Cardinal Pair

These cardinals are so fun to watch AND paint!  We have so many coming to the feeders, they perch on nearby branches while waiting.  I used my fountain pen loaded with Robert Oster's Thunderstorm, an ink that lends itself well to winter scenes.  With a little watercolor to fill out birds and branches, I was ready to head in.  I think it helped to have warm water in my water brush pen, it was very cold at 15 degrees.  I wonder what would happen if I worked sloppy wet in such temps?  Well, this miniature painting on 3x3 paper was fast, so there was no need for warming up or worrying about freezing ink.  I keep my supplies in the warm pockets of my down coat!  Painting number 2955 in 2955 days. 

Nutcracker Pair

This is turning in to "nutcracker week"!   As we celebrate the holiday with family and friends, I am sneaking in paintings where I can!   I primed several of these wonderful, deep gallery wraps for special holiday paintings, and now I am painting small on canvas.   The weave grabs the paint of the brush in high spots, while resisting it in the grooves.  I now realize why some of my "acrylic" friends thin down their paint so much - you have to or the canvas color will totally show through!  Once coverage is achieved, I can then dry brush over as usual.  These will be cool for my upcoming show, but they certainly take longer than my normal masonite!   Painting number 1415 in 1415 days :)

Acrylic on canvas, 4x4
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