Spring Cherry Blossoms 11"x14" wc

And once again, time has slipped away and my posting has been ignored throughout the summer. It's now close to fall so I'd better get back into posting!

It's been a complex year thus far with plenty of ups and downs occurring to shift our schedules about and shake up our emotions a bit. One rarely gets to our ages without the contrasting joy and sorrow, as well as a lot of other things, coloring our lives.

However, I have been painting as often as I have time to spend in the studio. I'll show you the most recent and then go back and recap some of the earlier pieces that are now completed. Watercolor is a fascinating medium and one I have grown to love. I'm attracted to colored pencils, stick and pan pastels, and lots more, but I always go back to my favorite, watercolor. This is my latest:

Hollyhocks  11"x14" wc

And the process is shown here:

My parents and grandparents both grew Hollyhock flowers in their gardens. They are so charming so I thought I'd try my hand at painting them. I had looked at how some artists paint very thin layers of different shades of watercolor to their paintings to provide a depth to the item. They often alternate the colors with an opposite color from the color wheel - very very thin watery layers. This is the first time I really worked with that in mind and I think that these flowers definitely are improved by this technique. Pink, blue, yellow, orange, purple - all layered in these flower petals very carefully.

Here are some of the other watercolors done since last March. Hope some of them inspire you to paint in watercolor!

  

  

That's it for now. Busy Busy Busy - a few more are drawn up and ready to go. I've started one already. Now just need more studio time and some artistic drive to get me going once again!

Happy Painting!

For the love of June

Flocks of Cedar Waxwings pass through our area in spring and fall - always a joy to see!

Ever since our Spunky pup died, I've set about feeding the birds much more seriously. Now I've always feed the birds, but now that we no longer plan to have a pet, the birds are my friends on the porch.

If you've been following me for awhile, you already know that birds are one of my favorite subjects to paint. I've been photographing them for many years, and painting them for the past 8-10 years or so.

So feeding the birds even more than I already was so I could attract the birds closer to the camera, meant I needed more feeders! And they must be placed strategically outside my office windows so I can photograph from within the office. We have a very small yard, and it's mostly garden. We're on a corner lot - meaning the birds are frightened off by traffic - despite it being relatively rare. All these things had to be considered prior to installing more feeders.

When I needed elastic for mask-making, I stopped into JoAnn's and behold, they had various shepherd hook hangers on sale for 70% off! Perfect solution to how to hang more feeders in the yard! I bought two and each has 3 hooks to suspend feeders or plants. The "what" problem was solved. Now to the "where" these new poles should go. One is across from the front door - I can see it while I'm eating lunch in the dining room. That one had one flower basket and two Hummingbird feeders on it.

My feeder assortment as of this moment...

The second one is in the corner of the garden, behind a nice evergreen on the street side, and surrounded by low bushes and some heuchera (coral bells) plants. With lots of space below the feeders so I have a place to stand when filling them all, and the ground feeding birds have room to scavenger what they need.

Baltimore Oriole checking out the new Oriole feeder

Somewhere along the way, I bought an Oriole feeder - bright orange to attract them to oranges and jelly. They came for a total of two days, then disappeared, much to my sadness. So that feeder is now in the garage. I'll try again next fall during migrating season, and again in the spring - with hope to have them stop for awhile, not just eat and fly off!

Finches & Hummingbirds are regulars to our feeders

And Bluebirds stay year-round so the feeders are always busy - especially so in the spring, with their young.

I now have three Hummingbird feeders, two mealworm feeders (for the Bluebirds), two thistle feeders for the Goldfinch, House Finch and Purple Finch, and two "regular" feeders to accommodate the gazillion sparrows that come to visit and dine I toss out some nuts for the two Catbirds that come calling - and I do mean "Calling!" Their meows as they depart with their nuts are their way of saying thank you - at least that's how I'm interpreting it! Mrs. Robin loves the dried meal worms as much as the Bluebird families that have been coming for several years. Mama Robin fills her beak and rushes to her peep-squawking offspring while I watch.

Robins are always a favorite of bird watchers, harbingers of Spring, cute speckled kids, and a wonderful set of songs!

Of course, one doesn't feed the birds without attracting other critters to the feeder sites. There are at least 2 adolescent squirrels that come calling, plus an adorable chipmunk or two - all of which will, no doubt, multiply as time goes by... A problem to be considered at a later date!

Mind you, I THOUGHT that feeding the birds would be a cheaper alternative to the costs of Spunky's special diet and medications. Two months into this more "serious" form of bird feeding, I'm learning that feeding the birds is just as expensive as any other pet might be! At least, that's how it's worked out so far for me... However, I've captured some fun photos of my feathered friends - a hobby I've had for years. Now, several of the birds recognize me and are willing to land on the porch while I'm sipping tea while relaxing in the porch swing.

A New Dawn, A New Day, A New Year

A cardinal drawing on Arches 300# watercolor paper awaiting water and paint...

