Watercolor- "Hidden Nest"

I was really in a watercolor mood this weekend -finished a few paintings, and started a few more. I guess that's what happens when I can stop being so consumed by baseball. My favorites, NY Yankees and SF Giants BOTH made it to the playoffs and that means a lot of games to watch. I have been a baseball fan for years, even sat through an earthquake at Candlestick Park during the 1989 World Series. Now that the World Series is over (WOO HOO-Giants!) I have more of my painting time back and my priorities are back in order.

I finished the bird nest painting. When I took the photo, I couldn't wait to paint it. I always have more painting ideas than time to paint them all! I enjoyed this watercolor, and liked it more and more as I got the layers of color on and the darker areas defined. I am not sure it has the depth I wanted, to really make the nest look like it is down into the rose bush. Who knows? I may go back to it after looking at it some more and seeing exactly what I need to add. I am kind of stumped as to what to call this watercolor. Any ideas out there? I never really named my paintings before- but since I started listing them on Etsy and learning about tags, I have started to see the importance of painting titles and descriptions. With gazillions of watercolors online, we need some way to get people to look!

I also started a few more wine cork paintings. I have more than a couple wine corks in jars at home, so my supply of corks to paint is kind of unlimited. I find them very interesting due to the detail and uniqueness of each one. Lots of nooks and crannies, grain lines and wine stains for a detail loving artist like myself to get into. Some of the labels on them are quite creative also. I have painted them small and larger, and using many different mediums. With oils on masonite, I can get the finest detail- but I also love the texture of the watercolor paper. This time, I wanted to do some corks larger than actual size. I drew these on 11X15 cold pressed, rough surface watercolor paper.

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

Pretty New Palette... and a new watercolor

Got something great in the mail yesterday -whenever I get mail from Cheap Joe's it is great! Woo Hoo - fun, new art supplies! I decided it was definitely time for a new palette since I have made such a mess of my other painting and mixing trays. I ordered a smaller palette with a lid that I can take places, and a big porcelain one for my painting table. The porcelain palette is heavy so it won't move around while I am mixing colors, and I took pictures so I can remember what a nice, organized palette looks like. I even set the paint tubes around it and rearranged them until the colors were in the order I wanted. I usually just squirt paint onto the tray wherever there is an empty (or kind of empty) space. I was afraid to make a mess of my shiny white palette. I also took a tip from Cheap Joe, and labeled my colors.

I also have a start on a watercolor I have been wanting to paint for quite a while. In the Spring, two of the rose bushes in my garden were homes to bird nests. Birds were constantly flying in and out of the roses. I managed to get some photos during one of the moments the birds were away. I have been thinking about painting this for months and now that I am getting to it, I hope I will not be disappointed with the finished product.

Thanks for looking-

Sheryl