Crows Nest #1
9x7in watercolor on Yupo
Not quite finished!
Artist Note.
I went to the dentist last Monday
and it is a one hour drive each way so I
painted this in the car.
A friend had brought in a photo
of a crows nest on their property.
I was surprised how tidy it was.
Still doing some basic studies of the shape
of crows. These are my first in watercolor.
Looks like someone is getting told off!
A friend had brought in a photo
of a crows nest on their property.
I was surprised how tidy it was.
Still doing some basic studies of the shape
of crows. These are my first in watercolor.
Looks like someone is getting told off!
Yupo seems to be the popular surface this past week including by me. Your birds nest is terrific Julie and skillfully done too seeing it is on a small size of Yupo. love the Crows
ReplyDeleteI love the title on your blog about having to be the boss with Yupo.
DeleteI love your dramatic use of color and space with your flower. You also
did a great job of explaining the joys and perils of Yupo!
Thanks for the neat comment, Lorraine.
Great painting with very beautiful colours !!!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice and creative week !!!
Wishing you the same and I thank you for the visit.
DeleteI had to Google Yupo :0) now I know. All my stuff has been on stretched cotton canvas so far so I know nothing about most things! But what I do know is that I love this crow's nest of yours, I like the POV, the detail (no surprise there then) and the colour range. I like the idea that the nest isn't in the centre of the painting.
ReplyDeleteNo prizes for which crow is the male.
"Are you listening, squark."
"Yes, dear"
"Did you remember the worms for dinner?"
"Ug... no dear ... but I can explain...."
You would most likely compare Yupo to the smooth surface of your drawing.pen ink paper. Smooth bristol!
DeleteThe amazing thing is, John, that nothing sinks in so it basically floats on the surface. I wax mine afterwards for some protection. The least drop of water will leave a mark. That is also the quality that makes it interesting to use...the lift off.
I really enjoyed the laugh at your bird commentary...My hubby had used almost the same words, but when I turned it around to,"wheres my supper...you have not done the laundry... I have no clean underpants" he grew sheepish!
You men do it with woman and we woman can do exactly the same with men!
You have been having a nice spot of weather, eh?
Julie - you are doing wonders with that Yupo paper...I agree the crow's nest is quite tidy. Love your studies of the crows as well. We have lots of them here. Always enjoy hearing the one that acts as the leader. It is like he is telling them where to find the best corn. Take care friend and have a delightful week.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed because I was presuming they - crows - would have a loose twig formation, but they really do make a snug interior for their babies.They also mate for life...if they survive.
DeleteThe cardinal on your post is an amazing color. I loved it.
Thanks for the visit, Debbie. Hope your snow melts soon.
Really beautiful Julie! I love how you positioned the nest on the lower half of the paper, makes a striking composition.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Celia. My paper was long so I emphasized the format. Usually their nests are up high, but hey...artistic licence!
DeleteAre you still painting the violets? I am looking forward to your new post.
I do so love what most people manage to do on Yupo! This is delightful, Julie! I love the two crows and it does for sure look like one is getting a dressing down!
ReplyDeleteHi and thanks, Sherry.
DeletePrayers coming your way for your daughter and the baby.
Hi Julie, yes that nest is wonderful, such great color throughout the painting. Crows are certainly challenging and fun to paint. I have only done one crow eating watermelon from a scene I saw by the side of the road one summer's day. It's something I'd like to try painting again but with a group of crows.
ReplyDeleteI have started following your blog and look forward to going back through older posts when I have some time. Enjoy your day!
Welcome, Carol. imagine how delighted I was to find you are a bird lover. The photo of the nuthatch made my day.Yes - definitely an act of God!
DeleteThe one crow sure does look like he is giving the other crow the business!
ReplyDeletea beautiful nest painting-they are always so intricate.
Good luck with the dentist too. An hour each way. I feel your pain!
thanks for the visit Libby. Interesting the read about how you are using the computer to work out your colors and shapes.
DeleteGorgeous!!! How could you say your yupo painting wasn't as ambitious as mine??? I can see how the yupo worked so well for the sticks in the nest since you can lift the paint so easily...but you have such wonderful light colors underneath. For a while when I was working I was wondering what would happen in a large area of dark where you lift back the color instead of adding so much. I'll have to experiment more. You got me excited again. I see Lorraine is visiting too. Funny how we all did yupo paintings at the same time.
ReplyDeleteWhen you wrote that you were working on a painting in the car I thought you meant the yupo...until I saw the crows. lol I could just imagine all that paint on the yupo moving around in the car. Thanks for making me smile.
Yes - I did the nest in the car and the two birds are on yupo too.
DeleteThe reason I said your was more ambitious than mine is because to me, painting a whole beautiful floral on yupo is FAR more ambitious than my one bird nest. You did a fabulous job of explaining the process too. great post!
You are so good with Yupo! I absolutely love the texture and feel of this!
ReplyDeleteThanks you Kim, Congratulations on getting signature status in the GWS with your watercolor Myan Gate. Way to go!
DeleteJulie you are so masterful at unifying your painting with color. The light blue neutral( or lavender) just holds the painting together and lets those fabulous nest colors sing. Really nice work.
ReplyDeleteYou are into the color harmonizing yourself with your three abstracts. It is great to see you letting go and really get into discovery of color and abstraction. it was a really neat post.
DeleteYour nests are some of the most beautiful paintings I've seen.
ReplyDeleteOh WOW! I think I will print your comment out and keep it.
DeleteIt is neat seeing your fractured pear. Good to shake the routine up a bit. Also good to examine what your reaction is to the act of doing something so different than the norm.
Julie, this piece works so beautifully on an abstract level. I love the texture and the subtle colors in this wonderful painting. Looking forward to your crow paintings!
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you, Ann. Thank you.
DeleteI enjoyed seeing your take on a C W Mundy influence. Liked your Picasso quote too.
I ordered some Yupo thanks to you I only hope my efforts come out as favorably as yours. Why shouldn't crow have an orderly nest? Just because they can be nasty doesn't mean they're untidy. This is a beautiful painting, as is your study of the birds. The blue/green sheen in the black is amazingly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh boy...let the fun begin! Watch out for fingerprints on edges... paint will not go over them and you have to use alcohol to clean it ...and you hate to find out in the middle of a flowing wash.
DeleteAny help I can give just ask.
Your flowers packed a lot of abstract punch. I know you were not happy with them but I liked them both.
Thanks for the neat comment.
Also looks like someone is ignoring. Even birds do that. Hehe
ReplyDeleteFabulous nest and on yupo...I'm really in awe !
ReplyDeleteWow, there are a lot of complex forms going on in the bird nest, nicely done! Still, I thing it was the play between hard and soft edges in the runny areas that I enjoyed exploring the most. Beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteLove these neutral colors, Julie. Your nests always have a perfect balance of realism and artistic expression.
ReplyDeleteWow this nest is fantastic. It would be interesting to see a book of painted nests so we could see the differences in them.
ReplyDeleteWe have SO many crows here in our neighborhood. You would love it. Your studies look just perfect. That's exactly how they look. You amaze me always.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love the bird especially. What a nice touch!
ReplyDeleteSome parts are nicely melting. U--n, fantastic.