 |
| #2969 "Male Towhee Sing Long" 20 x 16 by 3/4 depth stretched canvas (inches) Started 10:30 am Tuesday, August 5th, 2025 |
This is another image taken by my friend, John Verburg, a naturalist and terrific photographer. I was still working on #2967 "Smoky Sky Sunset Cattle" and #2968 "Marshland Wood Duck Drake". Both were very wet. There was still some energy left in my brush, so I selected a fresh 16x20 Daler-Rowney canvas, which had just arrived a few days earlier.
Air Quality and Heat conspired to keep me inside. It was like a smoky, blast furnace outside, but quite comfortable in the Studio. I had the tunes on loud. Life as an artist can be very good even though making a living can be tenuous at best.
I quite enjoy the challenge of breathing life into birds with just colours and brushstrokes. I had painted another male Eastern Towhee back in June as #2950 "Eastern Towhee Sing On". The posture of this Eastern Towhee was equally inspiring.
Painting the eye followed roughing out the sketch. The raw gessoed canvas provided the white highlight of the eye right up until the last few days of painting. Some titanium white was used to finish that eye, but not much.
Here is the pictorial story of #2969 "Male Towhee Sing Long" ... a three-day journey.
It is even more important to know when to stop. Too many brushstrokes can steal the life out of a painting. There is always a temptation to "make it better" with just a few more strokes. Resist that urge, as perfection is overrated! Step away from the easel...
My goal was to allow the songbird to sing!
For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection.
Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,
Phil Chadwick
No comments:
Post a Comment