I can't put in words how honored I am to be chosen as a participant in the 2009 Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, a showcase of some of the best bird artists in the worlds. This year's Master is the great John Busby, who's book is my bible as I start out in this field.
It was just a whim I entered, I don't enter many shows, or have a gallery, or even market my work. But I thought this was a nice work and expressed what I was after, so I took a chance.
and I'm so glad I did!
A Splendor in the Grass is actually my first bird painting, which is why acceptance into the Birds in Art show is such an honor to me. It came about because a beautiful young tom displayed in a pasture right next to my cottage for over 20 min, almost constantly fluffed up. He totally inspired me, so I took some photos and thought over what I could do,( I hadn't learned to field sketch yet) I like to go beyond just copying a photo and add some creativity. So I imagined what he might look like to a hen, and gave him some lighting from my favorite artist Rembrandt.
I wanted a look of realism, but without being tight and describing every detail. Although it may look detailed in this post, that's due to the reduction in size. Many areas are literally scribbled in. I used a rough Richeson pastel board with a terracotta ground color, many many layers of hard and soft pastel can be held by this excellent surface. The beauty of pastel over every other media, is it's ability to transmit light.
A Splendor in the Grass, pastel 12x12, Birds in Art show Sept 2009 Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
It was just a whim I entered, I don't enter many shows, or have a gallery, or even market my work. But I thought this was a nice work and expressed what I was after, so I took a chance.
and I'm so glad I did!
A Splendor in the Grass is actually my first bird painting, which is why acceptance into the Birds in Art show is such an honor to me. It came about because a beautiful young tom displayed in a pasture right next to my cottage for over 20 min, almost constantly fluffed up. He totally inspired me, so I took some photos and thought over what I could do,( I hadn't learned to field sketch yet) I like to go beyond just copying a photo and add some creativity. So I imagined what he might look like to a hen, and gave him some lighting from my favorite artist Rembrandt.
I wanted a look of realism, but without being tight and describing every detail. Although it may look detailed in this post, that's due to the reduction in size. Many areas are literally scribbled in. I used a rough Richeson pastel board with a terracotta ground color, many many layers of hard and soft pastel can be held by this excellent surface. The beauty of pastel over every other media, is it's ability to transmit light.
A Splendor in the Grass, pastel 12x12, Birds in Art show Sept 2009 Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
