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Well this is the first painting I have attempted in quite a few weeks, and I am not sure I have done a great job! It will take a few trial and error pieces to get back into the swing of things.
I wanted to paint something Autumnal, and the image of goldfinches feeding on the seed heads of teasel is a common sight at this time of year. The birds cling on at all sorts of strange angles to get to the seed, and I wanted to convey this in the painting. I am happy with the colouring of the bird, as the bright red and gold feathers really stand out. I am just not sure that the feet are quite right, and I may need to add some shadow where the bird meets the teasel. The lighting is slightly questionable at the moment.
It is now time for me to get to work on my entry for the 2011 David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year competition. I am going to paint an image for the endangered category once again, and my chosen subject will be a snow leopard. It is going to be hard, but I think the mottled fur will look good in my splattered watercolours.
I have neglected both my painting and this blog for the past two months. In my defence, I have barely had a weekend free since moving house in August. It took a fair few weeks just to get everything unpacked and put in place.
However I have found some time to get out and enjoy nature. Autumn is by far the best time of year to visit woodland. I had a stroll through Epping Forest this Saturday, and it was idyllic. The reds and yellows of the fallen leaves contrasting against the green foliage was beautiful. The sun shone only too briefly, but long enough for me to get a few photographs. There was also a vast amount of different fungi bursting through the floor, which I found fascinating . Only last week the London papers reported that people were stealing crates and crates of fungi from the forest. It would be a dreadful shame if greed were to rid the forest of it's wonderful flora and fauna.
If you haven't done so already, I recommend a visit to Epping. You will find it very inspirational. It has certainly inspired me to pick up a paintbrush again and try my hand at some landscapes.
These two girls are 'white star' chickens, and have beautiful white feathers. They also lay beautiful white eggs. There's nothing they like more than sitting down and enjoying the sun, and this is the best time to grab a pencil and sketch them. I know the hen lying down looks a bit odd, mainly because she has a big floppy comb! I simply had to include it, as it gives her so much character.
I always struggle to paint white subjects as I usually do not include a coloured background. However the shadowing on the feathers is a wonderful shade of blue, so this is the easiest way to outline and add depth to the hen. I do think I could have improved the painting slightly by adding a warm cream or yellow colour, to give the impression of sunlight illuminating the feathering.
In other news, this Friday I will be submitting four paintings to the annual SWLA exhibition at the Mall Galleries. Fingers crossed that my images make it through the judging process to the final show on the 22nd of September.
I'm a little embarrassed to say that it has been over a month since I last picked up a paintbrush! My rather lame excuse is that there has been a lot going on,
such as trying to find a new job and house-hunting.
I wanted to paint something I was confident with to help me get back into the swing of things. I grew up with a garden full of chickens, and one day plan to have some of my own. In the meantime, I have my parents chickens to observe. They are very curious creatures, and if you step into their territory they will come and watch what you are doing, poke around at your feet, or sometimes just stare at you with those slightly Dinosaur-like faces! This character is what I aimed to capture in this hen.
Black Rock chickens have one of my favourite 'colour schemes'. The black feathers shine blue-green in the light, and the neck feathers are peppered with a glorious orange. I tend to avoid backgrounds in my paintings, but I felt adventurous this time and threw down a rusty, farmyard orange/brown frame using big, bold brushstrokes. I assure you, even though the border looks uneven, it is straight. The camera has just managed to distort it!
I hope you like this curious girl. It has certainly inspired me to get painting again!
Well I haven't managed to take a trip to the Falkland Islands to get some Rockhopper reference, but I did find a photo I took at London Zoo of their resident male, Ricky. I think these penguins are one of the most comical looking creatures on the planet. This guy has a haircut plucked straight out of the 80's. He reminds me of David Bowie in the film 'Labyrinth'! (If you haven't seen this fim already I highly recommend it!)I may have overdone the yellow head feathers a bit, but I think it adds even more character to this penguin. He was pretty easy to paint, but I spent an absolute age trying to get his beak correct. It's quite an unusual, razor-like beak with lots of grooves and angles. One of the reasons this image was so quick to execute is the monochrome colours. Although the blacks in my paintings are never pure black. Rockhopper feathers have a lovely blue sheen which I had to re-create with blue ink blobbed over the top of the black watercolour. The red eye stands out like a mini fire, so I used 'mars red' and a crisp highlight of white acrylic to make it shine.I am tempted to get this fella framed and entered in the SWLA exhibition in August. I think he would prove to be a popular and certainly an alternative looking addition!
Once again it was an incredibly balmy DSWF exhibition at the Mall Galleries on Monday. I was incredibly excited, and felt honoured and chuffed to see my Amur Tiger painting hanging amongst such a wonderful collection of wildlife art. All the artists gathered at 3pm to hear the winners announced. Alas, we were told we would have to wait until 7:30pm!
The winner, Adam Binder seemed to be completely shell shocked up on the stage. It was interesting to see that a 3D work won, and he is certainly a worthy winner.
Even though I was not a prize winner, I was delighted to see a little red spot on my painting when I walked down the steps. It makes all the hard work worthwhile, and it is great to know that someone loves my work enough to invest in it. What is even more important, is that 50% of the proceeds from the sale of my painting will go towards the vital DSWF conservation projects.
The exhibition is available to view at the Mall Galleries until the 29th May, so if you haven't already I highly recommend a visit! More information can be found at: http://www.wildlifeartistoftheyear.orgNow I have to start thinking about creating a piece to enter in next year's competition, as entries are already being called for! I also aim to return to the Mall Galleries in August, and submit work to the SWLA open exhibition.
I have been neglecting my painting of late. Now the weather has improved I have been spending most of my time in the garden or out walking. Last weekend I went for a walk through Epping Forest. I have never been before and I was in awe of how lovely it is. It is full to the brim with ancient, gnarled trees and birdsong. I wouldn't say it is a great place for wildlife watching, as it is very busy in terms of other walkers and cyclists. I did come away with some great photographs of trees and foliage though.
This painting here was completed a few weeks ago, but I made some adjustments. House sparrows are under serious threat at the moment. Increased development in the cities is destroying the meadows where they feed on insects. The RSPB has launched a project called the 'cockney sparrows' project. They are trying to encourage people to plant insect friendly gardens etc. I have a garden full of these cockney sparrows. They love sitting in the blossoming cherry trees, which makes for a beautiful composition.
Well this is the first painting I have attempted in quite a few weeks, and I am not sure I have done a great job! It will take a few trial and error pieces to get back into the swing of things.
