BARN SWALLOWS, PART 1

 

After collecting quite a lot of references of Barn Swallows (mostly in my sketchbook), I decided to do a larger watercolor of a pair of them resting on the old dock. We don't usually see swallows on the ground so I felt this would make for a slightly more interesting painting. I wanted the birds in full sun which would I hoped, bring out the best in their plumage. The iridescent blue on the head and back looks dark in shadow but amazingly jewel-like in the sunlight. Since my earlier color studies were done in watercolor, I decided to do this one in the same medium but using transparent watercolor without any gouache - any white highlights would be pure paper showing through. My initial effort on the nearest bird was close to how I wanted it so I then worked on the background for a bit. Next I'll make a start on the second bird sitting slightly behind. I'm sure I will come back to this first swallow and do a bit more but for now, I'm happy with how things look and feel that I have at least made a reasonable start.

MUTE SWAN STUDY

 

Mute Swans are not that common over here although I do see the odd individual from time to time. One was resident at a nearby lake for some time so I did manage quite a lot of studies etc. The bird I have painted here is half asleep while standing on one leg. I actually prefer to draw them when they are laying down as this means that the body is slightly more horizontal and seems to aid the composition. I started an oil study of a swan some time ago but have yet to finish it. This is mostly because of the texture of the neck feathers - I am having a hard time capturing that area to my satisfaction. I'll try and get back to it soon as the rest of the painting is going quite well. This small watercolor done in my sketchbook is around 5 x 7 inches (12 x 18 cm).

SUNRISE STUDIES

 

One of the first things I do when waking each morning is to observe the sky. A window slightly angled to the East allows me a quick look to see if there are any interesting clouds about and how this will affect the sunrise. Often I have been able to do smaller (and necessarily) quick studies of what I see looking out. Usually these paintings are in watercolor but occasionally oil. When working in oils, I have to have everything set up and ready to go as often the sky changes rapidly. The other morning when I did these studies in my sketchbook (the lower one first), I was trying to capture not only the colors but also the feeling of the clouds especially as they changed shape. Fortunately on that morning, they only did slowly as there wasn't much wind. These studies are especially important to me as they not only capture what I saw on any given day, they also give me a better idea if the arrangement of light, color and clouds can be scaled up for a larger painting. Size of each are around 5 x 7 inches.

ICELANDIC MOUNTAIN STUDY

 

A smaller painting from our Iceland trip a few years ago. We saw many such vistas as this and some of the landscape was really un-worldly! Love to take an extended trip there and spend more time painting the incredible landscape - such beauty wherever you looked. This oil on canvas is 8 x 10 inches.

FEMALE PEACOCK

 

Quite some time ago, I painted a male peacock trying not to make a hash of the intricate plumage. This time, I started this smaller study of a female which, thankfully has a more simple plumage. For the painting, I concentrated mostly on the head trying to capture the details around the eye and just suggested the rest of its plumage. I have been putting off doing another painting of the male for some time but perhaps finishing this female will inspire me to finally make a start on that one. Size is around 7 x 8 inches (18 x 20 cm), watercolor on Grumbacher paper.

SANDERLING

 

Walking the Eastern Shore beaches as I have done so many times in the past, one often comes across Sanderlings. Usually only a single bird at a time but occasionally (especially on migration) up to 15 or so. I love watching them 'chasing the waves' as someone so adeptly put it with their running after a receding wave, feeding frantically then running up the beach again ahead of the next incoming one. Many are so used to people walking by that they simply wait until you have passed then go back to feeding again. Occasionally they will fly a little ahead of you and this is what I wanted to capture in my painting. Their strongly patterned wings flicker and capture the eye, usually they are angled downwards and the short flight ends with a quick run on jet black legs.

MISTY PEAKS

 

When I first started working on this small painting, I had in my mind a rather simple composition with almost flat-like colors. After laying in basic areas of mostly blue and warm gray, everything looked too simplistic so I began overpainting lighter tones then added more definition to the mountainside. Every time I looked at the painting, I saw something else that needed work. What started out as being something that I wanted to finish in a short time extended to a painting spread over two weeks. Not that I was working on it all that time but it just goes to show, sometimes one has to follow the dictates of the painting and take it to its natural conclusion irrespective of ones initial idea. Size is 7 x 5 inches (18 x 13 cm), acrylic on board.