LET'S THINK ABOUT WARMER CLIMES

The bitter cold has past but it's still winter.  I have seen a great blue heron in a front yard when I lived in Indiana - quite a surprise!  I know it's too cold for this one to be around my house now!!  Maybe he's keeping warm in Florida or South Carolina right now..

Again, painting from the background forward.

It was fun painting that lovely seascape behind him before tackling his feathers in lots of blues.


Big Blue
11" x 15" on Arches 300# hot press watercolor paper

FINALLY!!!

Finally, the Australian Open tennis matches have begun!!  Can you believe it's going to be 104-108 each day??? Those poor players are going to melt.

Although my head tells me Roger doesn't have another in him, I'd still love to see him win one more major.

This may cut into my painting time  - but I'm not staying up until 3 am watching the previous day's games; thank goodness Tennis Channel replays them all the next afternoon!

My watercolor class came back to the house today - first time since the first part of December and it feels like it's been forever!

MORE BIRDS OF 2014

I hope you aren't getting tired of these birds.  I'm not - yet!

A little favorite of mine because they always seem so bright, alert and cute - a Tufted Titmouse.  Mostly grey but some sun on his back at the feeder.  I wonder who named some of these birds - I mean, shouldn't a titmouse be a mouse?



Watching Out for Others
11" x 15" on Arches 300# hot press watercolor paper.

NOTHING BRIGHTER

There's nothing that will stop you in your tracks like a male cardinal's colors shining in the sunlight.


I've always been told that the call of the cardinal is:
"Pretty pretty pretty!'  

Guess they know they are something else! 

I've been hearing crows every morning - but haven't been seeing them.  Maybe time to do a few more crow paintings along with all these other birds.

SMALLER ROSY

This one is on a small sheet of Lanaquarelle from a watercolor pad of 140# paper, 6" x 8" with no drawing done before paint was put to paper.


Little Rosy

A POEM

It's all I have to bring today 

by Emily Dickinson

It's all I have to bring today-- 

This, and my heart beside-- 

This, and my heart, and all the fields-- 

And all the meadows wide-- 

Be sure you count--should I forget 

Some one the sum could tell-- 

This, and my heart, and all the Bees 

Which in the Clover dwell.

ROSY

A rosy-breasted grosbeak.  Sturdy body and tough, short beak plus that beautiful bright red chest decoration make this one of my favorites when I see it at the feeder in spring.


Again, painting from the background forward.

This one is on Arches 140# hot press paper, 11" x 15" (fourth sheet).


It seems I have a tendency to draw or paint their beaks a bit long.  And his head seems a bit large.  Oh, well, I do not intend to spend hours on any of these - the idea is to get better, faster, looser, and still do a good job without putting in every single brush stroke!!!  

Will continue to paint pretty birds throughout the month, if my intention holds...

TOO COLD FOR GCWS MEETING

Well, I was prepared to lead the program this month at the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting.  I had the copies and handouts made, my painting done to show how I did it, and the DVD and Projector ready to go.  Unfortunately (?) it was determined that it was still too frozen for many to get out and around - and it's just too cold, still.  Not even 10F this morning.    I haven't been outside since Sunday when it was raining and 45F outside.  Now, it's been below 0F for 2 1/2 days - brrrr!


If you want to see the work of Carol Carter, up close and personal, come join us at the GCWS meeting next month - 
Wednesday, February 5th from 10 am - 12:30 pm.
If you are anywhere within driving distance, you won't be sorry you made the trip!!! (Hoping we have decent weather, that is - one never knows in January and February.)

Stay safe and warm, wherever you are.  If you are somewhere warm, send a little of it our way, please!

THE LITTLEST BIRDS

A song by The Be Good Tanyas stays in my as they sing, 
"The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs.  The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs."

These birds were painted with no drawing and on a small Lanaquarelle paper from a pad (6" x 8") of cold press watercolor paper.



The red-bellied woodpecker's bill got a little big - maybe he'll grow into it! ha ha

And here's the little indigo bunting again.  The black mask on his face makes him look mean, but I don't think he is.  He's just in disguise!




So...time to sort through my photo references for the next birds to paint...

DON'T FORGET TO FEED THE ANIMALS

Cold cold cold weather.  
Don't forget to put out extra food for the critters, especially the birds.  

How do they survive such cold temperatures?

We've got a deck full of cardinals, woodpeckers, bluejays, carolina wrens, nuthatches, juncos, mourning doves, and various wrens and finches enjoying the seed and suet I keep out for them.  And they provide me with some good reference photos 
(Sweetie would do a better job on the photos with his camera but he's busy so it's up to me to point and shoot and hope for the best!).







And here is a lovely poem for you...

A January Dandelion

by George Marion McClellan

 

All Nashville is a chill. And everywhere 

Like desert sand, when the winds blow, 

There is each moment sifted through the air,

A powdered blast of January snow. 

