First Blue Bird of the Season 2023

As I was looking out the window, taking in the beautiful weather we are experiencing, I took notice to this guy sitting at the top of our bird feeder out front.  He just sat there scoping out the area.  I thought I might have seen another....maybe a mate....but wasn't sure.  It's that time of year, I suppose, when they are out searching for a place to nest.  

 

In Memory of Morgan's Pet Bird, Sunny

This drawing is for my youngest granddaughter, Morgan, who recently lost her beloved cockatiel by the name of Sunny.  She picked him up during her trip here to Florida two years ago.  I wanted to do something for her as a memory keepsake.

Working white on white is most definitely one of my biggest challenges.  I prefer not to use a background if I can get away with it.  Another thing about white is choosing the right color for shadows/shading and it still look white.

Procreate using Gouache brush and TH Wash Stamp brush for the background.

With background and without the background.

Catching Up With Latest Drawings Plus Other

A lot has been going on the last few months but I have still managed to get some artwork done...two of which were therapeutic in nature.  

Have also been busy with completing several diamond art kits and playing with Legos.

Birth of a new family member....Miss Sophia (nephew's first born):

Personal Challenge...to illustrate the first things that come to mind living in Florida that differs from living up north and that I have seen/experienced:

Birthday gift - recording the growth of lily buds that were in the arrangement Travis sent to me:

From a section of one of my diamond art kits.  Madison loves bees and I thought of her as I did this:

Learning a new technique called Dispersion and as a therapeutic means to unload some emotional/mental turmoil I've chosen not to bog me down:

Portrait of daughter-in-law:

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Darlene, I learned about botanical Legos.  

Birthday set from hubby:

My husband and I, as old as we are, still love building with Legos.

Still Playing Following Instructor Nathan Brown

So far this is what I've done as I go through course material and play with the various new brushes and techniques covered. 

I'm going back to previous drawing/illustrations I've created and seeing what I can do to give them a little artistic uplift.  The course also covers rules I tend to avoid like the plague like composition (why I prefer illustrating and journaling) but it's good to face them now and then.............I suppose...ha ha.   I did need something different as I was feeling rather stuck.  This offers a new challenge that may keep me busy for awhile practicing and experimenting, which I should do more of.

Course I'm taking:

Introducing the Procreate Watercolor Masterclass by Nathan Brown through DesignCut.

Brush Pack also purchased:

Master Watercolor Brushes Ultimate Edition by Nathan Brown also through DesignCut.

There are videos on Youtube under both the instructor's name and DesignCut for additional information.

New Course and Experimenting

At present, I am taking a new Procreate digital watercolor course and playing with some of what I'm learning from it.  The course is by Nathan Brown through DesignCuts.com.

Taking a previous digital pencil drawing done back in February, I've worked it two different ways. 

Original drawing:

Experiment #1:  Blending part of the bird into the background forcing the eyes to go to the head and adding just a touch of color to part if the bird only.  I'm not real crazy about this one but was fun to play and experiment a bit.

Experiment #2:  Full color to look more like a painting.  The results with this one I really like.  

More Wildlife Drawings

Still going through photos taken throughout the years for incentive and as reference material.  These are from outside living room window here in Florida.

BJD 2B pencil

Wildlife Drawings

Going back to 2011 and 2012 when we lived in WV, I decided to draw from some of my photos taken while living out away from towns or subdivisions.  The one thing we miss is all the wildlife we enjoyed watching day to day.  

Not feeling like messing with color, I chose to work all of these with the 2B pencil brush tool.

Ibis, Dessert, and Orchid

After the big disappointment with the Magnolia, I decided to redirect my interest in other things to sketch.

One of the days I went out to check on the Magnolia, these Ibis were in the back near the tree.  I was able to move around a bit without scaring them taking pictures.  These guys seldom come to the back yard so it was a surprise to me to see them there.

Terry went to get some ice cream for us and knowing I'm trying to watch my calorie intake, he found these mini cones.  Nestles makes mini drumsticks and I have always loved their large cones but Publix was out of them.  So he decided to get these from Blue Bunny for me to try. 

