Crows at Dusk

full moon | wide awake | 'til dawn

A Twitter poem from WATERMARK

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


"Crows at Dusk" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

I can assure you this is not my dark side emerging! I had a Black Crow as a pet for 20 years (she was 27 when she died) and I absolutely love these endearing and highly intelligent birds.


"Coco" my Black Crow - She used to take this stance and make a ka-ka-ka sound, like the horn of a car. It must be a natural sound of theirs, because I've heard crows in the wild doing the same thing.

Variation on a theme

bright | babbling brook | winter closing its cold hand

Following on Donald Maier's post "Plein Air vs Photos", I decided to also try a 'variation on a theme', using two paintings that I did plein air as inspiration for something new. I've never thought of doing the same painting twice, so thanks for the inspiration Donald!

The one below was my first painting of a neighbour's trees, sitting behind the fence on our side of our smallholding.

"A Neighbour's Trees"

The second time I did the painting (below), I asked the owner's permission to paint the trees from inside his property, sitting with my back against the fence. Not a great distance between me and my subject and, as the trees are situated on a little hillock, I was looking up the slope towards the trees. Very similar to my first painting above.

"Rocky Outcrop"

It was a nice warm day, no wind, slight nip in the air, but I got totally engrossed and only packed up when I decided I had fiddled enough. Every time I looked up, there was another little rock I had missed!

In the painting below, done in my studio, I decided to add a stream, as I feel I need some more practice in that field. Water (and clouds!) is always a great challenge for me.

"Cold Winter Stream" pencil sketch and watercolour - Maree© 25th July 2009
9" x 12"

I've been contemplating using oils again, so I will be using some of my watercolours for inspiration before trying my hand at oils plein air.

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100 Days of Sketching!

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A Twitter poem from WATERMARK

"Country Creek" watercolour on Bockingford 150gsm - Maree©

I posted this painting on the 27th April when I pledged to do a-painting-or-sketch-a-day, and have just realised that today is my 100th day of sketching daily! I must be honest, didn't think that I'd manage it, but it has been utterly enjoyable and something that I have looked forward to every day. (I have skipped a couple of times, but who's counting?)

Just imagine how many I will have done by the time I'm 99 (36 years from now!) Do you think Blogger will be able to handle it and still be around? I'm sure I will...

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Cheetah

If we could but paint with the hand what we see with the eye.

Honore de Balzac

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

"Cheetah" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper - Maree©

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Re-visiting an old haunt

Yesterday I actually made the effort of packing my portfolio bag and art supplies and setting off to the dam just 2km down the road from us. Another perspective of the Tarlton Dam, which I first painted back in the 80's.

"Tarlton Dam '09" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper - Maree©

Winter is in full swing and the only greenery is the Blue gum trees and Wattles, which are deciduous and only drop a lot of bark and seeds. Everything else is bone dry and the veld fires (wildfires) have taken their toll everywhere, leaving the landscape lifeless, except for the Egrets scavenging on dead insects and little mammals that couldn't manage to escape the roaring fires.

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