Burrowing Owl - Bird #10

These may seem a little out of order... I usually have a couple of paintings on the go, at home and at work. This one was completed at work during my lunch hour... I struggled with it a little as I just couldn't get the colours that I wanted. In the end, I am pretty happy with it. Tomorrow I'll post an update on my other owl painting.



Burrowing Owl
4" x 4" Watercolour on Aquabord
Photo Reference kindly provided by Alan and Elaine Wilson
© 2009

Untitled Owl, Work in Progress

Starting layering the watercolours on this one tonight (sketched it up quite a while ago) and I'm really loving the way it is turning out. I'm trying a slightly different technique this time... using my smallest brush (10/0) to layer in the the feathers on this guy. There is much more to do, but... its actually going quite fast considering the size of the brush I'm using. That... and I have two furnaces (aka the cats) keeping me company on the couch while I paint.


Untitled
4" x 4" Watercolour on Aquabord
© 2009

Red and Green - Bird #9

I'm trying to catch up with some of the many unfinished bird paintings I have hanging around my easel. This one was, as was the previous bird painting, was painted on Ampersand Aquabord. I tried a few new things with this one: I used a larger mop/brush to lift paint to create texture on the leaves and I used more transparent layers to create a brighter, richer colour in the bird. Over all, I'm rather happy with this guy.



Red and Green
4" x 4" Watercolour on Aquabord
© 2009

Summer Stop - Bird #8

Its been awhile since my last posting... went on vacation and just needed some down time before getting back to the easel. Before I left on holidays, I ordered Ampersand Aquabord from Daniel Smith to experiment with. I do have a couple paintings on the go trying out different techniques on this new surface... but, this little chickadee is my first completed painting.



Summer Stop
4" x 4" Watercolour on Aquabord
© 2009


The surface is much different than working on paper... having both its pros and cons. The pros: I love the granulating effects I can get with some of my colours, I love the texture and the feel of the brush on the surface. The cons: My colours do not seem quiet as brilliant on this surface... but that could be a technique problem and not necessarily a surface support issue. The other con is that the surface turns a slight brownish-tannish (?) colour when water is added to the surface making a tad bit more tricky to know what the true value of the colour being laid down is until the surface dries.

I wouldn't say that the aquabord will replace my use of paper... but, it is definitely a fun surface to paint on and I have lots more of it to use.