Did you just make that up?
I don't usually make things up in my paintings. I pretty much paint what I see. Whenever I start making things up, it usually leads to trouble - shadows don't match, proportions are off, colors don't agree... I'm rarely successful with painting from my mind.
I finished this little bird once. It looked just like the photograph... and it looked awful, just wrong... as if I'd made something up.
The snow on the branch was so thick that it looked fake. The blank space around the little cardinal looked unfinished. The angle of the limb didn't make any sense. The little guy had his eyes closed. His back feathers looked drab. So... I took a completely finished and dry painting and started making things up.
- I gave him a little slit of an eye.
- I grew a few little background twigs in front of and behind him.
- I scraped off a couple of inches of show.
- I skinnied up the main branch.
- I added some purple to his dark feathers on top.
Then I signed my name.
It's been a harsh winter here in Northwest Arkansas. We've had some beautiful snows.
Click "Cardinal in Winter" to purchase this little painting.
Shouldn't things be easier the second time around?
That wasn't the case for me and this painting. I'd actually painted this little guy before, (Click "Snow Cardinal" to see the first version.) but it sold. Usually I'm thrilled when paintings sell, but I really missed this one. I decided I'd whip out another one just like the first; however, I ran into all kinds of frustrations - problems with the colors in the background, issues with the snow on the branches, headaches with the balls hanging from the tree... one thing after another. I had to put it aside and almost gave up several times. I was about ready to scrape the whole thing off when I received my Tip of the Week video from Daniel Edmondson: the title was "Don't Scrape Off Your Paintings." Perfect timing... As it turns out, the whole thing wasn't a mess, just a few parts. I'm not sure he's perfect, but I'm glad to have him back on the wall - at least until someone buys him for their own wall.
This little bird and his wife teased me during a snow day last winter. Right outside my window they'd flit and fly. They'd rest on a perch; then off they'd go. Finally, just once, he sat still long enough for me to snap his picture!
Also visit a lovely Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces) celebrating winter called Winter Wonderland where this little cardinal got to be a part of the collection.
