Mud Puddle

digital

 This idea came from a couple photos and some imagination.

The photo below is what happens when the adults in the family are sitting out on the back patio, enjoying themselves, and not paying attention the the boys, who are playing merely 30 feet away but ON THE OTHER SIDE of the truck, and out of our view. I was asked to check on them and make sure that Tux (the one on the left) wasn't getting dirty. Uh . . .

 

The next photo was taken at Shawnee Prairie, here in Greenville, Ohio. 

This handsome devil actually seemed to pose for me. 

He's waiting patiently as a larger, nicer enclosure is being built for him.

I thought it would be fun to merge the two photos.

I sent the result to my kids (the parents of these troublesome youngsters),

and my son's response was, "where was I when this happened?!" Haha!

Then, I decided to draw it.

Step One

The background I had added to the merged photo made it look like they were sitting at the edge of a stream. I had lost the mud-puddle look. So I worked on trying to bring that back.

Step Two

I changed the angle of the turtle to give the drawing a bit more energy.

Step Three

I thought I was done here, and let it sit for a couple weeks. You don't see a lot of difference in the finished product at the top of the post, but I lightened the background just a bit more, and darkened the turtle. Also, made it look like he was dripping in mud and not just water. 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Birdbath - Number 5 of 5

Day 7 of oil painting - Birdbath 8 x 10

Here is the last session of the painting! Is it my favorite painting I've ever done? No. But it was fun. My favorite part was that splash of water!

Each session was about an hour, and sharing with you kept me motivated to finish. It is always a good exercise for me to work more from my imagination as I am always so dependent on photos. I used to strive for photo-realism in my work, and to an extent I still do. But, if I can bring a little more color, a little more atmosphere, a little more fun with the paint application (like use of the palette knife), I am happier with my work.

At least I have an image to share with my husband next spring, in case he wants to surprise me again.

This last image is because I can't help myself.  I dropped it into Procreate on my iPad to get a little more of that sparkle! I just punched up the darks and lights for more contrast.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birdbath - Number 4 of ?

 

Day 5 of oil painting

Today I worked mostly on the foreground. I began painting the grass, I filled in more of the flowers, and look! - the happy tree leaves are showing up on the right hand side. 

Day 6 of oil painting

Once again, I was thinking about the painting in the evening, and a basic rule that I wasn't implementing came to me - atmosphere. In the top image the background grass in the upper right was just as bright as the grass in the foreground. Today, I worked on pushing it back by applying a thin film of light blue-gray. That will also, ultimately, help to pop out and bring forward the happy Japanese Maple Tree branches on the right.

Next time I work on this piece, I'm hoping to finish. I'll add more leaves and detail to the branches on the right, and yes. . . add the splashes of water!  

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!

Thanks for stopping by!