Personal Art Blog

Sharing the lessons I teach at the Artist Guild and the personal discoveries in my art.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Nest With Dryer Lint


Nest With Dryer Lint

6x8 watercolor on Yupo Paper NFS

This nest is loaded with lint from the dryer, It is woven between the 
twigs, horse hair and grasses. What a beautifully soft
place for the babies to emerge into.

Artist Note.
This one is another painting done on the trip to the dentist.
It was painted by memory of a particular nest I have.
The Yupo lends itself very well  to this type of technique 
- just a few areas of detail with  lots of washes.
I am finding it is best to do the washes FIRST.
I place a few drops of oxgall into the water.
and let the wash dry before going back in with an 
almost dry brush for the details. 
Easy to lift off an area for light spots, but I also did opaque areas for lint
on top of the washed areas.  I went into a dark color next using a rigger
I had a very light touch and a flowing consistency of paint.
Still learning the "how to" of Yupo.



20 comments:

  1. Amazingly delicate. So soft. What a nice, warm painting.

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  2. I'm impressed with the abstraction that you're able to achieve with watercolor. This is very beautiful.

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  3. Looks like you are catching on nicely! Proof that practice is the key right?

    I love this nest and you have used a blue color in the last couple of paintings that it seems like you don't normally feature. It's a really pretty shade coupled with the golds, grays, and reddish browns.

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  4. This is one of my favorite. Again, there is beautiful peace and a color scheme of complements that works so well.

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  5. Your Yupo work is stunning, Julie. I love the look of the blues in the back ground. Reminds me of how food color disperses in water.

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  6. Good morning, I have been in a battle of "do not nest in my dryer hose" only to see your beautiful painting. Gee, I feel bad but on the other hand, cleaning it out is not so beautiful. Love this painting Julie.

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  7. Julie - I think you certainly have the perfect touch for painting on Yupo paper. As always your nest is exquisite - imagine dryer lint!! Those birds are certainly so smart. Have a lovely day.

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  8. I once saw a DVD demo of Yupo paper. I just couldn't get my head around it. What I do find amazing, looking back on that demo, is the amount of control you have on what is, let's face it, a rather "different " surface!! This nest is fantastic and the blossom in the previous post is beautiful too. Wonderful work Julie!!!

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  9. Amazing work, as always...
    All the best
    Ana

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  10. Julie, Your works on Yupo paper have been extraordinary. I think you have brought forth all the good qualities of this surface. The washes give it a wonderful texture with its drips and layers, and you seem to get a wide range of tints and shades with each color you put down. I hope the "Yupo Headquarters" is watching your blog as you're giving artists many reasons to do their own exploring.

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  11. A beautiful nest ,so fabulous idea texturing the " ​​fluff "... This nest well represents the feelings of wait and rebirth of Easter!
    Happy Easter dear Julie!

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  12. Just plain fabulous , you made the absolutely best out of a very difficult surface to paint on. Wish you a Happy Easter.

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  13. The nest is complex, but you are still able to simplify in the overall idea. A beautiful tangle.

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  14. That has a wonderful effect. I'm loving how you're able to capture detail within the nest and be so abstract outside the nest. Beautiful & fascinating!

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  15. This is so beautifully done! Detailing of the nest must have been very tricky! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  16. This is such a beautiful nest, Julie!!!! I love the softness of the piece...the nest looks so real... don't stop going to the dentist!!! and of course, Happy Easter!!

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  17. Beautiful nest beautifully done. It's amazing what a bird can create.

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  18. Simply amazing! Your mastery of the medium is apparent throughout!

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  19. Julie, I thought you could not "Wow" me any better than your wonderful oil paintings but I find myself loving these watercolors - you make them have a life of their own. Great job!

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  20. I don't know much about watercolor, but it seems to me you achieved amazing depth in this. And you did it in the car. Golly. Amazing.

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I love that you are taking the time to comment and thank you for it. I am sure other readers will enjoy them too. If you cannot comment through this format then email me at juliefordoliver@gmail.com
Cheers,
Julie