O! thoughtless Dandelion, to be misled 

By a few warm days to leave thy natural bed, 

Was folly growth and blooming over soon. 

And yet, thou blasted yellow-coated gem, 

Full many a heart has but a common boon 

With thee, now freezing on thy slender stem. 

When the heart has bloomed by the touch of love's warm breath

Then left and chilling snow is sifted in, 

It still may beat but there is blast and death 

To all that blooming life that might have been.

 

  

BIRDS OF 2014 - INDIGO BUNTING

On the table because it was still sopping wet when I took the photo.  Always working from the background to the foreground.


Another to add to The Birds of 2014, this time a very pretty and very blue Indigo Bunting. 

These pretty birds often pass by in the late spring, early summer, but they never stay, just coming to eat and rest up before moving on to their more permanent home.


The Bluebird of Happiness is Not Happy
Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper.


Now time to try the first two birds without drawing...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU



My dear friend in Spain, Teresa, sent me this holiday card - an original watercolor from her imagination :)  I love it!!  

And today is her birthday so I'm saying Happy Birthday, Teresa (just in case my silly little card doesn't get there in time).

My friend, China, in Indiana, is having a birthday today, too!  I don't think she reads my blog but I'm saying Happy Birthday, China, anyway :)

Are you having a birthday today - or this month?  Are you a January baby, too?

And are you having snow and ice and cold?  Brrrrrrr!!  Today is going to be the warmest day for us for a while with predictions (but you know how that goes) that Sunday will bring another snowstorm and that Monday and Tuesday will be full of very gusty winds taking the temperature down to...are you ready for this?...
25 BELOW 0!!!  
Are you kidding me???

If you're having cold and bitter weather, then stay in, just enjoy the view from your windows - like this path to the woods.

THE BIRDS OF 2014: WOODPECKER + GRACKLE

Working from the background forward.







These birds were "sharing" the suet feeder, but it was obvious who was the boss, saying,
"It says Woodpecker suet!"

And he was right - it was woodpecker suet I had put out that morning.  But the Grackle seemed to like it, too, sneaking around the corner from the Red-bellied Woodpecker, and hoping he wouldn't be seen stealing from "Big Red".



The first painting of The Birds of 2014. 

It Says Woodpecker Suet!
Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper
11" x 15"




My intention for these bird portraits is to paint one on watercolor paper I've sketched the subject(s) on; and again with no drawing, just painting the same bird(s) on smaller paper.  

COLD ENOUGH FOR YOU?

Cold enough for you?
Why, yes, yes it is!!!

9F is pretty cold enough!



But I am finding the brambles and vines and shrubs covered in snow very interesting right now - perhaps some drawings will come from these photos of a snow, cold, grey day.

NEW YEAR 2014

Another year.  
What an accomplishment!
I'm still here!!
And if you are reading this, then so are you!!!

Thanks for spending the last year with me.  Thanks for sharing your comments, and your artwork.

I don't make New Year's Resolutions.  It's too easy to go overboard and fail within the first month - or first week!!! ha ha

So.  Here is my goal for 2014:  Paint more birds.

I love birds.  I love watching birds.  I love the shapes and colors of birds.
And I don't paint them enough.

So for 2014 I am going to paint more birds.

In fact, I have a little goal for myself that may be challenging.  I will tell you about it when the goal has been reached, not before - no pressure :)

What do you want to accomplish this year?

I may have shared this photo before, but it's one of my favorites of the cards Sweetie (a.k.a. Jerry H. Carpenter) created for sale at Art on the Levee in Newport.
Plus it's one thing I do intend to do more of in 2014!

Happy New Year!

GCWS PROGRAM PAINTING AND PLANNING

Well, I intended to take photos of this, step-by-step.  But I got busy painting and before you know it, I was done!  So this is the canna lily finished a la Birgit O'Connor but with my own colors (especially the background).

I'll share this with the GCWS members who show up for the January program, so they can see how to make the painting their own.

Now, I need to get busy and get the program down pat using the projector and figuring out where to pause the DVD and talk a bit and have them paint.  (Why did I volunteer to do this?  I don't feel comfortable speaking in front of a group, even if it's a group I know.)

PAINTING AND PLANNING

In order to plan the program I'm giving for the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society on January 8, I have to also paint the painting like the DVD shows.  So here goes...

Each petal is wet and then color dropped in and allowed to merge and blend by tilting the paper.  This is just 1/4 sheet size (11" x 15") because that is the size I want the members to paint as they watch the DVD.

The colors used in the painting of the canna are:  New Gamboge, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine Blue, Azo Yellow (Birgit uses some different colors, but I used what I had that matched her colors).

