Friday, August 29, 2014

Back to the Birds....

Blue Jay 


Cardinal Rules redux

Yesterday I decided to paint the blue jay.  He looks young and pretty sweet, no?  Unlike the blue jay we had a few years ago - that guy would dive-bomb my cat trying to pluck fur for the family nest.  The Ms. must have squawked 'my hero' each time he returns with a beak full.   The Cardinal - do you remember him from the other day.  While painting the blue jay I kept looking at the 'mauve' background and it look muddy to me; darker than you see in the blog (backlighting).  So I mixed up some naples white, raw sienna and a bit of white.  The little scumble at the bottom left is not the painting but rather the lip of my easel; I need to lift the panel and take a better photo.

BTW full disclosure: these are not my own photos and it's an iffy thing painting from them.  They are the photos I found in our local Wild Care magazine (Marin's animal education and care center)

Speaking of birds - check out these ravens.  Took this shot a winter or two ago - I've seen them several times in persimmon trees.  Feel free to paint it for halloween!  Send me your image if you do - would love to see it.


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