Hummingbird in the Vine

Oh my gosh!  Painting by this hummingbird vine was so fun!  Those speedy birds buzzed me on all sides as I worked, like I wasn't even there.  One even came so close to my ear I felt the whoosh as he flew by!  These trumpets have only opened in the last day, so I guess the word is out!  I started with an ink sketch, adding the bird's form as they paused at the flowers.  I've only seen the ruby throated ones so far.  I washed in the color, hoping to let it spread and mingle, but it is too hot and windy.  The paper dried too fast!  I'll have to try a loose one on a humid morning!  Painting number 2715 in 2715 days.

Hummingbird and Rose Batik

Hummingbird and Rose Batik
Ink, watercolor and wax on rice paper, 12x8
purchase here

Switching gears today, I am experimenting again - this time with a thinner rice paper.  My friend loaned me some scraps of rice paper, and this one is so thin, I have to be careful not to tear it with the paintbrush when wet!  I first sketched this one in with brown india ink, then painted the hummingbird, roses and foliage.  Painting over this with hot wax, I next floated in all background color.  A second coat of wax, and then the crinkling begins.  I had to be super careful here - the thin paper would otherwise be easily torn!  I next painted around the edges and into the cracks with a cool brown watercolor.  This paper was so thin, that even the crack resisted the paint!  I had to crack it multiple times to get the creases to accept some more paint!  All of the other rice papers I have tried worked better than this one - and I think this one came in a tablet.  I will avoid this paper next time, but I have already a second just waiting to be wrinkled up and painted in the last step.  This painting is my 639th painting in as many days and the 29th painting in the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Hummingbird in the Trumpet Vine

Hummingbird in the Trumpet Vine
Acrylic & molding paste on panel, 10x8

After two week of watercolor painting, today, I am mixing it up a little with acrylics and molding paste! I have only done a handful of these textural paintings, and three of those have sold!  With this one, I am trying to learn the different palette knives and how they can maneuver the light molding paste.  Each stroke is a lesson - some succeed and some fail, and those I resculpt into the shape I want with the knife.  It is challenging, especially when the petals have very distinct shapes!  Each time I switch mediums, it takes me extra time to get my head back into the right place to work whatever medium I have at hand.  When I do the same thing each day, I simply jump right in without thought.  But today, I had to gather the right paints, palette and brushes - checking to make sure I did indeed have all the matching stuff!  These trumpet vines have burst open in the last few days - right outside the bay window in the kitchen - and how the hummingbirds love them!  This painting makes 541 in 541 days.  I will be plein air painting in the morning in Raymore - I wonder which medium I will choose tomorrow?