Last month I worked a watercolor sketch and a digital sketch of my orchid at the bud stage.  I wanted to work another digital with it in full bloom and got a bit carried away.  This took me hours starting yesterday morning at 10 a.m. and worked it off and on until 4:30 this morning.  Then I picked back up on it at around noon and finished this afternoon.  Today's work was fine tuning after a few hours of sleep and fresh eyes adding deeper values, blending and smoothing edges.

Young White Ibis

We had a flock of White Ibis visit our yard to check out what food source we might have that enticed them to our yard.  Those that attract my attention most are the youngsters because they have the brown.  

Worked in Procreate as mentioned in the illustration below showing basic steps I took to produce this.

This little video clip gives an idea of my work progress such as brush tool strokes used.  End was trimmed with all the back and forth fine-tuning with values and other smaller details seen in final results to save on time viewing and size file upload.  The fine-tuning for me is the most time consuming and I often close out the app and return with fresh eyes at least once if not a few times before calling it done. 

Bird Sketching

A couple other goals I've set myself for the year are working at least one digital, one graphite, and one fountain pen ink sketch per month.  

While watching (actually listening to) TV, I worked these birds in two different mediums.

This ink sketch is using Procreate = Technical ink tool.  A practice using hatching and cross hatching to achieve my values.

For a graphite sketch, I worked this hummingbird from a photo taken back in 2011 when we lived in West Virginia.  

Worked in Alpha journal I have designated for graphite only drawings.  Used my Pentel Graphgear 1000 mechanical pencil, size .7

Capturing the Moment - Sandhill Cranes

While sitting at my desk, movement out of the corner of my eye grabbed my attention.  I looked outside the window and below our bird feeders were two Sandhill Cranes.

I haven't seen them in weeks.....months, actually.....making this a pleasant surprise to see them.  As I sat and watched them, I decided to capture in my journal noting date and the temperature outside.

One had two tags attached to its legs while the other did not.  I often wonder why some are tagged while others are not.  I also wonder how it must feel on them trying to walk around or even fly.

For the gray coloring, I chose to use a Potters Pink and Cerulean Blue mix.  The way the sun hit these birds, some of their body color looked almost white while the rest of their coloring was a light to medium/dark gray.

Worked in the 8x6 Fabriano Journal made by Fay.  TWSBI Eco pen (xFine nib) and Urban Grey ink.

Late Night Sketching

Seems like I'm on a streak right now with sketching.  I'm taking advantage while it lasts.

This first one was practicing John's method of drawing birds by first using shapes.  This is not my normal way of working but I like to try different methods from time to time.

The Black Cap is one of my all-time favorites.  Love their chatter!  This was worked during a late-night where I couldn't sleep.  I worked the bird first and then added the rest afterwards just to fill the white space.

This one was worked last night between midnight and 3 a.m.  I have this artificial arrangement sitting on my desk that replicates a live arrangement my husband got me years ago.  I had taken pictures of the live flowers before they wilted and found a bunch of artificial that was nearly perfect at Hobby Lobby.

Showing Back Up at Feeder

Although we have resident hummingbirds, there are months where we don't see them around the feeder.  We've noticed within the last week we are seeing quite a bit of activity...probably with the migration of those from the North.

Stillman and Birn Alpha / Staedtler Mars Lumograph 2B

Practice Sketching Birds

Over the last couple of days, I have been watching (and sketching along the way) a few videos on Drawing Birds by John Muir Laws.  Although I've sketched and painted birds for years, I never knew the anatomy of birds and thought by learning this, it might help me improve on results.  If nothing else, it would help to be able to identify which part of the bird I'm working on and learning what I can simplify and still end up with decent results.

I worked these as reference I can fall back on if necessary.  Fab Hotpress / TWSBI Eco with Urban Grey ink.

Using a model from the video, I worked this bird in graphite.  Then added ink and then decided to add some color.  This was basically playing with three different techniques within the same bird sketch.

While I worked the pencil sketch, I didn't think to scan the steps I chose to use from how John works his bird sketches so I tried to recreate those steps using Procreate on the Ipad.  I find using the circles or ovals like he does for head and body proportions throws me off.  I do better this way by focusing on the contour lines and how each curve or line relates in distance and placement to other areas around it.

Doodling with Ballpoint Pen

Yesterday I grabbed a new type ballpoint pen made by Uni-ball (Jetstream RT 0.7 mm) to see how it might work on two different paper surfaces.  I was interested in seeing if ink would build-up causing blobs like other pens I have tried.  Although I did have to wipe the point on paper towel now and then, the pen worked quite well on both a toothy surface and a smooth surface.