The DVD I'm showing is:
Watercolor:  Within the Flower
by Birgit O'Connor.  

Somehow, I ended up with two of these DVDs so I'll be donating a copy to the GCWS after I show the DVD on our projector and have members try to paint this way.  I hope they enjoy it!  

SINGLE PIGMENT PAINTING - FLAMINGO PINK

I finished the single pigment painting (Alizarin Crimson only) of the pink flamingo.  Here she is (oh, she has to be a girl, right?  Of course, all those pink flamingos can't be girls so maybe he's a handsome fellow who flaunts his bright pink color for all the ladies :)

Aren't they funny birds?  And the way they dip their heads down to filter out the little red crustaceans they eat (which gives them their color) seems so awkward.  

No color used but Permanent Alizarin Crimson from Daniel Smith.  One of my new 2014 colors on my palette (I have chosen a few to replace old ones I rarely used anymore and it's good to shake things up once a year and try new colors!).

I did not get my own barrista for Christmas but Sweetie gave me a brand new, fancy Keurig coffee maker.  Now I just have to try the coffees and find one that's strong enough for me (the mild blends taste like brown water!).  Any suggestions from those who use these type of coffee makers?  

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS...

All I want for Christmas is my own personal barrista.  Someone to make a special cup for me whenever I want one.  While on Anna Maria Island, I found a perfect cup of cafe con leche at a place called the Olive Oil Outpost.  They didn't do flavors or anything fancy.  They just made a very good cup of cafe con leche, which, apparently, is a Cuban drink.  It's just coffee with cream but they sweetened the cream, heated it and then mixed it with a shot of espresso - yum!  They only served one size:  small.  So I sometimes had to visit twice in one day (especially if I was sharing with Sweetie who won't drink anything until it becomes tepid).

Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to have your own personal barrista - or chef - or trainer - or shopper?  Someone you could say, "Could you please get this for me?" and off they'd go and get it - or make it - or whatever.  

So that's all I want for Christmas this year:  a personal barrista with a great espresso machine; someone to make me a small, hot, creamy, sweet, delicious cafe con leche whenever I wanted one.  That's all.  

What do you want this year?
Anything special?  Something important like world peace - or something small like, well, a personal barrista?  (We can't all dream big.)  
How about a moratorium on neighbors' dogs that do their business in your yard - or just a moratorium on those same dogs barking at every single moving and non-moving thing in their vicinity?
What about the perfect pumpkin pie?
Or a New Year's Eve dress that makes you look fantastic, sexy, 2 sizes smaller and shoes that do the same AND make you want to dance all night?
Or a whole bookshelf of books you want to read - and the time to read them without interruption?

Come on, fess up!  Tell us your wishes - if you don't get them out there, how will Santa know what you really, truly want?

Have a Wonderful Holiday Season and a Great 2014!

A SINGLE PIGMENT PAINTING LESSON

Continuing on with my first lesson of January 2014 for the students when they return after the holidays...pink is the new, um...black?  No.  That can't be right! ha ha  

For someone who loves all blues, I do tend to wear a lot of pink, raspberry, mauve, etc. so what's that all about?  Oh, who cares?!?  

Here are the next steps of the pink flamingo in a single color (Permanent Alizarin Crimson by Daniel Smith).

1.  The masking fluid (Pebeo Drawing Gum) is off and some areas are darker and some more salt-textured sprinkles were added here and there.

2.  Going just about as dark as I want in the darkest areas except for the legs and bill.  While I don't normally have the patience to layer colors, this is kind of interesting in that it's just a single color and you're seeing how very pale and how very dark you can go with one color.  And I've not used Permanent Alizarin Crimson much at all (although I have it on my palette) - so it's my new 2014 color of choice! 

While I'm working on this, I'm also working on my program for the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society.  I give the program in January - the date is the 8th so we don't cut into members' holiday gatherings or travels the first week of January.  I'm going to be using our projector and DVD player to show a DVD of Birgit O'Connor to the group and then we'll all try to paint along with what she is doing.  I'll just lead the showing of the DVD and have some handouts, etc.  The meeting will be set up like a mini workshop with tables for the members to sit around and paint on.  So...I have to do some practicing and getting used to the projector and get some copies made and I have to do some painting of the subject - a canna - using her wet-in-wet technique.

As for time in between these two projects, I have wrapping of gifts to do, sending out of the last batch of holiday cards, and scheduling get-togethers and such - plus I have to make time for my Pilates sessions so I don't get too big on cookies and candies and pies and holiday fudge and punch and all that - I wonder how many calories one consumes at a typical holiday gathering where there are so many munchies out?  Maybe I don't want to know! ha ha

May your days be happy and bright, 
And may your bum remain tight in spite
of the holiday goodies consumed in the night!

And thank you for taking this journey with me this year, especially those who have hung in there through the years :)