Flower Break

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I was sitting at my dining room table, daydreaming, and out of the corner of my eye a flash of white went by. I stood up and looked down and the cutest little thing was looking up at me! All white with a little bit of sable round his or her head…looked like a miniature mink! And, then gone, quick under the porch! No more than about 5 feet away, so I was able to get a good look–I don’t think this little thing was more than 6″ long. Never have I seen such a creature in my backyard. After some googling I have decided this little cutie is a weasel. I have since learned from many friends that they are nasty little creatures. But, I still sticking with cute!

Fun to have a little visit in the morning inspire a drawing.

Cala Lily Blues No. 3

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I wonder if I have another one of these in me! I am going to try and do two more…a series of 5. Then, I will step back and analyze them and maybe do a couple over. I like using the casein in combination of controlled dots and spatter. I think I will explore how to integrate those better. More controlled “dots”. This piece started with an ink color wash…gives it a different look and thinner ground. I haven’t decided whether to try that again or not.

Cala Lily Blues No. 2

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I was thinking I would do a few orchids, but I have gotten side tracked with the Cala Lily. I think I like the shapes better. The reference photo that I used for this was not super great, but the shapes were all there. I did a pre-painting sketch…something I rarely do these days. I think it’s a good idea. Gets your hand moving and you can think about where you really want things. In the final piece I notice now that I didn’t listen to all my sketch comments! I do think I might add some yellow spatter to the lower right area…maybe even a little yellow spatter onto the petal. I wanted the light to travel around from the top left to lower right…I might have to do this one again.

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Day 28

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Plumeria are not only beautiful, they smell delicious. The simple shapes are deceivingly difficult to capture. I love the smallest little veins in the petals that go in all directions defining the petal. The variation in these flowers is so nice. A simple shape that says Aloha.

I was going to do the hibiscus, but somehow the plumeria called me away.

Day 27

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I just realized that yesterdays painting was really a departure! I added color to the main image! Today I have returned to just graphite over my background. It’s whale watching season here in Hawaii. It’s wonderful to watch them breaching from the shore. I am hopeful that we will do a boat ride and get a little closer to them.

Botanical gardens are next.

Day Seventeen

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Dreaming of Gecko’s! Packing for my trip to Kauai has me day dreaming about Gecko’s. I love these little guys. This one isn’t really well proportioned, but he was fun to draw. Day 17 done, onto some grounds to get me going for the next few days. #30paintingsin30days!

Sketchbook Skool ‪#‎sbsexpressing‬ is in session, good Klass on lettering this week. I don’t add a lot of lettering to my journal pages. I have never really liked my own handwriting, and even with a graphic design background I was never really into drawing type. But, this was a nice push into trying something new, I think I will consider adding more lettering in the future.

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Day 16

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I think I might be too far behind to catch up at this point–4 days behind! Yikes. No matter, I am going to push on. I read an article that the bats in New England are in trouble. They are so good for catching bugs, sad to see them not doing well. I felt like I was drawing upside down! It’s a little wonky, but it was fun to draw a little baby bat. Casein & graphite on paper.

Along with the #30paintingsin30days! challenge I started a new #sketchbookskool Expressions Klass. The first one is all about lettering…looking forward to that project as well. Maybe I can use it for my next painting!

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Day 4

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Challenges are in fact a challenge! Day 4 is done, but I can’t say I am super pleased with it. Working small in order to accomplish the work, this is 3″ x 5″ on a watercolor board. I do love the image, and I am grateful for the resource from USFWS. Drawn in graphite over casein resourced from the USFWS Mountain Prairie Flickr website–photo taken by Tom Koerner. #30paintingsin30days!

Tomorrow Day 5! Hoping for a quick early morning painting.

Spirograph Fun!

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Pineapple Conure. 5" x 5"

Pineapple Conure. 5″ x 5″

Well, it’s day 3 of the painting challenge. So far I am doing good. Still time in the day for maybe one more painting (this way I can post that tomorrow, because tomorrow it’s back to the day job!). I bought a spirograph set just after Christmas and I have been eager to try it. They are mesmerizing and truly as the advertising states…endless hours of fun. They do however take some time to perfect.

I decided to pair up my painting and the fun with the spirograph. I think I might do some more of these. This is casein, ballpoint pen and graphite. The casein ground went down first, then the spirograph designs in green ballpoint pen and then a casein wash followed by casein to block in the bird. Graphite over top. I had forgotten how nice graphite works over the casein…it has just the right amount of “give”. #30paintingsin30days!