"How did you come up with that idea?" ...and winter roost boxes for the birds...

I had nine people ask me how I came up with the idea for my Christmas card "Chiggy decks the halls" this year, so I thought I'd show the process. Sometimes an idea pops right in my head, and I know exactly what I want to paint, but this year I wasn't so lucky. I was panicking because I only had a few days to create my card, and I had tons of ideas in my head but couldn't get anything to solidify. When that happens, I step back, get out the pencil and just sketch. Creating lots of tiny sketches that take only seconds to draw warms you up and lets ideas flow out. I did have a little direction in mind when I started: "Chiggy" was a favorite bird of my Aunt Pat, so to keep her in my heart this Christmas, I let lots of little chickadees appear on the page...

...tiny sketches of chickadees done quickly helped me zero in on an idea for my Christmas card. I knew as soon as I drew the chickadee on the birdhouse in the bottom-right corner I had my design.  

Even though I knew my card design would be based on a birdhouse with a chickadee and a wreath, I didn't know exactly what it would look like, so I got out a few pieces of scrap paper to start developing the idea. First came Chiggy with an ornament...

Scrap paper is great for developing ideas. You don't care what your sketch looks like when it's on a piece of paper headed for the recycle bin, so you're free to experiment. The ornament in this sketch just didn't feel right, so I put it aside and pulled out another scrap of paper...

...this design was a little better. Still, the ribbon didn't work. I liked the bird on the left side holding a sprig of holly...but...

...I went back to the ribbon idea. Maybe if he was pulling the ribbon around the wreath...but it still wasn't right.

...finally went back to the sprig of holly. It was more natural and seemed like something a Chiggy might do. But the idea of Peace on Earth was still in my head....maybe a ribbon on top like a banner....but nahhh. Just didn't work. It was best to keep the image simple and focus on the holly and pine rope. That image told a story and said it all.

...the first round of watercolor. Normally I don't scan the stages of my paintings, but when I'm not sure where to go next, or I'm worried I might ruin it, I often scan as I go.

...a second layer of watercolor to soften up the roof, add a bit of detail to the wood, and add the dark night sky; followed by gouache highlights on the white feathers and the green leaves, plus a rough layer of dark orange colored pencil on the rusty roof for a bit of texture. 

...then the snow...first a watered-down splatter of white gouache to add depth, next snowflakes painted in a thicker mix of gouache to create the mid-field view, and finally dots of snow in a much thicker and brighter mix of gouache to bring them to the foreground...and that's the final painting. 

So if you're trying to design a card and the creative part of your brain is frozen, don't panic. Start drawing images that take only a few seconds to complete. Don't think about them, just let them flow from your pencil. Drawing quick little images warms you up and melts the frozen part of your creative brain.

p.s.
Does anyone recognize the birdhouse I used in the card? If you've ever been to a Southern Living party, you might have seen it in the catalog. I bought it years ago at a Southern Living party, and it sits out on my deck. Often when I draw a birdhouse, it's what pops in my mind. I love it's vintage style and the way the roof has rusted...

Our Southern Living birdhouse...well weathered and beautiful.

p.p.s.
I hate to admit it, but even though I finished the painting on time, my card didn't go out on time (my cards still haven't gone out). I was swamped at work, and I got sick. Boo! My cards are going out as Happy New Year cards this year. Maybe I'll tape a 2013 banner on the roof...

one more thing....in winter, cavity nesting birds (like our little chickadee) use roost boxes to help them conserve heat and make it through the long, cold winter nights. Click here for a post explaining the importance of roost boxes and how to make them.

Black and White Warbler at Magee Marsh...photos, sketch, and a painting

A female Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia) was very thorough in her inspection of this weathered and half-dead tree. She systematically nabbed insects right and left from the nooks, crannies, and crevices of the bark (and I don't think she left any bits of the lichen unturned either :-)...

This beautiful female Black and White warbler foraged for several minutes right in front of me,
letting me marvel at her beauty and industriousness. (These photos go all the way back to May of this year when I was at the Biggest Week in American Birding.)

This post is for my parents, Joni and Jer, my cousin, Curg, and my Aunt Diane. They all traveled up to Maumee Bay State Park this weekend to look for ducks up on Lake Erie. Everyone was in need of Big Water, and Lake Erie, which is only 4 hours away, was the cure. I was supposed to go with them, but work got in the way. Magee Marsh is only 20 minutes from Maumee, so I told them to be sure to stop by the boardwalk. They did...on Nov 5, but it was closed for duck hunting (Nov 5 - Dec 1). So they didn't get to see the beauty of the boardwalk, but I'm going to lure them back up this May when all the warblers are there. That's the best time to go anyway, so I thought I'd post a small taste of what's to come this spring for them! I saw this Black and White Warbler on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh on May 5, 2012. She was just one of hundreds of warblers flitting through the trees that morning...

It was slightly overcast that morning, but the gray light only helped emphasize her beauty!

The wet bark on the trees and the overcast skies above showcased the bright green of the lichens.

...no crevice, hole or crack escapes this little female's attention! 

Always nuthatch-like in their movements, Black and White Warblers can crawl up and down and around on a tree...

You can tell this is a female because she has a gray cheek. Males have black cheeks.

