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!

Are We THERE Yet???

Here we go ... from the top ...

This was a bit of a scary stage. But then I thought  it's only paper!
I wet the entire background, and very carefully stroked in two different mixtures - a dark blue/gray and a dark blue/green. I don't usually do this sort of w/w application, and was worried the colors would explode all over the page. I think it has given a good impression of the out-of-focus branches.

This is where I am now. I thought about darkening some of the background branches, but I believe it would ruin the overall delicacy of the painting. So I have darkened the main branch and some of the petal centers in the focal area, and  it is done!

As always, your comments are most welcome!

Doing It's Thing

I've been trying to think of a way to paint dead hydrangea. This I started with a w/w, go where you will, wash of quin. gold and quin. siena. I must admit, I like the shapes even at this early stage.

Again, all done w/w, painting groups of petals. I am using quin. pink, alizarin crimson, quin. burnt orange, cobalt blue and indanthrone blue. 

I am at this point now, and am quite excited about how it is coming along.
This will be about 6 x 8 inches when finished.

I am also re-doing this chicken, trying to keep her nice and loose.

I needed something else, something loose, to work on with the larger hydrangea painting.  It's quite a controlled painting, and all those greens are a bit much to look at for long. I also wanted to get out of the old comfort zone and into a smaller format.

As always, your comments are so welcome!

HAPPY NEW YEAR from a Bunch of Crazy Party Animals

Bug, disgusted that I have a dog in here, has gone to bed early.

Lucy is here for a week while her mom is away on business.

The chins - Fat and Baby. They were very disappointed that a camera was in front  of their cage, and not a raisin.

And yes, I am indeed starting the hydrangea over!!! The pink was just not looking right, and I wasn't sure I could do a credible job with shadows on those pinks. I've started here with aureolin, quin. gold and phthalo blue. The blue is not a color I often use, and it will be interesting to see how it works out. 

I'm bringing in a bit of quin. violet, and quin. burnt orange mixed with the blue to get more intense darks. 

At this point, I feel I need to see some of the colors of the flowers. I've thinly laid in cobalt blue at the top, and will apply thin glazes of ultramarine blue on the bottom. So far, I really prefer the cooler colors.

As always, your comments are so welcome.
And I wish you all a most wonderful New Year, and thank you for being such great blog buddies!!!
BIG HUGS TO YOU ALL! 

I'd Rather Be Hibernating ...

After several glazes of aureolin, quin. siena, phthalo blue and a touch of indanthrone, this is the result.  I like this  outcome better than the previous one - it has a cleaner look to it.

Most of the painting time was spent creating spots, shadows and reflections.  I much prefer this version to the last one. The focus of patterns and reflections is more apparent, more refined. Whoa ... I might even say I LIKE this one!!!
As for hibernating, I know I'd be safer! The day before yesterday, I was sent flying off Bruno's back. I honestly don't have any idea what got into him. It might have been something weird he saw next door, where my very strange neighbor lives. She has been around horses for more than 60 years, and she still does some incredibly thoughtless things to her horses. Anyway, Bruno did about 3 huge leaps and/or bucks, and I was airborne after the third one. I was still hanging onto the reins when I made a soft landing. I quickly let go the reins, as it is very dangerous to be flat out on the ground with an excited horse nearby. I wasn't hurt - shaken up, with a few sore muscles. But I did get back on and finish the ride, and His Highness was MUCH more agreeable.
Yesterday I took the dogs out for a long walk. I let them off-leash, and they were good about returning when called. However, at one point, the younger one got a whiff of something worth following, and crawled under the fence to give chase. I spent at least 1/2 an hour yelling for her, following the fence line, but she would not come back. So I had to scramble over the fence, and crawl through the brush. It was all mud, puddles, soggy long grass and blackberry brambles. [I was still finding thorns in my hair this morning!] I finally caught her, took her to the spot where she could crawl under, pulled her through, tied her up, crawled over myself, and headed for home. Man, I was angry!!! So, between the dogs and Bruno, I really think I would be safer hibernating.

As always, your comments are most welcome.
 

HAPPY HOLIDAY from the Farm

For now, the background is done. I may have to touch it up when I get the flowers painted.

I've started the flowers. My plan is to go from cooler pinks on the upper left to warmer and more detailed petals on the lower right. 

The gradated washes are done for the cows, and I will start the girls this evening, unless I decide to turn into a vegetable and watch some science fiction movie.  :)

Here are the boys, begging for raisins. Baby is on the left, Fat Bastard on the right.

This is how Fat likes to sleep when it is warmer. 

Here's the Bug. I think we have finally "bonded". I had my doubts - cats are so different from most animals. 

Me with my BIG sweetheart.

I've posted photos of all of the weird and wonderful animals at the farm [myself included], so we could all wish you a very happy holiday, a Merry Christmas [if you celebrate it] and a wonderful, happy, healthy and prosperous   New Year!!!
I would also like to thank you all for being here with us on my blog. It has been a pleasure getting to know you!

Not Exactly Moving at Warp Speed ...

Not a lot of progress, but what I've done, I like. I am finding that this technique gives a more "organic" - for lack of a better word - appearance. I'd like to do more with the leaves and background before I start the flowers. THAT will be a challenge! 

By popular request, the cows are making a comeback. So far I have done three graded washes of aureolin, quin. siena and phthalo blue.

I finally got a photo of this portrait in decent outdoor light. It makes such a difference. I have yet again darkened the entire background with a w/w wash, and am making very careful and thoughtful adjustments to the shadows of his face. Being a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, I think it would be a good idea to start entering some of my work in their shows. There is a "Works on Paper" show in January, and this is one of the paintings I am considering as an entry.

As always, your comments are most welcome!