I haven't posted in a while, but wow, have we been busy lately!
I've been photographing, sketching, and painting a lot more these days, and wanted to share some behind the scenes information of one of my recent creations. I'll start with a bit of background story on the inspiration for this painting, then I'll share photos of my progress.
Earlier this month (June) our family took a weekend day-trip to Port Rowan ON to do some hiking, but primarily for the birdwatching. (Our youngest is an avid birder now, and is thrilled by these things, which is kind of contagious when we're all together and viewing these creatures in the wild!)
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| A family of geese nestled by the shore, with swans swimming in the distance. |
Situated in the Lake Erie area, Port Rowan is an excellent birdwatching spot from May-June to see migratory species. We saw swans, sandhill cranes, red wing blackbirds, and chimney swifts, just to name a few, not to mention families of Canada geese (though, they are everywhere else!)
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| Taking in the wetland views. |
We all felt so refreshed and inspired being out among the wildlife in nature, and I knew I wanted to create some paintings afterward to capture the beauty from there.
So now that I've given a bit of a back-story, I'll share my artwork progress journey:
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| First, my crayon-sketch study of the sandhill crane... |
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| next, crayon-sketch of the landscape I wanted to paint. |
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| Then, planning with pencil lines on canvas. |
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| Filling the sky and background, using earth pigment paint mixed with acrylics. |
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Added the water with some blues and browns, more detail to the background.
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| Filled in more middle greenery and reflections. |
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| Filled in foreground first layer, and sandhill crane first layers. |
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| Here's a closer view of the crane, with foreground greenery layer. |
That's where it's at so far. I'll post another update as I continue and finish this painting.
