Some of the migrating birds are back, but it has to warm up more before the sweet little hummingbird returns. I'm wondering if we will skip spring here and it will go straight to summer? Either way I'm ready for sunshine and warm weather.
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Spring?
As I'm typing this, I'm looking out my kitchen window at the icicles hanging off of our apple tree and wondering if spring is ever going to come? We had thunderstorms last night, hail, snow and ice. More snow and ice are in the forecast for tonight into tomorrow. Arrgh!
Some of the migrating birds are back, but it has to warm up more before the sweet little hummingbird returns. I'm wondering if we will skip spring here and it will go straight to summer? Either way I'm ready for sunshine and warm weather.
Some of the migrating birds are back, but it has to warm up more before the sweet little hummingbird returns. I'm wondering if we will skip spring here and it will go straight to summer? Either way I'm ready for sunshine and warm weather.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Spring like
A couple of days ago the weather was actually nice enough that I could run outside instead of on the treadmill. While running, I spotted my first robin! Finally! Even though there is still a lot of snow on the ground, it is starting to feel like spring outside. The sun is higher and stronger in the sky, the days are longer and the birds are singing away. That afternoon after my run, I had the strong urge to do a very spring like painting.
I thought I would share with you how I did it. I knew I wanted to do a bird painting, I initially thought pussy willows and gold finch, but as the painting evolved, my painting changed.
Going into the painting I knew what my color palette was going to be: pastel colors: pink, green, yellow, aqua and bits of orange. I started with the pink first, different shades of pink mixed with white.
I then painted different shades of aqua over the pink, making sure to let some pink peek through.(I forgot to take a picture of just the pink and blue) I then used a brayer for the lime green and white, again allowing the other colors to come through.
My next color I wanted was yellow, so I used an old credit card to apply it in various areas.
I then collaged all sorts of bits of paper onto it trying to keep the elements in the palette I wanted, bits of tea bags, old paper doilies, old text, old wrapping paper and books. This is where I added a little bit of orange here and there. This is when I felt it was really starting to come together.
My bird changed from a gold finch to a blue bird! I collaged the little guy out of painted coffee filters. I initially drew him out in my sketchbook and then transferred the drawing onto the painting. With the change of the bird I decided to go with cherry blossoms instead of pussy willows. I thought it brought out the bits of pink from the background. Again these were collaged from painted coffee filters.
Almost done here, the flowers are in place and the branches were cut from tea bags. Very close to being finished, it just needs a few finishing touches to make it "pop".
Ta da! Very spring isn't it!
I thought I would share with you how I did it. I knew I wanted to do a bird painting, I initially thought pussy willows and gold finch, but as the painting evolved, my painting changed.
Going into the painting I knew what my color palette was going to be: pastel colors: pink, green, yellow, aqua and bits of orange. I started with the pink first, different shades of pink mixed with white.
I then painted different shades of aqua over the pink, making sure to let some pink peek through.(I forgot to take a picture of just the pink and blue) I then used a brayer for the lime green and white, again allowing the other colors to come through.
My next color I wanted was yellow, so I used an old credit card to apply it in various areas.
I then collaged all sorts of bits of paper onto it trying to keep the elements in the palette I wanted, bits of tea bags, old paper doilies, old text, old wrapping paper and books. This is where I added a little bit of orange here and there. This is when I felt it was really starting to come together.
My bird changed from a gold finch to a blue bird! I collaged the little guy out of painted coffee filters. I initially drew him out in my sketchbook and then transferred the drawing onto the painting. With the change of the bird I decided to go with cherry blossoms instead of pussy willows. I thought it brought out the bits of pink from the background. Again these were collaged from painted coffee filters.
Almost done here, the flowers are in place and the branches were cut from tea bags. Very close to being finished, it just needs a few finishing touches to make it "pop".
Ta da! Very spring isn't it!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Flowers a flutter
I finally finished the piece I've been working on for the past week or so. It has a very summery kind of feel to it. The color palate is very similar to my last painting with the orioles in it. I think they would go well together.
The part that took me the longest with this painting are the leaves. It's probably hard to tell on the monitor, but each leaf segment is a separate piece of paper. There are a couple segments per leaf in which it is watercolor right on the paper, but otherwise they are cut from either painted tea bags or coffee filters and then glued to the paper with gel medium. It took me a full day to complete all of them. The flowers were created with painted tea bags and then I dipped the edges in a darker paint. The flower center is coffee filter and the stamens are with black ink. The little butterflies made from tea bags and then painted with acrylic and black ink.
I'm starting to feel the call of spring. The days are starting to get longer, I've noticed the birds are singing a little bit more and my chickens are much more active and they walk around with a happy little cluck.
Have a Happy Weekend!
The part that took me the longest with this painting are the leaves. It's probably hard to tell on the monitor, but each leaf segment is a separate piece of paper. There are a couple segments per leaf in which it is watercolor right on the paper, but otherwise they are cut from either painted tea bags or coffee filters and then glued to the paper with gel medium. It took me a full day to complete all of them. The flowers were created with painted tea bags and then I dipped the edges in a darker paint. The flower center is coffee filter and the stamens are with black ink. The little butterflies made from tea bags and then painted with acrylic and black ink.
