworking with the pen is always a danger, so I let it rest a bit before finishing up. It took hardly any time at all from the garden and my back porch.

Just Fruit

That's all I have for now, just a small painting of pears. Quickly done and lots of fun.