Songbird Silhouette

Although we still have some cold days, it is spring.  I'm not a real bird watcher, so I don't know who is making which sound, but I do love hearing the twitters and chirps and whistles and tweets and caws and hoots and trills that surround our home.

My inspiration for this piece came from an Instagram photo that I loved. It was taken by my good friend and photographer Sara. My further inspiration, or maybe motivation, was that I'm still using up paint left over from our students' palettes from our class a month ago.

The challenge for Creative Companions this month was "Silhouette." In my companion piece, I used different kinds of silhouettes.  

• The cardinal silhouette at the bottom was cut from a photograph I took of the cardinals that hang out in a tree by the bird feeder in our backyard. 
• The bird at the top was done through a fun site called Word Art. I simply put in the names of all the bird I could think of that live near me, chose my color palette, and printed.
• The words are just something I've noticed as I get nearer 60!  "Ignored... in the background... They've always been there. The older I get, the more I notice them... enjoy them... look for them in the foreground."

Original on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Animals in Silhouette at Sunset (Kid Project)

If you ever need a great painting project to do with kids, here's a good one.
Last week I did it with 23 5th & 6th graders during our church's Bible school week.  They came to me for 30 minutes for 4 days.  The final products... Well, see for yourself...

Every single one of them was a work of art to be proud of.

Before I put all the supplies away, I had my two sweet great nieces over so that they could each make one.  They're going to be in kindergarten and second grade.  How do you suppose theirs turned out?  Beautiful, of course.

Here are the steps if you're doing it all in one sitting:

• With a 50 cent chip brush, paint the yellow strip then blend the orange on either side of that then blend the red on either side of that. 
• Use a dry brush.
• All strokes horizontal.
• Don't wash the brush in between colors.
• Turn the canvas upside down if it's hard to reach the top.
• Don't forget the sides.
• 

• With the same brush wiped clean (or a new brush if you want), use black to paint the grass.
• Use a dry brush.
• All strokes punched upward or dabbed.
• Go into the red.
• Turn the canvas upside down if the lip of the easel gets in the way, then dab down instead of up.
• Don't forget the sides.
• Use a blow drier to make sure it's dry. (Then go outside and check the chicken coop for eggs, pick tomatoes and cucumbers out of the garden, and give it just a little more time.)

• Mix some white and yellow to paint the sun in the yellow strip.
• A sponge brush is great. (A chip brush will work fine, or a piece of sponge will work fine... just messier.)
• Tape a circle stencil into the yellow strip.
• Just a circle cut out of a piece of cardboard or paper
• Masking tape, painter's tape, clear tape... whatever you have
• Press, press, press the paint on to the area. 
• Do not bounce it on the canvas. 
• Do not stroke it on the canvas. 
• Use plenty of paint.
• Remove the stencil 
• Dry again if your next stencil will touch the wet part.

• With a clean, dry sponge brush (or brush or sponge), paint the animal.
• It's easier if you take the easel away and do this step flat on the table.
• Tape the stencil as above.
• Use a Cricut if you have one to cut the stencils.  If not... good old fashioned scissors will work.
• Take off the stencil and say, "Wow!"

I did it a little differently when I did it with a large group and over four sessions.  

• Day 1
• Yellow and Red
• Day 2
• Orange and Black Grass
• Day 3
• Yellow-White Sun
• Day 4
• Black Animal

Original Acrylic Paintings on 16"x 20" Wrapped Canvas.

Giraffe - For Sale on Etsy - Click Here

Wolf - For Sale on Etsy - Click Here

Moose - For Sale on Etsy - Click Here

Elephant [SOLD]

Sunrise Silhouette

What is it about a sunrise that makes it so breathtaking to anyone who's lucky enough to see it?

Tranquility... peace... I took this picture as the sun came up behind the Ouachita Mountains and kissed the water of Lake Ouachita with the most lovely glow. I stood on the front porch of our cabin and felt blessed to see the blessing of a new day beginning.

Ok, if I'm completely honest, there's also a boat dock blocking part of this perfect view. But isn't that why we keep a current artistic license? I used mine to leave that part out of the painting.

Although I loved the photograph, I never thought I could paint it because the trees and grass and hillside were just too dark - no details showed. But then, the challenge for Artistic Sentiment was to paint a landscape in silhouette. It gave me the idea for the possibility of turning it into a painting. The vision for the finished piece came on strong. Once I began I didn't stop until I signed my name.


This painting was including in an Etsy treasury (collection of art and vintage items) filled with warm, rich colors called Art That Will Make You Smile.