It seems that chaos is joining us all in this New Year, however, the flip side of chaos is opportunity, according to the ancient Chinese teachings. So I'm looking at the opportunities that about today and will reveal themselves as we go forward in time.

My artistic brain is on over-drive - which most of us know can be both exhilarating and demanding. And on the other side of that is all the obligations that go with daily living competing for attention. So far, I'm managing to shift gears back and forth without TOO much difficulty, however it is frustrating going either direction because our attention is so divided!

As you know, my sewing studio is in the lower level of our home. Thankfully, with my newly replaced knees I am able to move between the two floors with confidence and little pain. My leg muscles are still weak from so little use over the past number of years, but they are growing stronger with each flight of stairs!

So in the sewing arena, my mind is awhirl with so many new ideas (new to me, at any rate) that I'm almost overwhelmed with inspiration. IF only one could bottle up such enthusiasm and inspiration for those times when there is little of either in our present moment! Mostly, I'm keeping the bird/fiber art on hold as other obligations demand attention. But the fibers, laces, ribbons, threads and birds are flitting through my mind quite insistently!

Various pieces in progress...

In the studio, on the main level of our home, are watercolor paintings in various stages. Two are commissioned pieces - one nearly done and the other at the beginning with only the drawings on the paper. Then there's the Loose Watercolor competition on the Paint My Photo https://pmp-art.com/ - a bird in flight and a bird feather (both favorite subjects of mine!). The deadline is the end of the month...

Paint My Photo: loose watercolor challenge - drawings are ready, just not the time available!

And another artist's blog has a monthly challenge for keeping an art journal... that one I'll probably miss out on. But the bird in flight and the feather are already drawn on watercolor paper, begging for attention!

Cat portraits to be... on the page

Adding to the complexity of life is the upcoming, much anticipated visit of our granddaughter and her twin 6 year old daughters coming for a 3 day visit! This month! As in, next weekend! Monday is our Fibers Unlimited Artists group meeting for lunch and sharing... At least all the eye and dental appointments were LAST week! And there isn't currently a Homeowner's Association Board Meeting scheduled, so that's good. But the Bellefonte Art Museum's https://www.facebook.com/pg/bellefonteartmuseum/ PR takes a few hours at the beginning of each week to create and schedule the postings. They are mostly designed, but must be written and posted. Those change monthly, of course! Then there's the dogs nail appointment...and her yearly exam. Oh my, stop with the listing, girlfriend. Get over the list and settle on today, here and now!

Do you ever feel swamped with duties and responsibilities, etc.? My creativity is one of the ways I move out of time/space/worry and into the space outside time/space. It's always renewing, and that's just what I'm going to do. Tackle one of the many art projects at my disposal and immerse myself in creativity.

Happy New Year!

I Have a New Website!

Available on my new website, (link) my original images printed on canvas, paper, fabric, metal and more! And it allows the buyer to select the size and material of each print, pillow, notebook, or phone case. Remember to click on a photo to see it enlarged.

These are some of the images I captured off the website. They will give you an idea of what is available from me and other artists on the Fine Art America website.

So if anyone has wanted a painting of mine, but wanted a smaller or larger image of that work, here is an opportunity to create something, using my work, but to your specifications. I hope this makes it easier for anyone to purchase something I have created - but just the way they want it for their own home and use.

Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for improvements!

Continuation of the Raven Series

Raven Preening - (c) Pat Dolan - 2017 - SOLD

It's been great fun and also a bit challenging to reveal the personalities of the different Raven's I'm painting in this series. Without a personality, a bird seems so much less impressive! But I'm also noticing that there are many bird species that seem to appear to be identical to one another. Robins and Blue Birds both seem to be so similar to one another, not very expressive of their individuality as compared to one another in their appearance. Yes, they can occasionally take on a pose that sets them apart from all the others, and that is what I like to capture. The uniqueness of each bird...

Ravens seem to have very expressive faces and postures, at least the ones in my reference photos by Wendy Davis! Here are several of my recent pieces with a step-by-step approach so you can watch them evolve on the easel.

First, the drawing in white/silver pencil on the black canvas.

Initial layin of light and medium values.

Refining the values, bit by bit.

Getting close to completion...

Once the highlights are added to the eyes, the bird seems to leap forward and squawk directly in your face!

Raven Squawk - (c) Pat Dolan - 2017 - 9"w x 12"h - $135.00 + 6% PA sales tax + shipping

Here's another step-by-step:

Only one eye is really showing in the photo and I began this way, but didn't like how it looked without a gleam in the eye that was turned away from us.

Building up the lights gradually...

Building up the lightest lights - rather boldly!

Accentuating wings with dark tones and the breast feathers with light accents.

Adding the "hidden" eye and softening the head feathers.

Shy Raven - (c) Pat Dolan - 2017 - 9"wx12"h - $135.00 + 6% PA tax + shipping

Here's one corner of my studio where I can hang these paintings, let them sit for awhile, and determine if they need any changes or if they are complete as they are. You can see Wendy Davis' 2017 Raven calendar hanging on the wall, too! Her photography is so inspiring!