Eastern Chipmunk (Painting Fur) Step-by-Step
Well, the chipmunks are out of hibernation here in Michigan, so it seems like a fitting time to share a step-by-step painting of one. Although they do plenty of damage to our garden, there is no denying that sure are cute. The painting is a 10 x 14 inch transparent watercolor on Arches 140lb HP paper.
Coke Bottle Hummingbird Feeder
An oldie. This was a commissioned painting. The client wanted five male hummingbirds at the feeder. We settled on Blue-throated, Costa’s, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, and Rufus Hummingbirds. It is an 18 x 24 inch transparent watercolor on Lana 140 lb HP Paper.
Liquid Frisket Fix–it
Liquid frisket is a handy thing for anyone who does a lot of watercolor. I tend to use it as little as possible. It ruins brushes and there is only so fine a line you can get with it. Because of this I often go to use it and find that it has started to dry out and thicken up.
Anyone that has opened up a fresh bottle of frisket has noticed the “lovely” aroma coming out of the bottle. Ammonia! As long as you haven’t let the bottle totally get dried out and super thick, you can save it. First, pull out the stringy, clotting bits, then rehydrate it using Windex and it works as good as new. Be sure to add a little at a time so you don’t overdo it.
Now, if you did let it dry out and get really thick, you are better off letting it harden all the way and use it to remove rubber cement and frisket. Feel good about yourself. You are kind of like a modern day alchemist having turned a $15 bottle of liquid frisket into a $1.75 rubber cement pick-up!
Bluet Damselfly Pencil Sketch
I’ve been sketching a lot of damselfly and dragonflies from photos that I took last summer. I’m already looking forward to this summer’s crop. They are fascinating creatures to watch.
Burrowing Owl Transparent Watercolor
Anytime you have a lot of detail in both lights and darks right next to each other, especially when the area is small, it can be a difficult area to paint in watercolor. The colors can have a tendency to want to bleed or lift. The feathers on the breast of this owl fit that description.
Meadowhawk Sketch
This is a pencil sketch of a meadowhawk dragonfly. In hot weather they often perch with their abdomens pointed at the sun. This decreases the surface area of their body being heated by the sun so they don’t overheat. At times it is held almost vertically and it is called the “obelisking posture.”
Our gardens and a nearby frog pond have been great places for photographing dragonflies and damselflies. I hope to get to painting more of these soon.
Spread-winged Damselfly
I’ve had a lot of fun painting these small insects. This summer I took a ton of photos of dragonflies and damselflies. These tiny animals are easy to overlook, but they are spectacular on close observation.
Bluebird Sketch
We were lucky to have bluebirds nest in our yard again this year. We had 2 successful fledges of 6 birds each.
Baltimore Oriole Sketch
This summer we were lucky enough to have 4-5 Baltimore orioles coming to the feeder right outside our kitchen window.
They were attracted by the grape jelly we were leaving out for them. We also got the occasional catbird. The kids even named them!
I set up a camera with a wireless remote on a tripod and took a ton of photos as they would come in to feed.
Basset Hound Step-by-Step