...sketches of the Black and White warbler I photographed that day. 
I drew this page in my sketchbook that evening from photos I took that day.

...a quick watercolor sketch of the female Black and White Warbler 
(painted from one of the sketchbook drawings).

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Turkey Vulture Art...for the Halloween Spirit!

I love Turkey Vultures. They are amazing birds, and I've posted on them several times, but I've never painted one. So since it's the Halloween season, I thought I'd ride their stereotype and create a little Creepy Halloween Art!

I am the Vulture--Creepy Halloween Art I

(mixed media with electronic filters)

These paintings all started with photos I took while canoeing down the Little Miami River. I wanted to try some collage and mixed-media art...and experiment with a few PhotoShop filters, so I printed out my photos...cut out the birds...plastered them on paper...and painted eerie backgrounds of colors and shapes. I then scanned the paintings and ran them through about 5 filters, adjusting color, etc. I don't know how to use PhotoShop, so everything was a test. I still don't know how to use PhotoShop, but I know a little bit more about it...and it was really fun to combine traditional and electronic painting methods!

I am the Vulture--Creepy Halloween Art II

(mixed media with electronic filters)

I am the Vulture--Creepy Halloween Art III

(mixed media with electronic filters)

I am the Vulture--Creepy Halloween Art IV

(mixed media with electronic filters)

I hope you're enjoying autumn and the Halloween season!

For more bird art, head over to Birding is Fun! Robert has turned his blog into a multi-author blog and invited me to be a contributor. I just posted my first entry with three paintings of Chestnut-sided Warblers.

Black-bellied Plover on Longboat Key

Painting 114 - Black-bellied Plover on Longboat Key

Watercolor, 12x16

This is the same Black-bellied Plover that was in painting 111, "Black-bellied Plover Digging in the Sand." I was a little more true to color with this plover, though. He was fun to paint...I loved his sweet eye and all the shadows on his fat belly. I'm working on another in this series. It's of the same bird, but he's walking towards us with a head-on view. Hope to have it finished in a few days...

(I gave Rick painting 111 yesterday for Valentine's Day. He was surprised and happy, and it's already in his office at work! Yeah! Rick loves the ocean and ocean birds as much as I do.)

Graphite pencil sketch and study of the Black-bellied Plover in painting 114--the second in the plover series.

...I think I need to get a bigger sketch book. I couldn't fit his tail on the page in this sketch! I sketched this bird over a couple of days while waiting to pick Matty up. I'm finding I look forward to waits now because I always have my sketch book with me. It's so relaxing to be in the car and just sketch (no interruptions...no deadlines...no tasks...just sketching and relaxing). I'm going to miss it when Matty starts to drive!

p.s. On a side note...this morning when I was putting some seed out for the birds, a little male House Finch was serenading the world with "robust vigor" (I know it's hokey, but that's the only way I can describe it!). The song was so beautiful. It's the first I've heard it this year and my goodness it made me stop...and listen...and listen some more. So gorgeous and happy. I CAN'T wait for all of the spring bird song headed our way...and spring flowers too...and summer flowers, and veggies from the garden... For now I'll be content with the little male House Finch's song of spring.

Halloween Ravens

Painting #52 - Common Raven Flying Over a Pumpkin

I loved painting this painting. Usually I rely on a reference photo, but this one appeared in my head and poured out of my paintbrush. I could hear the whoosh of the wings as he flew past, and saw the shadow pass over the pumpkin. This painting made me fall in love with Common Ravens even more than I already did.

Painting #53 - Night Raven Looking at the Moonbow

...again...no ref photo. Quite a big thing for me. The Golden slow-drying acrylics I'm using are so freeing. I squeeze out the paint, start playing, and images come to life. I'm really enjoying the 100 Painting Challenge. Being under the pressure to create 100 paintings in a year causes me to paint just for the sake of painting. I used to paint for a purpose (a card, a present--a reason), but with the challenge, there is no reason. You simply create all the time. The challenge continues to help me grow. Because of the challenge, I found out I love painting ravens and all the darkness that surrounds them.

Painting #54 - Nocturnal Raven

Painting #55 - Common Raven in a Patterned World

I painted this painting twice. I didn't like the first take, so I scraped it off....then decided I loved the scape marks and just added the Common Raven in with a few brush strokes.

Painting #56 - Creepy Primitive Halloween Raven

The scrapings in the previous painting inspired this one. Originally it was supposed to have the feel of a wood block carving image, but it soon turned into the feel of a carved pumpkin. I painted the background orange/red/yellow and let it dry over night....then painted over it with black the next morning....grabbed a plastic spoon and started "carving" out the image. I decided to go primitive because it's creepier, and one-shot carving with a spoon doesn't allow detail. After it dried, I painted over the moon with orange again...then went back in and re-carved over the previous carving. That helped brighten up the moon... This was a lot of fun, but very messy!! (I'm happy to report all of these paintings passed Matty's stringent creative requirements. He thought they were cool.)

...no bird in this painting, so it's not part of the challenge. I just wanted to wish you a Happy Halloween filled with lots of treats...and black cats...ravens...and ghosts...witches...and scarecrows...and...candy corn, of course!