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

[Strandman]

that's eyecatchingly different

I think its the dark tones in the cliffs (blacker than you would oftentimes use?) orange hues in the clifftop veg- and the distant land form

makes me think you have nipped over to Scotland

 

[solitaryVSong]

that's eyecatchingly different

I think its the dark tones in the cliffs (blacker than you would oftentimes use?) orange hues in the clifftop veg- and the distant land form

makes me think you have nipped over to Scotland

Looks good Colleen.

 

[colleenc]

that's eyecatchingly different

I think its the dark tones in the cliffs (blacker than you would oftentimes use?) orange hues in the clifftop veg- and the distant land form

makes me think you have nipped over to Scotland

I always wanted to go to Scotland

I really did finally capture some of the ruggedness of the Sonoma Coast at last,

here is the place, you can see its not a lovely rock with slabs and nice chunks but more like big rubble. The vegetation is quite varied in color tho, and the iceplant, adds nice deep reds and oranges, and beautiful magenta red and yellow colors when it blooms.

This is the far end of Schoolhouse Beach, one of the places I watch waves, any of you pros here who have some ideas about how to get the water right, please help. Hope the pic shows what I mean about the scale of the water from the heights like this. I tried over and over to get the foam trail,because it would make such a nice lead in and path for the eye. but never got the perspective right.

 

[timwootton]

Outstanding!!!!

 

[colleenc]

Thanks Tim, I was hoping you would type a few words to help me get the water right, you've done some great work on this view, maybe you could post one for me to see.(pretty please:gh

 

[colleenc]

this is the other one I was working on for this view. along Duncan's cove.
Its a pretty accurate rendering of our coastline, I only cleaned up about half the rocks. and I got a few gulls too.

6x11 oil

 

[JTMB]

Another great job on this one, Colleen! You are getting great atmospheric effects, in addition to the water and rocks being very well done. Looks like the coast!

 

[colleenc]

Does it look this way up in WA John?

 

[JTMB]

There is definitely a ton of rocky coastline with headlands in WA, and Oregon, though it depends on where you are - as is the case in CA. There are some long stretches of beach with few rocks and no real headlands in spots (e.g. Long Beach, WA - as the name suggests!).

 

[colleenc]

working on those gull shapes, these are the first I've done from photos....there is a huge bike race this weekend so I'm staying away from the coast until Monday.

 

[RussB]

Hi Colleen,
Very nice tonal work here. Are these California Gulls? Nowt wrong with your drawings; it's my ID! It seems your'e spoilt for choice if you're a Larophile in the states! One day soon I shall visit! Just one question, though: why isn't someone with your artistic ability tackling these from life?

Very nice.

Russ

 

[Lykos]

:t::t: super

 

[colleenc]

Hi Colleen,
Very nice tonal work here. Are these California Gulls? Nowt wrong with your drawings; it's my ID! It seems your'e spoilt for choice if you're a Larophile in the states! One day soon I shall visit! Just one question, though: why isn't someone with your artistic ability tackling these from life?

Very nice.

Russ

Thanks Russ, these are Herring Gulls, mostly what I see around here lately.
The previous sketches were from life, as I mentioned a big bike race is clogging up the traffic and roads this weekend, so I stayed home and drew from my photos. I always do both, for me it takes both, as the photos let me really get some areas that are too brief for me to see in life, gulls come close so I dont need a scope. But older eyes mean I don't see some of the detail outside I'd like to know about, so the camera is a help. All you younguns,( under 50) take heed, with glasses you don't see the same as with your natural eyes, get as much done as you can before you need them.

 

[JTMB]

The gull drawings are very well done and well modeled, Colleen!

You might want to check the ID, as Herring Gulls in that area should be a winter species. We haven't seen them show up in the Seattle area yet. Their summer range is way up in northern Canada and Alaska. They are year-round in the east in New England, but not on the west coast.