I'm starting to feel the call of spring. The days are starting to get longer, I've noticed the birds are singing a little bit more and my chickens are much more active and they walk around with a happy little cluck.
Have a Happy Weekend!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Thursday, April 28, 2011
More spring rain
I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Wisconsin it's starting to feel like spring will never come. It's day after day of rainy/snowy/gloomy weather. Yuck! Poor Amelia wants to wear her spring jacket, but I keep telling her to put her winter one on. I have hardly done anything in my garden. Really though, I shouldn't be complaining, considering what the people in the south are having to go through. What a mess between so many tornadoes and flooding. Pretty scary weather.
I did get the commission/job that I talked about in my previous post. I turned in my finished piece yesterday. I hope they like it. It is for a local event this summer. It was a wonderful learning experience to say the least, but I'm glad to be finished. After working on the commission over the last few weeks, I have so many ideas and things that I want to work on of my own. I did the little birdies above yesterday. It's a small piece for me, on a 8x10 piece of watercolor paper. I was so happy to be finished with my previous painting, I wanted to do a piece that required very little thinking and a lot of just going with the flow. It has lots of nice spring colors that I'm not finding outside my window yet.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Cheerily, cheer up
I think Mother Nature decided to play a bit of an April Fool's joke on us here in Wisconsin. I opened the blinds this morning and was shocked to see a totally white landscape spread out before me. Fortunately it melted as the day went along, but what a dreary and damp day. I had to keep reminding myself that yes, it is spring and it will warm up.
There was one day a few weeks ago that Amelia kept saying "cheer up, cheerily, cheer up", through out the day. She had learned this little saying for the robins last year when we would listen to our bird CD, but it had been a long time since we had listened to it. A few days later after she had been saying this , we saw our first robin. It's kind of a strange little coincidence wouldn't you say?
I've always wondered why the state bird of Wisconsin is the robin, it's not the prettiest bird out there and it leaves us for the winter. Why not the bold little chickadee or the vibrant cardinal or even the noisy blue jay? They all brave the tough Wisconsin winters, unlike the robin who heads for warmer weather. This spring more than ever, I've come to realize the significance of the robin. Everyone both young and old always looks forward to seeing their first robin of the spring, because it always means the same thing, that spring is here. I love that their song is described as "cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily", because that is what we do when we see our first robin of the spring.
There was one day a few weeks ago that Amelia kept saying "cheer up, cheerily, cheer up", through out the day. She had learned this little saying for the robins last year when we would listen to our bird CD, but it had been a long time since we had listened to it. A few days later after she had been saying this , we saw our first robin. It's kind of a strange little coincidence wouldn't you say?
I've always wondered why the state bird of Wisconsin is the robin, it's not the prettiest bird out there and it leaves us for the winter. Why not the bold little chickadee or the vibrant cardinal or even the noisy blue jay? They all brave the tough Wisconsin winters, unlike the robin who heads for warmer weather. This spring more than ever, I've come to realize the significance of the robin. Everyone both young and old always looks forward to seeing their first robin of the spring, because it always means the same thing, that spring is here. I love that their song is described as "cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily", because that is what we do when we see our first robin of the spring.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Spring is on the horizon
I went to post this picture last night and realized I hadn't painted legs on the poor little birdie! I thought about still posting it and seeing if anyone would notice, but it just bothered me too much not to have legs. I love seeing pussy willows in the spring, it reminds me of driving with my grandparents and looking for them along the roadside. I haven't seen any around here yet except for at the store which I believe are forced into early opening. We saw our first robin last week and the calendar reads spring, but the thermometer says otherwise and the ground is covered with freshly fallen snow. Amelia woke up yesterday and asked "Mama, why did it snow?" What a good question, I was wondering the same thing! We are all ready for spring, even our 3 year old who is just learning the changes of seasons. Luckily though, the sun is shining today and there are signs of melting, we know the snow won't last for long. This little painting reminds me that spring is on the horizon!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
hop on, hop over, then add a hop
This past January I did a bunch of rabbit sketches and found them recently when I was looking through my sketch book. With spring approaching and Easter just around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time for a little bunny painting. I found some old hockey drills I had written out, and used that for some of the text and for the title, "hop on, hop over, then add a hop." I love finding such random things and seeing how they can fit perfectly together.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
in the shelter of each other
I was browsing through one of my Mary Janes Farm magazines and I found an Irish Proverb- It is in the shelter of each other that people live. I thought that it would make a great title for this painting. I've been so attracted to the pastels lately, pinks, yellows, turquoise, lime green and orange, not so much purple or lavender though, purple is one of my least favorite colors to use. I think this means that I am ready for spring. Slowly, slowly you can feel things shifting. The sunlight is shining brighter in the house, the sun is starting to rise earlier and set later and the cardinals have started to sing just a wee bit. We still have a lot of snow on the ground and more in the forecast for tomorrow, but I can feel winters grip loosening up.
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