Bird Squares Part II

It's been a few weeks of typical day-to-day busyness. As such there has not been much in the way of art production of late.

But here are the next steps in developing the Bird Squares:

Each square was traced and "sized" for the canvas-

Next, charcoal was applied to the back of the tracing-

Lastly, the image is traced directly to the canvasses-

Simple as an elementary school exercise, but effective in order to comfortably design such a small composition!

With some luck, I hope to have the chance to take them to the next level some time this week!

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This past week, I was fortunate enough to be able to contribute to a new blog, Paper, Paint, Pencils & Pens, hosted by Lynn Cohen. Check it out some time; it's a very diverse, themed collection of artwork, across the boards! 

There are quite a  lot of fun challenges and showcases out in Blogger Land. And there is a lot of work that goes into so many of them. Thank you to all of our wonderful hosts!

Bird Squares

It's time to try a little something different!

Through the last couple of years, I've collected various sized canvases along the way. I've puzzled over what I could do with a package of 4-3" square canvases. After doing "Cece's Window", there was no longer any mystery.

I've started by painting a basic set of colors in a simple pattern for the background. But, I've been trying more pragmatic ways to design my compositions.

Background Paint

In this instance, I made a colored print of the squares and, then, sketched the birds. Once the background paint is dry enough to work over, I'll transfer the images to the actual canvases.

Sketched Birds on Print

The painting of the birds will be in a looser style, but I like having the images detailed enough with which to really work. For this small a canvas, willow charcoal would be fairly useless.

I'll keep posting the steps as I go along...

Keep growing and flying, my friends!

Back to Basics

Hand In Pencil by Pencil in Hand
©2013 BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts

 

Lately, it seems that we may be catching up with the list of summer projects. The house is rearranged to the point of being usable. Vacations are almost done for the season. Gardens are as finished as they will be for the year. Kids are set on their career/college paths. We’re finding some time to spend with friends and family again.

One of the things I just haven’t been able to motivate to work at, though, is getting back to the studio. It sits up those stairs, all clean and organized. Materials overflow: canvases, paints, brushes, pencils, frames and framing supplies.

I want to do artwork, I need to do artwork. It makes me feel good, it pleases my senses & my soul.

Part of the issue is that I haven’t found an inspired block of time to dive into the process. Ideas are overflowing, design execution ready to be applied. But that 3-4 hour span of uninterrupted creation never seems to happen simply because, darn it! something else pulls me away.

I’ve been trying to start the practice of a doing a “little” something regularly. Okay, I’ve done it once. But, that counts as “starting”, right?

The first (yes, there will be more) is this sketch of my own hand. It was just a quick exercise in the basics.

And, that seems like a great place to start, doesn’t it?