Another day another bird. Keeping with the very loose remit. I think I’m good with this but time will tell.
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
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Nankeen Kestrel
Another reference from the fabulous Dave Nightingale. This time a nankeen kestrel. Again kept it really loose and keeping those feathers fat and fluffy.
Bee-Eaters
Haven’t done any birds in a while and this lovely reference from Dave Nightingale was lurking in the reference pile. Tried to keep things as loose as possible and it came out extremely well I think.
Smol Paul – The Wobbly Cat
A bit of a stressful one this. James suggested a watercolor of the internet famous @smolpaulthewobblycat who has Holly Brockwell as his main staff member. He is a rescue with cerebellar hypoplasia but is adorable nonetheless. Many thanks to Holly for the photo.
Summer Roses – Final Session
The final (ish) session on the summer roses with Paul Foxton. Hard to say how I feel about this right now. There are a few things I’d like to work on still but it’s very close to being done. Highly recommend Paul’s workshops. I learn a lot, the people are great and it’s enormous fun.
Summer Roses – Working up the Color Study
Inspired by Marilyn on the Summer Roses group I decided to work up the color study a little. This gives me a little practice in readiness for the bigger version on Monday. Although softening the edges was tricky I think I’m fully prepared to dive into the real thing.
Here it is before I worked on it
Egg Painting
I tinkered with a couple of rose paintings today and had a bit of time left so why not paint along with The Foxton and paint an egg. Mainly an exercise in mixing and blending but quite satisfying.
Apparently I was gone for a long time as James came up to find me and was very amused that all I was painting was an egg.
Summer Roses Paul Foxton Workshop – Session 5
It’s session 5 already! And we’re now onto putting some detail into the roses. We worked on the two main roses and it is extremely tricky. I think I’m happy right now but I’ll take another look tomorrow. I just about kept the form without losing value in the shadows or gaining it in the lights. And the inside curled petals just about came together.
Here’s where I started – all smooshed edges
We first worked on the big left hand rose. Sharpening up some edges and leaving others loosely defined
Then the right hand rose which was trickier but just about kept together.
And a detail of the two almost finished roses
Still Life Studies from Wendy Artin Workshop
I will write more on the Wendy Artin workshop but here are the results to be going on with. First a radish!
And some preliminary sketches for the radish
And some sprouts! Who knew they were so difficult to paint?
And a preliminary sketch for the sprouts.
Next a kohlrabi!
And the preliminary sketches for the kohlrabi
Next some figs!
And a turnip!
And finally another radish. This really was a stinker. Not so bad in the cold light of day but still….
Roses in Watercolor
This was an experiment to see whether I could translate the oil process back into watercolor. Partially successful although I did lose the form a little on the left hand rose.
Here he is half way through. There’s a nice softness to it which I like.
