I Hope This One Doesn't Disappoint ..
Because I have a confession, I forgot to take progress photos. Yup.. I suck! lol. Stuff happens sometimes, and I guess I was so in the zone that I forgot to take photos along the way. I think that it doesn't matter though. The painting came out so well in my opinion, that I just don't think anyone is going to care about progress or process shots. I hope :-/
I did get one shot off before getting lost in my artistic fog, and you will see it here below..
What I was going for here was a simple black-and-white painting of a bird perched on a piece of marsh grass. We live around a lot of marshy like areas and I always see the birds sort of clinging on to a vertical piece of grass. It’s crazy how they can just hold on while the piece of grass is swaying back-and-forth in the wind. Quite amazing really.
I had a rather small piece of watercolor paper left over from a larger painting. I had cropped it off of the original piece. It was in perfect condition and I hated to throw it away. I kind of figured that I would use it as a scrap piece for testing but it turns out it was the perfect size for this little painting. It measures roughly 3 inches wide by 8 inches tall. It curled up a bit, but this can be fixed with an iron and a little light heat.
I don’t know why I chose black and white other than I was in a black and white sort of mood. I was particularly excited about how well the grass pieces came out. Usually I see something that bothers me but this time I like how realistic they look. I added a few squiggly lines in here and there, and also made sure that the grass was randomly placed in the painting. I did plan where I wanted the larger pieces of grass to go. I had to have one in the right position so that my bird wouldn’t be squished to one side or another, on the piece of paper.
I used a simple light gray background as to not distract from the subject of the piece; a tiny Wren. I’ve often seen wrens fluttering around landing on things such as this. So I had a vision in my mind and quickly painted it before it vanished. I didn’t utilize any subject photograph for this piece, but in hindsight maybe I should have in order to get some of the details of the bird more in line with what a Wren would look like.
I enjoy painting in black and white, and can see myself painting a few more like this. A series of black and white birds in reed grass. Maybe I will. What do you think of black and white art?
Well.. I am off to bed, so please feel free to drop a comment on what you think of this one. I am interested in knowing. Good Night All!
Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!
All words, pictures and art pieces are the sole property of B D Miller Gallery, unless otherwise noted and credited, and are not to be reproduced or copied without the prior written consent of B D Miller Gallery.
The Orchid Lovers Community!
Love Orchids? Consider joining our community. We look forward to seeing you there!!!
The Orchid Lovers Community
A place for people who Love Orchids!
That's a very nice piece; I like it!
If you like B&W watercolor art, check out Schmincke Liquid Charcoal. An amazing product:
https://www.schmincke.de/en/profi-tipps/article/video-application-and-possibilities-of-liquid-charcoal.html
Taking progress photos is a pain in the ass; when I'm in the zone the thought of Hive rips me right out of it. Sometimes I paint just for me and don't publish on Hive, just to get the full enjoyment of the process.
I totally agree with you because once you start working on your pieces it needs your total concentration especially on pieces that have delicate parts. For me as a portrait artist when you have to draw for resemblance , it needs all your total concentration so you might not remember to take process shorts meanwhile it is good to follow hive instruction by taking process shots as they totally count, that’s one of the ways to know you are the author of the piece
This is one of those things I look for when browsing the art communities. Then when I actually forget, then I feel bad.. But I try to make up for it with a bit more than 100 words of dialog. hehe.
My thoughts exactly. Sometimes I just want to paint and get lost in it all.. not stop, clean hands, take shot, and get back into it.
I like the way those liquid charcoals look. I'll have to see if I can find them around here and the cost in this area. May be fun to play with. Have you used these?
No, I haven't. I do use Schmincke watercolors and pastels. Highest quality, purest pigments, price commensurate. A real traditional paint maker, with 100+ years of experience.
Stateside you can find Schmincke at Dick Blick, Pearl Arts snd Crafts, Jerry's Artarama, and online from Walmart of all places. 😀
Yes.. I am familiar with the company but never heard of this particular product. You're right though, I should expect nothing but quality out of them. I doubt they would push out anything not worthy of their reputation.
Walmart is similar to Amazon now. They have private vendors that sell under their umbrella site. So one can find almost anything one there, although prices and shipping vary considerably as well as support and trust.
Wow! This piece looks really incredible, I think you should do it justice but pasting the piece on a black cardboard then get it framed , it will come out incredible!! Great work!!!
Thank you! These small watercolors tend to curl pretty good anyhow, so adhering it to a harder substrate would be a fine idea. I usually iron them lightly to smooth them out a bit first.
I always forget to take progress shots. Or shots of anything for that matter. Food, etc. It is a curse. Especially when you are on a social blogging site right!? This picture is awesome. Nice job! It has me thinking about Spring and the birds nesting in the tree outside our front window.
Exactly.. they tend to do the same in those trees.. just cling to twigs in an effortless manor. Maybe video is our best bet, yet I am not real familiar or comfortable with that either. Editing could become a real time killer too. The progress shots are time killer enough. I spend a lot of time editing and reducing photos. grrrrr...😆😊
Haha, Yeah, I don't like the way I sound really, so I don't think video would be my best move. I am also horrible at public speaking so it could be a huge disaster!
Hire an actor! 😆
This is a nice little piece. And by little I mean 3x8, apparently. lol
This is quite nice. In B&W, it looks almost like a drawing. Perhaps the textures used on the paper, or the paper, itself. I'm not sure. It has a nostalgic look to it. Again, likely because of its B&W nature.
I respect the fact that you used this small scrap instead of tossing it. I think this was a perfect use for this swatch; small bird, small watercolor.
Cheers!
haha.. that's right you think in metrics.. 8cm by 20cm (approx.) lol. small enough in the grand scheme of things I suppose.
The paper has some pretty good texture that does add to the look of a finished piece. I think the camera doesn't like the B&W so much, so it warms up those whites to look more like sepia sometimes. I like painting in sepia too. Painting in monotone helps with practicing the study of light, shadow, and direction of light. God knows I need all the practice I can get in this area. lol.
Waste not want not! 😁
Cheers!!!
That's another nice piece! What do you do with them all?
Thank you Victor!
Well.. I have gotten really good at finding spaces to store them. A pile here and a stack there. I store them in my art room closet and on shelves. Some I give away or maybe sell on occasion. I have a mental plan that one day I'll rent a table at an art show or craft fair and sell a bunch.. reality is that I would probably come home with them and even worse, I would buy someone else's art and add to the stack! lol.
I really like this one, something like monochrome style:)
Exactly. Very monochrome. I appreciate the feedback!!! 😁
Me gusta el trabajo de fotografía que hiciste al final, muy bueno.
¡Gracias! Agradezco las amables palabras y que te detuvieras a visitar mi blog. ¡¡¡Ten un día maravilloso!!!
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the person sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.