UNO ... A ROOSTER'S PROGRESS

Once upon a time, there was a rooster named Uno, who lived at my vet's small hobby farm. He was a very handsome and proud bird ...

Drawing , with a few scribbled notes

First washes - aureolin, quin. sienna and quin. burnt orange

More of the oranges, with some new gamboge to brighten the yellow. His comb is a mix of burnt orange and alizarin crimson.

Still more gamboge. The tail feathers, both brown and blue, are mixtures of burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone.

Starting to give the body feathers some texture with more of the same colour, or mixtures made with complementary colours.

UNO

Well, winter weather is here, and for this area it means soggy, grey, dark days. Yup ... the winter megrims have set in! So I am motivating myself to paint by working on BRIGHT. Chickens and roosters suit my needs perfectly, so expect to see more colourful birds!!!

Thank you for dropping by!

THE BABE

Here's one of the baby barn swallows on his first day of flying lessons, taking a breather on the floor.  I took this while lying on my belly about 10 feet from him.

Drawing and notes on composition and format.

Getting some local color in the feathers - quin. burnt orange, phthalo blue and indanthrone.

This image belongs before the one above, but blogger wouldn't let me re-arrange them.  I started with the eyes and some of the darker feathers.

More feathering, and a thin grey wash to start the background, so I have an idea of how dark to go with the swallow.

Still more work on feathers, and some hay bits around his feet.

Almost done ...

THE BABE
14 x 11 in./ 36 x 28 cm. framable
$275.00 US

I love having swallows in the barn ... hearing them chatter away, watching their antics. Dad arrives first in late April, checking to see if the nest is still available. Then Mom comes along a day or two later, and the two of them discus the nest, and re-decorate. The nestlings appear a few weeks later, and stay in the nest for two weeks till the parents start encouraging them to fly. Then they all stay in the nest and nearby rafters for a few weeks. And quite often there is a second batch of babies.
I suppose I could paint something more topical and angst-y, but my heart would not be in it. The world could be a hard, cruel and demanding place, and I do see it and feel it [and have nightmares about it], but I just cannot create art based on discordant harshness.

Thank you so much for dropping by!

TWO WATERCOLOURS, STEP BY STEP

TUG ON THE FRASER
17 X 26 CM.
$85.00 CDN

FRASER IN WINTER
17 X 26 CM.
$75.00 CDN

These are two smaller works I started as class projects, both based on the same photo. In the top painting, I highlighted the sky, the second the waters. Most of the work was done wet in wet, with some sponging and dry brush detailing at the end. The colours used were almost the same in both - the first had new gamboge and phthalo blue in the initial wash, the second had aureolin and indanthrone in the first wash. All the colours used were aureolin, new gamboge, permanent rose, phthalo blue, indanthrone, quin. sienna, quin. burnt orange, and quin. violet. My goal was to create two different moods with the paintings, and I think I have done just that.

If you have any questions about the techniques or wish to purchase one of the paintings, please contact me at studioatthefarm7@gmail.com 

Thank you so much for dropping by!

CLASS PROJECT - "ADRIFT"

Drawing with notes and large drawing of cormorant.

Mask out bird and boat. Graded washes of quin. coral and phthalo blue.

More washes of phthalo blue, trying to keep pink area a bit clear of blue. Start thin washes of indanthrone from bottom upwards, and drizzle on some wavy lines with thicker mix of indanthrone to evoke quiet wave action.

Masking off.

Use two mixtures - one of the pink and indanthrone, the second with some quin. burnt orange added to grey the color. Use those colors to creat planking on side of boat, and shadows on boat and bird.

Paint in cormorant and reflections, and voila!
ADRIFT
Framable size 18 x 13 in./ 46 x 33 cm.
$295.00 US unframed

This is my student's work - beautifully done washes! Marie has only been painting since the middle of the summer, and she has taken to it so quickly, I am amazed.

 

 This is the Big Guy and me, shuffling through the leaves in the back yard. My trainer wanted to take some photos, as it was such a gorgeous day, fantastic colors. It has been a beautiful Fall, I have wanted to spend as much time as possible outside, savouring it!!

Thank you for dropping by!