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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

It's Been a While ... Chickadee - Work in Progress

I think you may have seen this drawing earlier.

I wanted to something different with the background,  something suggestive of brambles. I used daVinci's indanthrone[which is a not transparent] and some raw umber, splooshed them on wet paper, and then dropped on some plastic wrap, and let it set. It gave a nice random texture to the heavy pigments.

Started to work on the bird's local color. Those are my handy color reference photos beside the painting.

I lifted here and there in the background, trying to follow the pattern set by the plastic wrap.

More thin glazes ... I used my favorite triad - quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone in various combinations to get the browns and blacks.

A bit more glazed shadowing, and I am here now. I think he's done, but I'll let him perch for a few days to see how I feel about the painting as a whole.

Meanwhile, it's been a bit chilly here - frozen ground, heavy frost, and Bruno snuggled in two blankets at night.

Another scene from our walk. We are out every morning. My dog, Maggie, dances at the front door waiting to go, and her friend [my landlady's dog] barks from her spot inside her house where she can keep an eye on me. I don't dare ignore them!!!

There have been a lot of coyotes this winter - very large, healthy-looking specimens. I don't believe they'd go after  a fair-sized dog alone, but if they are in a pack, definitely. The one above was trotting down a main road out here at 8 AM. Then he stopped and watched the three of us disappear into the park. I am keeping a close eye on the girls when they are off leash.

Thank you very much for dropping by! 

13 comments:

  1. You and your magic paint brush are total amazing! What you do with watercolor is not easy,, but yet everything you do looks magical to us.! The little bird is beautiful,, and it feels like he is right here with us!
    Oh your world is frozen. So glad Bruno has 2 coats!
    Yes,, keep an eye on those coyotes!
    love
    tweedles

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  2. Great result with your colours and the cling wrap

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  3. The chickadee painting is progressing beautifully! Coyotes scare our mom to death.

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  4. The painting of the bird is definitely finished Kathryn and what a beautiful piece it is!! I really love it! And I have to say ...that Coyote is huge! Be careful with those boys when you take them for a walk!! Take care!

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  5. Dear Kathryn- just superb painting of the chickadees. The cling wrap made a great background. Your chickadees are marked differently than ours. We have no Brown feathers on ours. They are black capped and only ave white and black markings. Seen photos of ones in the UK too and they are different as well. So fun t see what others have native to their part of the world.
    We have coyote here too-very unusual to see them during daylight. Hear them though and they are very close. Keep safe dear on your walks. Hugs

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  6. I love this wonderful Chickadee watercolor you've done, especially the way you handled the background. It really looks chilly there! Be careful of the coyotes. We have them up here in the foothills but they are usually running, just trying to get by us and so far aren't a threat. I am respectful of them and give them lots of space. In Huntington Beach (about an hour away) area they are having a big coyote situation with them snatching up small dogs and cats.

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  7. great colours on your bird painting :)

    could be a cross bred coyote, lot more common then a pure bred. Good idea keeping an eye on your pups since a lone coyote will attack if the situation suits it, big dog or not

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  8. beautiful Chickadee, careful on the walks!

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  9. Ooh... that does look very cold! It's turned cold here too but Jack Frost hasn't arrived yet... We don't get Coyote's here. I've never even seen one!
    Your bird painting is absolutely gorgeous! I love it! :0)

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  10. I really like the painting of the little bird, and the background came out fantastic ! I wouldn't trust those coyotes too much .... ! xx

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  11. The little bird painting is beautiful, Kathryn, the cling film effects are great! Brrr, that looks cold, here it is still very soft for this time of year. And I am glad we don't have coyotes over here! :)

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  12. I really like your paintings and this is very beautiful !!!
    Happy weekend 111

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  13. beautiful subtle background katharyn ..the contrast with the bird looks great

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