 

[colleenc]

thanks John, I'm not a real birder, and only started a couple of years ago, mostly they are gulls to me, I do get some of the smaller ones, like ring bill and Herrmanns, but other wise I don't really know for sure, apologies to all the experts, but I don't care that much either, I just love them and they are my favorite bird...have loved them since childhood.

so here is a photo, maybe you can tell, this is the gull I was drawing from...I know Id is tricky, so since my life left is short I'm not going to go crazy over it unless it's a portrait...then I'll ask my betters to tell me what it is. Right now if its big and has a med yellow bill with a large orange spot its a "herring" to me...in the seascapes I'm doing the birds are so small( around 3/4 )inch I'm happy if it just looks like a proper gull.

here is another study maybe from now on I'll just say its a gull of some sort, even if I knew, by the time I get through messing up in painting it who can tell:-O

 

[JTMB]

Not a criticism at all, Colleen, sorry if it came off that way. Just figured you would want to know. The gull in your picture is an adult Western Gull - 'winter' adult birds (plumage-wise, we're into post-breeding or winter plumage now) of this species are one of the few gulls with a pure white head. Also pink legs, red dot on the very heavy bill, fairly dark mantle, and dark wingtips (though white 'windows' on the wingtips are generally more prominent than this bird, which shows almost none). Gulls are very difficult, and I'm by no means an expert. There is breeding and non-breeding plumage, and depending on species, they take either three or four years to reach adult plumage. And the juveniles typically have different plumage in each of their sub-adult years. Extremely challenging! I generally don't try very hard to identify the juveniles, certainly by year - it's tough enough with just the adults. And as if that wasn't enough, then you get the fact that gull species sometimes hybridize. Up here, where Glaucous-winged and Western Gulls overlap in range, some of the experts believe the Glaucous-winged x Western hybrids (locally referred to as 'Olympic' or 'Puget Sound' gulls outnumber the pure Glaucous-winged birds.

 

[colleenc]

Thank you so much for setting me straight, I've never been able to go out and see gulls with a real birder so I'm really blind, now that you have stepped forward, I shall run these by you in the future, and if I do a larger pic ala LJ I will be able to know what I'm painting. I have noticed the cross thing, saw a juve at my local patch that looked like the others only its head was a slightly different shape, so must have been one of the hybirds. A gull by any other name is still a gull to me:t:

 

[phil baber]

As always, magnificent! And those gull sketches in #1717 are superb!

 

[colleenc]

thanks Phil, there is beautiful work going on all over this forum right now, simply amazing.

Hooray I finally worked out the perfect outdoor set up for birds and sea. As the wind has picked up oils are real problem, I come home with colored sand paintings, the wind blows over the easel, and there is so much more to carry down the cliff. I know watercolor is great, but the painting methods for it are so different than my 2 main medias oil and pastels. But Ta Dah there is a wonderful media that mimics them all...Gouache, luminous like pastel on colored ground, additive layers like oils and a way to put the white in after I'm done, easy to adjust edges, and if I want, watercolor runny and transparent too. Best of all of them I can fit it all in my jacket pocket and carry it out there and no wet panels to worry over.

I'm working out a mixture to coat watercolor paper, that is grey gesso, naples yellow, white and matte medium, but this is in progress. It helps a lot to have a toned ground to speed up the process out there. And it also will let me use the paper for oils if I wish, I'm going to experiments with colors to see what I like. Right now it's just a warm grey.

Equipment,
Alvin portable watercolor palette with extended lift out mixing tray, 18 empty spaces for color.... that I filled with gouache. 10"x4.5"x1/2 inch closed, about 100 sq. inches of mixing space and a rubber gasket all around the edge to seal it when closed.

Brushes that fit inside

a folding cover from Strathmore, that is supposed to hold a 5.5 x 8.5 sketchbook you slip into a flap in side, I have adapted this to hold loose papers in each side, and have a cardboard piece taped to the bottom that holds the one I paint on . In windy conditions I can fold this holder over the back of the paintbox and secure everything in my lap with one hand. ( see photo 3 ) The holder also can be propped up like an easel. Don't know if they make these anymore, I've had mine, mostly unused until now, for ages

Watercontainer. Just found this great 3 part nesting container, an empty bottle of Golden Fluid acrylic just fits inside to carry water. Pulls apart, locks on one side, smallest has a ridge on the bottom to pull the paint out of the brush and 3 parts means you have clean water to work with.

I'm a happy camper outside at last, you can see the little gull sketch ( direct painting no drawing,) and the late seascape sketch that came of my first try outside with the kit.

 

[Rahul Parekh]

Beautiful work Colleen . Live sketching is always difficult for me but you are doing it so well & easily. Lovely to see you equipment too

All best wishes,

Cheers, Rahul