What to do?

This is a typical artist dilemma.  This a painting on a whole sheet of paper.  I am happy with the progress, but not sure where to go with the water and the sky. In a perfect world I would have planned  this out be before I wet the brushes

 I shot this with my i Pad and sent it to myself in an email.  Then I took it to Photoshop to work on the sizing.  I am getting better with all the technical stuff, but back to the painting.

I am thinking of taking the water up another third of the way, keeping the green color and the light.  To get the depth of the Gulf the marks have to be closer together pretty darn fast.  The horizon line could be faint almost blending into the sky.  I am thinking of varying it making the line vanish.  Hmmm, vanish on which side of the bird.

Now there is the sky.  Is it a pale steel-gray or is there a subtle sunset with some warm color coming on the water. 

I am going to print this bird and play or practice with the background until I can see it in my head.

If anyone out there has a great idea send me a message.

Bird of Paradise

It is experimentation time.  This is painted on a canvas, with watercolor ground as a base.  I am not sure the ground was completely dry.  I will know when I try it paint a canvas tomorrow.  The color and value seemed to run away or fade before my Eyes.  If you are wondering, yes this is watercolor.

I find these flowers intoxicating.  The color and variety of blooms are amazing.  There is a huge plant beside the door at my Florida condo.  The blooms are black.  Someday I will paint them.

Pelican

I have been impressed by pelicans, ever since I saw my first one in fifth grade.  They are so big and you can get really close to them.

The bird is a mature one.  They have more color than the young brown pelicans, which are just brown.  The feathers standing up on the back of his head is unusual.  At first I thought maybe he was protecting his perch.  He is standing on a really tall post at the entrance to the pass.  Many birds love this perch.  After painting this pelican the ruffling of his feathers indicate that it was a really windy day. 

I just remembered a photo I got of a pelican I took I south Carolina this spring.  Maybe I will paint that bird tomorrow. 

The Whispering Sky

This is a second painting that I delivered to The Waverly House. 

Spirits Soar with Eyes Closed

I know that I have been missing for a few days.  I took and trip to St. Louis, with my husband, kids and families.  We had a great time.  If you ever get to St. Louis, the City Museum is a must.  It is a visual picnic, with a lot of climbing and crawling.

This is a painting of my grand-daughter.  She is now four.  It was very strange to see her in makeup for her first dance recital.  This painting is based on a photo that was taken after the performance.  The low light caused her moving arms to blur.  I tried to keep this painting very painterly.  Shapes and values were very important.

Ari is almost blond right now.  Her hair looked darker in the photo.  She has also spent the summer in the sun and pool.  I do see myself and my daughter in this face.  She seems to get cuter every day.

Coffee

 

I have a good friend who just moved to Hawaii.  She loves animals, but she is not too happy about sharing her coffee.  This a beautiful lizard, and I don't think I did it justice.   Hope she gets a kick out of this painting today.

I will be off spending time with family this weekend.  A little fun never hurts an artist.  Be back on the job in a few days. 

Flamingo

The day before we left Florida this Spring we went to a Everglades Garden.  It was really north to be the Everglades, but there were many alligators.  Better yet were the flamingos.  I took several photos, with reflections in the ponds where they stood.  Every bird was standing on one leg.  Not only are their legs long and thin, they seem to prefer to use one. 

I will be paining these birds late this year.  Value makes this study work.  Much is defined with the darkness of the background and of course the lighter color behind the black beak.