sneak peeks

this is just a fast sneak peek at a baby fledging about to leave the nest, in many ways this painting became (for me at least) a symbol of this project. so i decided that if i meet my funding goal on kickstarter, i may offer this print as another separate reward......what do you all think?

it wouldn't be work without some hitches no?

which one is the best image? the scanned one or the digital one (taken with my little camera)?

scanned image

digital image

after this just one more to go

AND the nightmare voice over which still is eluding me........ then i do a vendor account at amazon, then a final budget projection............. then this goes LIVE at kickstarter......

and i am terrified! doesn't make any sense to be this terrified right? i mean either way..... it doesn't detract from the fact that i did the paintings, but part of me is afraid of failing to meet my funding goal and being able to print the project.....and part of me is terrified i WILL meet the funding goal and print the project

not that any of that makes sense but it is normal i think before a person does something very different for the first time. 

now i'd been in advertising and done large accounts before, but i handed off things to either the printer, and then the sales people or the client....this is the first time i will be acting as 'general contractor' for a project from start to finish. i know logically that it's pretty simple really after all is said and done..... 

ok deep breaths and hope writer's block leaves soon

writer's block

i am trying to write the voice over for the slideshow/video

so far i am getting no where

inane dreck is basically what i've been reduced to

so i sort of goofed off a bit today

i made curtains out of some toile i had stashed since last year 

(for the studio)

i painted a bit

i delayed doing things.....i cooked

but still nothing is coming to me about this voice over

i dreamt on it....... which normally works

still nothing

i can't have a silent video so i need some inspiration pretty quick i would say

no?

like MAGIC- takes a bit longer in real life

these may not have made it ok but these are part of the video for kickstarter

a wash your laundry does not get clean---

what is a wash?

 i was asked this yesterday

this mysterious wash thing i keep referring to

as it obviously doesn't involve socks and sheets

ok so here is a photo of a wash on watercolor paper

it's a thin veil of color with a wet edge

(see the little drip of darker color?)

that is what 'carries' the wash down the page 

i go over areas with multiple washes to build up colors and define and model images

this allows the most amount of light to bounce back into the viewer's eyes

when i get to the point that the washes are built up enough and dark enough, then i work in what is called 'dry brush' which is just like it sounds ...much dryer paint on the brush

now this post is short as i am working on a slide show/video for the kickstarter project

not too successfully at the moment i might add.

i have arcsoft media impressions and while it's doing it sort of, i am not sure i can export what i need into  video software so i can upload it

oye

til next time

vi

chickadee backwards

here is another start to finish....this time a bird 

i plan on posting my 'out-takes' as well

so folks can see when i mess up. i hope that this reminds me to never take it for granted, reminds others that even though it may look easy from the other side, it isn't.

and that only by keeping going do you get anywhere

so here goes with the chickadee, this time backwards ok?

i liked (at that time) the weird moody color of the background. while i still do, i realized through out the series that it wouldn't work with each bird, so while here it makes the chickadee look alive, with say, the cardinal, it would be a disaster.

almost finished, darks needed correcting

now this painting also started me on a bit of a study of lichen! as the twig this bird was on was covered in it! i found a few different kinds just outside my door! i even found fairy cup lichen! and then i wanted to start a terrarium for some lichen and mosses that i found - i did not get the terrarium finished but i do intend on making one, as THAT is how interesting i found my very small fast study of lichen, fungi and mosses.

working on wing and tail feathers

while i am painting i am also half in a meditative trance, sometimes i listen to music but i don't have to. while in this state, i tend to feel my subjects, i can feel the fluffy feathers, and hear the rustle of the wings. i don't hear bird song normally though. but i can almost hear a heart beat... if i get to that state,then the finished painting should be good. i remember telling one of my teachers that when i was in art school..... thankfully she understood and didn't call the men in the white suits for me.

developing the darks further

now this chickadee i liked very much when i did him, as i felt that the feathers were softly shaded enough, and he was feathery enough for you to hopefully feel his softness and his fluffy roundness. i like chickadees in general as they are cheeky little birds who really aren't too afraid of anything. and they are smart too.....they used to follow me around outside until i filled their feeders.

starting to develop the darks

they are here all year long in my corner of PA, and most folks love to watch their antics at the winter feeders. 

there are a few different kinds of chickadee, but i only see the black capped and the carolina. 

they looks very similar.

and they have HUGE heads compared to their bodies, so they look like babies or cute cartoon birds.

first washes

so there you have one of the birds painted from start to finish... although you do have to go backwards to see that

from start to finish

 i love watching how things are created - the process, which for me is the most interesting part.

