Almost Back ...

It's been a long month. I won't go into great detail, but the flu turned into a viral pneumonia, and, as a result, I have been out of commission for almost a month. Very hard for me, as I am not a patient person.

Enough said. I want to thank you all for your well wishes. You must forgive me for not keeping up on all your posts - I haven't felt like doing much other than lie around and read, and catch up on my favorite British murder mysteries. I loved Ken Follett's "Fall of Giants", and can hardly wait to read more of his work. 

As for painting, I still find I am not that keen to do much. I've played with the swallow a bit, losing some of the backlit edges. I thank Arena Shawn for the suggestion. And I have started to put some color in the hydrangeas. As usual, I find myself wanting to start again, but really it's not a bad painting so far, so I will put it aside until I can approach it in a healthier frame of mind.

Bruno has been sadly neglected, though I am sure he doesn't mind too much, as long as he is fed. I may try to lunge him today. But I must be firm, as horses tend to become a bit spoiled and unwilling to listen after a long time off. 

Thank you for dropping by.

I Sound Like a Cat Coughing Up Hair-balls, but STILL PAINTING

I have almost finished the background on this rose. 

This is Round #3 on the barn swallow. The background still needs some work before removing the mask.

Well, the rain stopped. The water drained off a bit. And now it is all frozen. The temperature has stayed below freezing for the past few days, and the cold is supposed to last till the end of the week. I woke up coughing, and have been busy coughing all day. I thought I would just quickly post the latest WIP's before I take all my flu meds and hit the proverbial sack.

As always, your comments are so welcome!   

The Evolution of the Chicken

Those are raindrops on the lens. It is so wet, the ducks were swimming on the lower back lawn this morning. Hope you can see them.

It's so dark and gloomy today, the lighting is very poor for photography.
Chicken's colors are actually more intense, and the darks darker.
This is a small [for me] painting - 7 x 8 inches. I would like your opinion. I think she looks good standing alone, with no background. What do you think?

I have also started the fledgling barn swallow again, with a much lighter background  - w/w with quin. burnt orange, quin. siena and cobalt blue.

As always, I love your comments!

The Nestling Is Done

Studio light

Overcast daylight

I have decided to keep the bright colors, to keep my impression of the bird as a brilliant, beautiful work of Nature. I see and hear them every day when I go out to the barn, and their presence brings me joy.
Now on to the dreaded bridge ...

As always, your comments are most welcome. 

The Nestling Continues ...

I've deepened colors in the bird

Removed the masking, and added the shadows, and am having a re-think about how dark I want to go with the bird.  My gut feeling is to leave it bright, and just add some shadows and feather details. I'd like to keep the essence of my vision of the swallows as such a bright, beautiful little bird, swooping through the air.

I posted this for some levity, to balance the posting. This is Fat Bastard with his feet propped up, leaning on his backside.  I don't have a lot of experience with chinchillas other than mine, but I've never seen or heard of one doing this.


As always, your comments are most welcome. 

More on the Nestling ...

In the above two photos, I have deepened some of the hues, using some odd combinations - like quin. violet and brown madder for the leg, and quin. siena on the belly.

I am into the darks now. On the bird, I am using various combinations of quin. pink, quin. burnt orange and indanthrone.  For the shadows, I will use my favorite - quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone. But I think it's time for a break, and some play-time with Bruno. :)


As always, your comments are so welcome.