5.5x6" Journal made with Arches 140 lb Coldpress WC paper.  Added a little color with DS watercolors.

5.5 x 7" Journal made with Fabriano 140 lb Hotpress WC paper.  Chose not to add color.  No pencil lines were used as I wasn't sure how the ink would handle going over graphite.  It was also unknown if erasing would smear this type ink.

What I found is that I enjoyed using this pen for ballpoint sketching.....unlike BIC or a few other brands I've tried that tend to blob quite easily with a lot of stop and go dabbing the pen point on paper towel, which I find cumbersome.

Cardinal Head Study

This started out as only a pencil study.  I was practicing the head of this cardinal as I learn the names of various areas of the face and how they relate to one another creating basic features.  After working the pencil study, I decided to add a little color.  

Worked in journal with Arches 140lb Coldpress Watercolor, Graphgear 1000 mechanical pencil #7.  Painted using Qor and DS watercolors.

Mockingbird Gathering Nest Material

Spring is such a busy time and joy to watch.  We learned a pair of Mockingbirds are building a nest in our Bougainvillea in the front yard.  No idea if male or female but this one was right outside my window gathering twigs it could find.

Wasn't in the mood to mess with painting so I chose to work this one using Ipad / Procreate and the HB brush tool.  Good practice with values.

Birds and the Bees

Early this morning, as I drank my first cup of coffee, I watched this Brown Thrasher "thrashing" at the ground to move leaves and debris looking for food.  Another was checking out the flat feeder of sunflower seeds. 

This guy was up under the Azalea bush near my window taking a break.  He sat there for quite awhile before returning to task at hand giving me plenty of opportunity to take several photos.

I haven't learned to tell the difference yet between male and female.  I understand that if guarding a nest, they can be quite aggressive attacking people and dogs.  They are quite large song birds and one I wouldn't want dive-bombing me with that large beak they have.

During the summer we don't see them around the feeders like we do during late winter and early spring.

Journal with Fabriano 140lb HP / Pilot Prera w/#41 Brown / DS watercolors

Yesterday I was looking out the window when a bumble or carpenter bee hit the window.  Not just once but twice.  Once he realized there was an obstruction there, he went on his way.  You would think the first time he hit the window, he would have moved on. 

The bees never appear to be stunned like the occasional bird that hits the window.  If we find a bird stunned and on the ground, we will move the bird to the back yard so our neighbor's cat can't get him while he recovers.

Journal with Arches 140lb CP / Pilot Prera w/#41 Brown for sketching and Lamy with Doc Ink for writing (the Lamy handles the toothy paper better when adding notes) / DS watercolors

Cardinal Outside My Window - Moment Sketchers for March

It's only been recent that I learned about a group called Moment Sketchers through Instagram.  They may also be on Facebook but it was a group suggested to me by a friend to check out who's on Instagram.

Each first full weekend of the month, people all over the globe are invited to join in sketching anything they want.  The idea is to sketch the same weekend as a group and hashtag if they wish to.

This is what I did for this weekend........this cardinal sitting on the bend of a pole we hang our hummer feeder on..........hidden on the backside of the shrub that faces the window I sit at.  He may have been there to get out of the wind for all I know as he just sat there for a long time.  It's been rather windy today with some nice gusts.

I could have added more foliage but wanted to keep it rather simple.  Watercolor first and then applied the line-work.  I probably should have done the line-work first so that the ink didn't go down as heavily as it tends to do over watercolor.

Small journal made with Arches 140 lb Coldpress / Lamy pens - Dark Green and Document Brown / DS and OoR watercolors.

White Ibis Visiting Our Yard

We see these guys often in the subdivision but not always in our yard.  We had a nice flock stop by for a little while.  Even when a couple young boys rode by on their bicycles, they stayed but moved a little closer to the house away from the edge of the road.

This represents flying in, coming in for a landing, and walking/standing around.  No juveniles in this bunch, which are brown and black in the body until they mature.

Weather 84 (F) / partly cloudy / breezy.  Earlier we had fog.

Journal w/Fabriano Hotpress / Sharpie pen / DS watercolors