• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Flash Bird Paintings for All (1 Viewer)

colleenc

Well-known member
Ok this thread is started by request, and dedicated to Phil, whose idea it was and who's humor and encouragement we all enjoy....

I love podcasts of short stories...on some of them there are "flash" stories, 3 min or less....so I started some "Flash" paintings on my thread. Each of these paintings are done direct with no drawing, in 15 min or less. The point being to create a state where you just react and put it down without fixing or reworking. It's a great way to loosen up and get out of the perfection syndrome.....some come great, some are rubbish, post em all.... lets see what happens in a yearB :)


So this thread is open to any who want to play, we are not here to impress each other, but to just put down honest marks and colors....good bad or indifferent, all are welcome. I started with paintings but you can do your thing in whatever media.....

Guidelines
15 min or less
try not to think, just do
don't fix or erase, what gets laid down stays down.....
from life or photos as you please
have fun and just go for it


here is mine from today, I got a new pastel surface called pastel mat, made of cork...my first try...lovely surface and my first try with Scaup
 

Attachments

  • lesser scaup female_2110.jpg
    lesser scaup female_2110.jpg
    202.1 KB · Views: 158
Last edited:
So where are all the flashers?:-O

Still working on the new surface which is a wonder, feels very soft and smooth, but holds layers like a sanded surface...have to take a bit more time with pastel as I have to hunt for each color and that takes an amazing amt of time I hadn't noticed before....except to practice with the new pastelmat...I'm sticking to painting it is more free,.... tend to tighten up with the little bits of stuff in my hand and start drawing outlines, something I'm trying to steer clear of in these.
 

Attachments

  • lesser scaup_2112.jpg
    lesser scaup_2112.jpg
    132 KB · Views: 111
Here ya go, it's tough to stop after the 15 mins are up but them's the rules. This was pretty good fun actually since I've been working in a much tighter way most of the day.

Took this one from one of the Kensington tawny owl sketches from earlier this year.

Mike
 

Attachments

  • 15min-1.jpg
    15min-1.jpg
    213.5 KB · Views: 189
At last, I feel at home! all my work is 15 minute flashes! Most of the paintings on my art thread are done in five minutes, plus two mins doing the outlines. So I will probably put a lot of stuff on this thread! at the moment I am staying away from home without card reader etc. so can't put any stuff on til wedensday. will be in travelodge from tomorrow, interney connection a variable. But I will come back with numerous 15-minute pieces from Anglesey, and put every crappy little particle of lead on here! I promise!
 
Nice start to thread Mike and Colleen. Mike I'd leave this one be just as is!

Boy, 15 minutes goes by quickly. This one was based on both field sketch, that Mike liked when I originally showed it, and photo of same scene. I think I probably spent 25% of my time glancing from sketch to photo and deciding how to combine them. Nonetheless it was fun.

I chose this one because I knew there was a good chance I'd worry it to death and either just not start it of kill it off. So now I'm started on it.

I'm including the original field sketch too.
 

Attachments

  • sbDowitchersWC052910.jpg
    sbDowitchersWC052910.jpg
    49.5 KB · Views: 139
  • dowitchersOnTree050710r.jpg
    dowitchersOnTree050710r.jpg
    43.5 KB · Views: 105
Last edited:
For 15 minutes work, all the pictures so far have been really, really good.
I'm in awe of you people as I'm a strict non-drawing, non-painting person. If I spent 15 years working on a picture it wouldn't look as good as yours.
 
Colleen,

Sorry! Been wrestling with a tree-stump today! Painting-wise that is!

Whoops, I induced you to make a "side-thread" to your great art!

How remiss of me! ;) B :)

When I can, I will deliver some flashes. The rules?

You are not allowed to pencil in outlines first? Just paint? Can you sketch outlines in paint? Horribly confused! :eek!:

Hope the portrait is not wriggling around to much? ;)
 
Well the rules are guidelines, besides rules always make artists think they should be broken.....I'll try and put it into words,

It should be more than a sketch, because we all have our threads for sketches, notice it says Paintings in the title.....so that infers color or at least light and shade and mass, like charcoal.....

so I suggest it be all as direct as you can make it, no pre sketching for forms or outlines, except for the briefest marks for placement. The idea is to let your tool, be it brush, marker, or pastel, make the forms...... you are trying to get the essence of the thing without worrying over details. We all do this in our drawings, now take it to the next level in your favorite media. Like Mike's you can see the brushstrokes and energy of the making....that is, in a way, the subject. The time pressure is the main force to drive you beyond being able to think it over, into the Yoda land of the Force, Don't think just Do. :-O

For me it is helping the confidence level of my hand and eye, and making the marks direct this way takes me to unknown places, sort of jumping off the cliff

Nice Ken, it has a lovely balance and rhythm to it , beyond the sketch, it's not much time but look how much you got in!

Phil this is going way out of your box for sure, no outlines:) try it and see ( the mark and the outline are one....old Zen saying I just made up....portrait is a huge mountain to climb, still in the bushes at the base but determined to climb or die trying.
 
Last edited:
as I'me doing barn Owls at the moment
great fun to have a go at the 15 min. pic. in water colour
 

Attachments

  • L1210062.jpg
    L1210062.jpg
    46.1 KB · Views: 149
right on target Arthur, painting like this brings back some of the fun when we were kids and just painted, without all our "adult" knowledge.
 
Heading straight off the page right at me Arthur. Another minute's worth of painting and I might have a bump on my head, and an injured owl at my feet.
 
took my homemade(under $20) 4 medias ( drawing, wc, oil and pastel) and 3 pounds fully loaded little pochade out today for a trial run at the egret roosts, and tah dah, ( I posted about this on my thread a bit ago, and put some current shots on today. The little pad is a sampler of primed linen canvas that Jerry's artarama sells and is perfect for plein air. 6x9 "

here is my first ever flash direct from life egret in the top of a euc tree, using my scope on my new tripod....actual painting time on this was 5 min...then the bird left.
 

Attachments

  • flash egret_2119.jpg
    flash egret_2119.jpg
    94.1 KB · Views: 119
Lovely. It's probably just instinctive because the time restriction would have made it difficult to 'think' it, but I particularly like the 'zoom' effect that the directions of the brushstrokes used for the foliage creates.

Mike
 
Warning! This thread is more than 13 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top