The Object of His Affection - B is for Bird SOLD

'The Object of His Affection' 

5 x 7 inches watercolor on paper
SOLD

Here's painting two in my alphabet series. B for bird. 

Ravens, to me, have always been beautiful and fascinating. And, yes, because of some of the lore surrounding them a little creepy. I still get the shivers when I read Edgar Allen Poe's the Raven. But with this painting I wanted to emphasize a softer side, by painting a baby (who has blue eyes, once he matures his eyes will turn black), with an open beak, completely humble and dependent. I had a little bit of fun by incorporating a lot of color, and swirling designs to emphasize the slightly mystical reputation that ravens seem to have.

This is also a depiction of the bird that reaches a very troubled boy's heart in one of my favorite books. The baby raven is the one thing that softens his razor edges and harsh presence. And I found that absolutely compelling. The book is Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys. 

Reference photo by Digimaree on deviantART.

Hoot Hoot

'Hoot Hoot' 

5 x 7 inches watercolor on paper

$65 plus $8 US shipping, or $20 International 

Clearly my creative well for owl titles has run dry. I know I paint owls a lot, but I'm really fascinated with the colors in their feathers (like this guy's white, but not white chest) and their intelligent expressions. 

And I have had an idea for an owl/figure painting (not like an owl human hybrid, which would be terrifying, but like a figure AND and owl together) that I've wanted to do for a while just haven't got to yet. 

I got a little excited about all the colors I put into this one. I think it may be because this is my first watercolor since I painted with oils for a while. I was enjoying the flow. 

:) 

Little Wise One SOLD

'Little Wise One'  SOLD

ACEO size 2.5 x 3.5 in. watercolor on paper

This little owl was very fun to paint. Owls are always fun to paint though. :) At least in my opinion. The colors are not as true in the photo below as the top one, it's just a way to show you the size of the painting. This is painting 9/30 in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. 

In other news, today is a SNOW DAY!! In Utah of all places. I mean, it's not like we're not prepared for snow, so that must tell you that the storm we had last night was a doozy. I swear we got about twelve inches.  When the kids came up to get ready to go to school and I told them that it was cancelled because of the snow you should have heard them shout 'YESSSS!!!' There was general fist pumping and merry making. Twas awesome. 

Here's our Giant Schnauzer, Heart, enjoying the snow this morning. See how deep it is? And she's not exactly a teacup poodle. Crazy. 

 That dog loves snow. She eats it like she would eat bacon. Silly girl. :)

I'm off to enjoy a blissful day of no school with my boys! Which means I'm going to have to throw down in a Mario Kart match with them. Huzzah!!

Listening to: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
Reading: The Secret of Ella and Micha
Snacking on: spearmint gum
Watching: Pretty Little Liars ( I KNOW, what can I say? I love teenage angst)

Sentinel - sold

'Sentinel'

6" x 6" watercolor on paper

sold

 

This little guy really got to my heart. I don't know if it's his big dark eyes, or the way he's tentatively peeking around the corner, but I love him. This painting was a little bit of a departure for me too. . . In a way. I thought I'd layer more colors in the background to give it more of the look of aged wood, but I loved the movement and texture in that first wash so much that I left it as is. Sometimes less is more you know?

 

I feel like I just repeated the exact same lesson that I learned with the horses in the post before this. Ah well. Sometimes it takes a few tries to knock it in my noggin. :)

 

Reference photo by Pommekiwi (who sadly is no longer on flickr for me to link to), thank you!

 

Listening to: The Black Keys

Watching: The Vampire Diaries (tis the season)

Reading: Outpost 

Snacking on: baby carrots (blargh)  

Watcher

Watcher

5" x 5" watercolor

$45 plus $7 US shipping or $15 Int.

I'm really excited right now about painting close-ups of eyes and faces, of all types. I guess it's something that I've always done, subconsciously focusing on the face and letting everything else sort of just not matter. But now I'm doing it consciously! Heh. :)

When I first saw this guy (who is an Eagle owl in case you were wondering) I was a little overwhelmed at all the details in his feathers, which were even more apparent in the photo when seen from this extreme close up. But once I actually started painting him I realized that it wasn't the feather details I was painting, but the pattern of color and lights and darks. There goes that subconscious mind of mine again making decisions for me. Pushy subconscious brain thinking it knows better than me. Hmph.

In any case, I think it worked out pretty well. :)

Photo reference by Amanda Richard. Thank you!! :)

Messenger sold

'Messenger' SOLD

5" x 5" watercolor on paper

 click here to bid

Yesterday I new I wanted to do a small animal painting, but I couldn't decide which one! So I posted it on my facebook page and let my followers decide it for me. Nearly everyone wanted me to paint an owl, with a cat coming in second, and no votes for the dog. So an owl it is!

Barn owls are my favorite owl. I love their creamy white fur scattered with gold, rust, and purple hues. I love their dark, intelligent eyes, and the way they seem to carry themselves with so much  of elegance and wisdom. 

And owls remind me of Harry. :)Me and the boys have been listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the car when we go to and fro all the places we need to. It's their first time hearing this story of Harry's and it is SO much fun to share that with them.

Huzzah my peeps! See you Saturday for another sketchbook post. :)

Photo reference by Nick Jewell, thank you!

A little owl SOLD

 Little Owl

6" x 6" watercolor

click here to buy now SOLD

$50 plus $6 US shipping or $15 international shipping

I've always wanted to paint an owl. I don't know why. They just seem like such graceful and introspective birds.

And of course, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. And even though this isn't exactly the same kind of owl as Hedwig, she still reminds me of her. :))

I decided to approach this painting a little differently. I've been spending more time with my sketchbook lately and I wanted to see if I could get a painted sketch type of effect with this painting.

 I got this idea from one of my favorite artists, Kimberly Kelly Santini, who paints the most awesome acrylic paintings of animals that I just love. The thing I love about Kimberly's painted sketches is that they really do look like sketches only with paint. And I LOVE looking at sketches.

I loosened up, and finished this little owl pretty quickly and I really like it. I think I'll be doing more like this in the future.

And please, if any of you guys have a better idea for a title than "Little Owl" lay it on me, I'm really not all that committed to my title. :))

Have a great rest of the week everyone! Huzzah!