silver-eared mesia

 

(7x10)

 

(7x10)

 This week's bird for Facebook's Paint Colorful Birds for Fun is the Southeast Asian silver-eared mesia.
In the first one, composed this little group from different reference photos. I'm trying to add some surroundings too.
These were both painted on cold press paper; I think I'd like to try them on hot press.

more cats

 

Page of cat sketches and ...

 find the cat in the laundry

tulips

 

(9x12)

I don't know why I have so much trouble with tulips! The only solution is to paint more tulips.

more laysan albatrosses

 

(7x9)

 More of the Laysan albatross for Facebook's Paint Colorful Birds for Fun.
I can see I need to darken the foreground albatross's back feathers ...

After reading a post on Vandy Massey's blog that featured a couple of her watercolor journal pages, I pulled out one of the many sketchbooks I have bought with the idea of keeping my own journal but that, until today, have gone unused. I now have so many paints, pencils, pens, etc. that I'm overwhelmed. A little empirical knowledge can only help.
I had, last fall, started a little picture of a pine cone in this sketchbook--which I really like: nice size, nice paper; the sketch was pretty weak, no darks. I happened to have these Pitt markers on my desk, and started filling in ... It's the best pine cone I've ever drawn!

fairy wren

(4x6)
What a beautiful bird! Common to southeastern Australia ... so lucky me to have the Internet and see a bird I'd never see otherwise.

Went on a bird walk Monday with the local Audubon group and saw my first flicker and just missed seeing my first cedar waxwing; they're here, I just never see them! Also saw, among many other kinds--gadwalls, wigeons, mallards--two beautiful ducks: hooded merganser and ring-necked duck.

boats

 

(5x7)

Back to the beloved subject for a bit ...

 

(5x7)

cats

 

(4x7)

What a pleasure it is to draw: I always seem to forget ... It can be very meditative, exploratory ... It would be nice to bring some of that into my painting (and reduce the panic).

(4x6)

more colorful birds for fun

 (5x7)

Violet-eared waxbill

Visit Facebook's Paint Colorful Birds for Fun to see some really gorgeous paintings of this beautiful bird!

I'd like to paint them again (and again) ... more loosely next time, and bigger, maybe.

 

(5x7)

Great-crested Grebe

laysan albatross

 (5x7)

(5x7)

Once again, I find I've neglected my blog ... I didn't do much painting over the holiday season for one, and for two, I  seemed to have a lot of technological problems.

So, once again, trying to get back on track.

I made these little paintings for the FaceBook page Paint Colorful Birds for Fun: each week they choose another bird. There's some spectacular work there!