Springy Sparrow

Happy Weekend everyone! Last last April I posted a small oil painting of a sparrow from a photo that I took out my kitchen window. It was one of my personal favorite oils so I thought I'd work another one this week but work in a different color family.

Speaking of birds, I saw that it's also "Great Backyard Bird Count" this weekend. This is an annual bird watching event that allows anyone to be an ornithologist and record their local birds. Unfortunately this week, I've only had three at the feeder outside my studio this week: a sparrow, chickadee, and a house finch.

Back to my painting, for this 8 x10 oil study my "self assignment" was three fold: 

1. Pay attention to (and accurately record) smaller shifts in color and temperature 
2. Capture the way birds seem to melt into their background with varied brushwork
3. Maintain strong overall diagonal design plan 

Since I tend to paint "from the gut" many days and this usually works for me, I still find having 1-3 painting goals like this really help keep me on track as evaluate the subject vs. the painting. Later today I'm headed to a near by Wild Oats for a demo about painting from your photos by local artist David Griffin which I'm looking forward to. (You have to love free demos but the pastry/coffee bar area gets me every time...)

Finally, I've added a Student Work page tab at the top where I'll be positing some of their work for inspiration and ideas. Thanks for stopping by and happy bird watching!