Wings Over Winecountry, Colleen's place (1 Viewer)

[colleenc]

thanks Arthur,

The Heermann's are very well done, Colleen! They are a fun species of gulls, with the huge difference between breeding and non-breeding plumage. They're more common here on the outer coast than on Puget Sound, so I don't get to see them all that frequently.

Your dedication at accelerating a learning curve on a given subject through tons of small studies as a focused effort is really paying off for you. I don't think I have that focus or dedication...!

my first sight was with the white heads so striking, didn't know it was changeable until coming home to read up on them. Seems they only exist on the Pacific coast, and 90% of the breeding pairs do so on one Mexican island...pretty chancy.

The dedication is a sort of perverted laziness, of not wanting to wait to build skills so I can paint closer to my vision. This method works for me and shortens my time bumbling and boots me into a more competent level without being overly painful. ( I find it painful to make ugly paintings, but they are necessary to get to the beautiful ones. That's why I never made a good musician, I couldn't stand to make such awful noise to get to the level of making music, at least painting is quiet and you can throw out the mistakes, and no one hears them. )

 

[Strandman]

thanks Arthur,
I find it painful to make ugly paintings, but they are necessary to get to the beautiful ones.

you've said it true there- so many out there who give up because they are disappointed with what they are producing, without seeing where it might be leading

 

[phil baber]

The Heerman's are very special studies Colleen...

 

[buzzard12]

The Heerman's are very special studies Colleen...

Hi Colleen,

Loving the seascapes and well done on completely 100 seascape studies, a great show of discipline by yourself, they are wondeful and will add to your future works a real insight I should think.

The heerman's Gulls are wonderful, insanely jealous of you to have them close by, must be wonderful..

Keep strong and keep working...very inspired in this end.

 

[colleenc]

Thanks all of you so much for your loving supportive comments, it keeps me strong and keeps me connected to the birds in such a deep way.

Here is the first attempt at the Heermanns....oil on cavas-tec. Just quick ones looking for the urber forms. 12x5 "

Yesterday was so special. I know there is a good size group of them but mosty they don't gather all at once, so like Wed there were only 8, but yesterday like a gift 34 showed up in the sunset light...

 

[solitaryVSong]

Lively and full of light. I need to take a better look later on my desktop computer, where things always look better. Too much glare on this laptop to fully appreciate. But even on it they look good.

 

[timwootton]

Great start to your Heermanns colour theme - the left hand one has a beautiful gradation from breast, chest, neck and head - terrific.

 

[colleenc]

thanks Ken
Tim I agree the left one is the best, it was painted direct without much fuss, almost like a watercolor...it harder to do that to paint it tight, some luck involved and leaving the "happy accidents" alone.

 

[Strandman]

thanks Ken
Tim I agree the left one is the best, it was painted direct without much fuss, almost like a watercolor...it harder to do that then paint it tight, some luck involved and leaving the "happy accidents" alone.

left hand bird is the one- has the most noble looking head and beak arrangement too

 

[nickderry]

left hand bird is the one- has the most noble looking head and beak arrangement too

agreed - they're all good, but this one has something very subtle about it.

 

[colleenc]

I'll have to ask for some Derrydust from Nick to make this new way work for me...used to being able to correct and recorrect if needed,

 

[timwootton]

I'll have to ask for some Derrydust from Nick to make this new way work for me...used to being able to correct and recorrect if needed,

If he ever starts to market that stuff, he'll soon be a billionaire Colleen.

 

[phil baber]

These are treasures Colleen! Full of much joy!

For is it not the joy of the artist's capture that translates back to us the sadness we wish to loose?

If such is true? You have fulfilled your brief! Wonderful and life-affirming joyousness!

If I had the money, I'd bid you for it...

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

love these Colleen

 

[nickderry]

Derrydust! I like it - there's tons of it here - I'm not much of a housework person.

 

[Drellas]

Hi Colleen, your seaguls are very strong, as strong as your brushwork O

 

[RussB]

I'm very jealous of your Heermann's Gulls - they look like a wonderful subject to work with. You're doing very well with them too.

Me too! Being a bit of a Larophile the adults summer adults look stunning creatures - in the books! Great sketches, Colleen; some realy nice tonal work here.

Russ

 

[colleenc]

had to look up that word Russ, and here is a great link on gull identification

here is a quote from the article

Let’s start with Quiz Photo A, showing three birds together. And that’s a great thing about gulls: They stand there in the open, with different species and plumages side-by-side for comparison. None of this flitting-in-the-treetops warbler non- sense, or skulking-in-the-grass sparrow stuff. You can actually see and study gulls.

:-O

emphasis is mine, written by an great non profit, right by Schollenberger lake where I often go.

 

[colleenc]

fanfare please, at last a bird AND the sea together, a first, my beloved Heermanns.

I have turned in my badge of the Every Feather Every Hair Society, and gone for "make the paint stroke construct the form", if you know your wildlife artists, deserted Brenders for Kuhn.

 

[timwootton]

Dazzlingly bright light - just like being at the coast!