first washes with liquid masked areas

i love seeing how others faced and surmounted problems, what decisions were made at key point, and what unexpected elements happened.
i think a lot of people like to see how things develop as well
i know when i posted start to finish paintings on facebook folks seem to like to watch them go from this (see the photo on the left)

 through to the finished painting (bottom painting)
now i started with washes of yellows and peach and rose colors -these are my very favorite colors, and i was determined to use them

in the second photo you can see where the liquid mask is stopping the colors from sinking into the paper
i work in thin washes at first, building up layer after layer of pure pigments
i use pretty bright colors too, mixing them at first optically on the paper
the colors don't look bright because they ARE such thin washes
it takes a while to build areas up, and it takes a while for washes to dry, but mostly this insures that the colors remain clean and clear.
it also gives me a bit of time to see what is developing....stuff maybe i had not counted on or thought of.....
i do think the universe helps every artist (and every one) so sometimes it is a good thing to get out of the way and let it help

at some point i really start getting into the painting and start to develop areas. when that happens it's like i am in a trance or a place of meditation.
if you happen to be following what i am painting you can see pretty much where that happens just by what starts to happen in the painting. and THAT is where for me, the sheer joy of painting comes in
that is mostly why i keep doing it
and after a session, when i 'come back down to earth,' i take a picture and post it to my friends to let them see, plus really, for me to see it with a fresh eye

sometimes i need to put it into grayscale or flip it to also see where i i am with each painting.

and to see areas that i possibly missed.

sometimes it all works out so perfectly that i am sure that being an artist has got to be the BEST job on earth or in heaven.......to create, to design, to present beauty to the eyes and hearts of your world.

of course then there are other times when i mess it up and it goes into recycling.... sorta like a dinosaur.......

but not this time

btw, the blue corners you see ...... those are pieces of blue tape (painters tape) which is what i use to hold the paintings to the board
i use blue tape for almost everything in the studio now
it's cheap
easy to see (just don't leave it too long on the vinyl cover of the drafting table)
it doesn't hurt paper
and it's low tack

ok til next time

PS: i am starting to patch together a video, i have to use my little digital canon camera, so this is going to be interesting
any suggestions on free editing software?

thank you so much

a review of the paintings one at a time

one of the nest series

i thought it might be nice, in no particular order, to review the paintings in this series. for me it's meeting old friends in a sense, for some of you, it's meeting new friends. for others it's a refresh the memory. 

now a lot of folks who know me watched these paintings come to life, almost one wash at a time. 

i posted them in progress on my friend list on facebook.

i was so very scared to show people what i did -  see i am a commercial artist, i went to art school but switched early to commercial art as i knew i needed to earn a living.

i did layout/pasteup early on, typesetting, graphic design, logos, illustration.

at one point i did a lot of packaging design as i ran my own toiletries company (sounds bigger then it was) 

when we moved here to pa, i was making original from scratch porcelain dolls... a lot of work but rewarding. 

now i've moved full circle.

i started painting nests because i just love birds. 

and bird's nests fascinate me as do eggs.

i think it's a combination of what they are and what they represent.

home, love, family, shelter, safety, hope for the future, freedom - they are cozy and yet not restricting.

i know a lot of people watch birds build their nests and raise the babies with a sense of awe and wonder.

i am no exception.

here where we live in pa, we are in or very near the 'eastern flyway,' a migratory route for birds. we are close to the river and so we get a LOT of birds here.

of course bernie and i help them along by keeping a lot of natural wild plantings so they have food and shelter. 

there is also a seasonal stream out back.

then if that isn't enough

our beloved pet ducks and chickens provide extra food and water for the wild birds.

it's gotten so that the wild birds go into the duck pens to eat next to the ducks and drink out of the duck ponds!

so you can imagine we have a LOT of wild birds here, winter and summer.

and in fall we see a LOT of bird nests

i really should start to save them in the house but mostly i leave them out there

so the cycle of nature can continue

til next time

another day, another offset printer AND a glimpse into the studio

i am looking for a second estimate for the card project.

a stack of palettes in the studio

the specs are:

5X7

scored not folded (they will fold easily)

matte card stock

12 images 

envelopes

matte stock i think works the best with my paintings, so matte it will have to be.  

now, to get the best prices so i can offer these cards at a universally (almost) affordable level, i need to get at least 500 of each image. 

this is a BIG job for an offset printer run. it will take them about 3 weeks as plates need to be made from color separations, and it will be run through the presses a total of four separate times then through the cutting and scoring machines!

there are 4 colors per card, so four separate plates per card, each plate is 10X7 that's a HUGE job 

no wonder it takes them three weeks!

1st of the crow series in progress 

printing at home would be even more of a job at this point, as i would not only need a BIG printer capable of large format etc...and i believe (i am not sure) that the cost per card would top 3.00 just to print here! (which is why i am going commercial as well - quality and costs)

i really really WANT this project to go forward and i figure that the more reasonable the project is the easier that would be

i have been hoping to bring in the cards at around $20 for 24 but that doesn't look like i can do it unless i go a lot smaller, and get glossy card stock. And at this point also, the local printer is about .02 cents cheaper per card then the internet giants!

also at this point, with the estimates i am looking at approximately 16.00 per set of 12, plus shipping (and sales tax in pa)

what a mess! more palettes

i also would like some printed information about the cards with my contact information on the backs-that may cost a bit more as well.

so today is calling another printer but i really do think the one i spoke to yesterday will be the one i go with if the kickstarter project is successful.  PLUS they are right around the corner so i can keep a close eye on the runs

tomorrow my challenge will be a video...... once i have the video done and my funding estimates...

i load this all up on to kickstarter and go live

the video may be a problem, as i don't have a video camera, nor is the video part of my little digital camera any good .... the laptop cam is a total waste of time (we finally figured out where it was)

til next time

oh and if anyone has any suggestions about how to do this video.....let me know ok?