Fine Feathers

"Fine Feathers" 8x8 oil on linen panel

Happy May everyone! I think one of the hardest tasks any busy artist has is prioritization. I'm taking a quick break from painting and getting ready for the upcoming Summer Art Market in just a few weeks on the weekend of June 9 and June 10 to post this new bird painting.

If you've prepared for a show or festival you know there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes in addition to painting--such as event paperwork, getting your tent ready, ordering post cards (love Vistaprint for those), etc. In other words, many tasks that tempt you outside of your main goal which is creating art.

Lately I've been trying some new colors on my palette. In this little bird oil painting it's Old Holland Caribbean Blue--which is a wonderful and not very common blue-green thalo turquoise pigment (PB16 for my fellow pigment enthusiasts).

Thanks for stopping by--be sure to check out the Scarlet Owl Pinterest boards for more art inspiration. I look forward to seeing you all at the Summer Art Market and for all my fellow artists in the show I hope you all have a super successful sunny show this year!

My New Favorite Painting Tool

AM Sparrow-6x6 oil on panel

Happy May everyone! Posting another small oil painting bird painting that will be headed to the Summer Art Market in June. (I've recently added a new bird feeder to the front garden and am hoping that will attract some new models.)

I'm a big believer in taking the time upfront to work out any major compositional and layout issues in your work before the brush hits the canvas so last week, while reading Artist's Magazine, I spotted a cool tool that I just had to get. It's called the Compose It Grid--it's an easy to use plastic grid that allows you to transfer your planning sketch to your canvas.

Here's a demonstration video so you can see the Compose it Grid in action. I only used it a few times, but I already love it for still life composition. Remember the ratio needs to match your canvas size. Personally, I bought the square ratio (1:1) since it's my favorite format as well as the 8 x 10 ratio. Plus, I love that the Grid is heavy duty and will stand up to be tossed in an art tote, etc. for classes and workshops.  

Quick shout out to my upcoming art festival booth partner the very talented Ms. Heather Carr--if you like wildlife paintings as well as fantasy art and illustration so be sure to stop by. Her detailed illustrations are simply amazing. Thanks Heather for all your generous help, am thrilled to be sharing a tent with you this year! Look for us in Booth 80 on the corner of 2nd and Sherman. In the meantime, have a great spring week!

Primavera Robin

Primavera Robin-8x8-oil on panel

Happy Sunday everyone! My quest to capture the colors of spring continues. This is the same robin I posted a few days ago after he flew up and landed on a budding spring branch by an evergreen tree. Initially, most of my photos were of the swaying branch or sky and no robin, so I was thrilled to finally capture him at rest.

Here, I really wanted to capture the sunlit warmth of the robin and the reddish buds/berries against the coolness of the blue green evergreen. I also had a great time playing with the brush edges in this because of all the different textures--branches, feathers, spiky evergreen foliage, etc.

Speaking of birds, the Daily Paintworks painting challenge this week is chickens, which as many of you know are very popular art subject. And I know art buyers seem have a fondness for farm fouls as well. I'm often asked at an art festival if I have chicken or rooster paintings. But, as a city artist, I don't have a lot of chicken photos handy, so I may use the photo Carol posted. We'll have to wait and see...


Summer Art Market News
As I've mentioned before I'll be taking many of my posted paintings to the Summer Art Market on June 11-12, 2011, so if you are in Denver be sure to stop by and say hi. FYI, in the spirit of daily deals, closer to the Art Market I'll post a very special Colorful Connection Blog Readers discount coupon for everyone so be looking for that in a future post.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Rockin Robin

Rockin Robin--6x6 oil on panel

Happy Thursday everyone! As you may know if you read my blog, birds are one of my favorite subjects to paint. But I also like to work from my own photo references so this makes painting birds a bit tricky since I'm not known for my photography skills.

Thankfully, the other evening when I was walking in the neighbor hood the spring sun was washing everything in that warm "magic hour" light that movie makers love so much. I had my little digital camera and was able to capture (not very easily I might add) of few robins for my paintings this week. I also read robins are one of the last birds you'll hear singing as the sun sets so I thought that tied in well with my title.

I also wanted to focus working with the warm and cool temperatures in my color mixtures of this painting, which reminded me of another one of my favorite oil painting books that I don't think I've mentioned before and that's the Yin Yang of Painting by Zhang--it's a bit expensive for used paperback but it's a beautiful book by a color (and value) master. You can see more examples on Zhang's website.  I love his discussion of working with opposites in your painting such as dark/light, cool/warm, blurred/sharp, etc.

Wanted to wish a fond bon voyage to my many traveling friends and students this month--I look forward to seeing you back again soon! For more information about my classes please click on the class tab above or email me. Thanks for stopping by!