Birdbath - Number 3 of ?

 Day 3 of my 8x10 oil painting

It's coming along, and I have to say - I'm having fun! I have reference photos but a lot of it is just make-believe with my brushes and palette knife. Feeling a bit like Bob Ross, I have an idea for some happy little branches that may eventually show up on the right hand side.

Day 4 of my 8x10 oil painting

Today I spent another hour. I gave more definition and depth to the background. I added some flowers on the upper left hand bush and began adding flowers around the birdbath itself. I also defined the bird a bit better. I'm excited to eventually paint the water as it splashes up around him but . . . patience.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birdbath - Number 2 of ?

 Day One of my 8 x 10 oil painting. 

I recently watched an oil painting tutorial that inspired me to work in a different way. 

I toned the entire canvas in a raw-umber wash. Then, using a rag, and brushes dipped in Turpenoid (a somewhat odorless turpentine), I erased out the image and highlights. I also went back in with a bit more of the raw umber to darken the shadows. This wasn't a long process, and it's a small painting. I probably spent less than an hour. 

Day Two of my 8x10 oil painting

Today I spent a bit of time adding color. As this painting is more of an experiment, I even painted with my palette knife a bit which I don't normally do. I liked the dark area in the upper right, but it was supposed to be a tree in the background and the size of the "leaves" made it look like foreground. I actually realized this as I was lying in bed that night thinking about it! I wiped it off with a rag immediately the next morning, before it had a chance to dry. The thing with working with a palette knife is that it lays the paint on heavy and creates texture where you may not want it.

We're not done yet! I'll post another step or two later this week. - Thanks for stopping by!

Birdbath - Number 1 of ?

     First, a little story about the birdbath itself. My husband bought it a couple of years ago. He placed it too far out in the yard to reach easily with a hose, and didn't even set it on level ground. It was never filled. A sad confusing time for the birds in our neighborhood. 

     

     This spring I decided to make it mine, move it closer to the house, and plant beautiful flowers around it that would attract pollinators. I imagined those flowers growing and blooming, and ending up being a great subject for a painting. I had visions. 

     

    I came home one Thursday afternoon to find that my husband had moved it closer to the house (for me) and had purchased some nice stones to create the circle around it. My vision hadn't included stones. The space surrounding the bath seemed a bit tight, but I kept my mouth shut, (I really did). He had done that for me, and I expressed my gratitude and told him how nice it looked. (I really did think it looked nice). I thought I'd figure it all out over the weekend and do some flower shopping. 

     The next day I came home, and he had planted flowers! Apparently I had not made my vision clear. The breakdown in communication had to be my fault. (I'm saying that because my husband, like all men, are such good payers of attention. Right?). Anyway, I had to balance my gratitude - "what a sweet gesture. You did this for little ol' me?," with "thanks a lot, Buddy. You've now ruined my whole summer."

Here's what it looked like. I even got a shot with a visitor! 

And here's the birdbath in its full summer glory.

     It's very pretty, and the important thing is that the birds have loved it and we have loved watching them enjoy it!

     Now, to the artsy part. As this is not what I had envisioned, I've had to wing it a bit with the painting idea. I dropped a few of these summer photos into my iPad, including this one of my Rose of Sharon bushes that bloomed beautifully this year.

I came up with this fast cut and paste (and dabble) in Procreate:

    The next day I started over and came up with the image you see at the top of the page. Still just a sketch of a potential painting. What I'm going to do now is share with you the process as I go along. Since I don't have a good photo to work from, it's going to be a grand experiment for me. I've pulled out an inexpensive 8 x 10 canvas board and I'm setting to work. I'll try to post every few days as I have time to work on it.

Bye for now!

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