I haven't been able to post from my phone, which, it turns out, surprisingly, is rather a pain.
I always get a "network error" message.
I am far from technically minded, but I steeled myself and did some troubleshooting.
Seems it's the photos that are causing the problem. So, another avenue to explore, sigh ... but I'm closing in on it!
(My blog will only post words, not pictures and my printer lately only prints pictures, not words. A technological chiasmus.)
Photos from a birdwalk I took yesterday with NJ Audubon. 3 hours in 30 degree temps. I almost didn't go, but it wasn't windy so I thought it might not be bad, and ot wasnt, far from it.
We saw 25 kinds of birds, mostly ducks and seabirds, but they were too far away to photogrsph.
But I was equally impressed with the dunes! Such beautiful winter colors. If I were a weaver ...
My brother has several peppermills--a couple of which I swiped over a year ago to paint. Maybe I'll be able to return them soon.
That's Spanish for "robin" and my nickname for my dear friend Robin.
Before I started painting this I was looking at some of my recent bird paintings and realized that often I go in with the same density of paint all over ...Here I deliberately tried to keep some berries and branches more faint.
And, I took Rhonda's advice and floated a light wash of cobalt over the background of the chickadee painting. It worked well to bring the chickadee out more, and also helped to unify the background. Great suggestion, Rhonda, thank you!
I took some close-ups of the shells in my banner and I want to do a series. I'm picturing mingled washes and great shadow shapes.
This is my first try, call it practice.
I think I need to spend some time mixing colors before I go on.
I painted this years ago when I was painting with a still life group. They were an ambitious group, and with them I painted bigger--this is a full sheet!--and more complex still lifes than I ever had, or ever have since!
I feel this needs something to be finished.
I might continue the patterned fabric, but maybe more loosely, on the left side. A light wash on the right?
What do you think?
it doesnt't work out so well!
When I painted the background, I wanted to keep it a cool gray, then I floated in a touch of raw sienna her er snd there and sprinkled on the salt.
You can see how much the snow effect varies, especially across the top....
The top left, dark and with a strong effect, comes forward too much; also the effect stops on the chickadee's back, forming a tangent--an awkward connection that subverts the illusion of volume.
Better to keep the background lighter (unless the bird is white! should've painted a snowy heron in there).
I hardly ever use masking fluid. (Though I will sometimes, if I think of it, use a wax crayon, which isn't removable.) Probably I don't use it stategically, but to me it is always too obvious.
I saw someone use a masking pen online and got myself one to try.
It goes on easy, very controllable, but is nearly impossible to remove! I gave up; where I was able to remove it, the paper is damaged.
(I wanted to take a picture of the pen, but I think the cats must have batted it under something!)
Back to no masking fluid.
There are so many great watercolor and ink paintings of black cats online where the artist lets the flowing of the color define the shapes of the cat--they always amaze me! It looks like magic.
I don't know how they do it, but I thought I'd blunder in.
I identified the parts I had to keep lighter, then started flooding the colors in.
I think it'll take a lot of practice to find the right technique and to have the confidence to get it right on the first go, without having to keep going back and "adjusting"!
6x6
Back to fishing boats ... Not very Christmasy though. i should've hung a wreath on one!
