Mushroom Tea I (WIP)

October 27, 2015

This week before Halloween seems a good a time as any to begin work on my barn owl. This bird, who goes by the name of Owlivia at the local Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, is paired with an Aynsley teacup (circa 1939) filled with trumpet mushrooms. I love the woodland magic of this combination – now to try and do it some justice with paint!

Loose sketch in oil.

Loose dark background.

Blocking in the owl.

Mushrooms.

Teacup.

Blocking in the table, feet and mushroom perch.

more tomorrow ( I hope) … the chainsaws are coming….

The chainsaws were only intermittent today and I was able to really start laying in some details in my owl and work on the appropriate background contrast to really make her glow. In the white of her face there are lots of other hues – lavenders, blues, greens, ochers and rusts. It’s these subtle variations on white that create depth and volume and vitality.

Chainsaws came back for a few days to finish off the oak so I wasn’t able to complete the painting but at least I have the owl standing on a mushroom now instead of a pair of oversized gulab jamuns!

Tulip Tea I (WIP)

October 21, 2015

I’ve begun a new bird & teacup piece. This time a Purple Finch (the only red bird I’ve shot) with a Coalport teacup paired with some vintage redwork embroidery, calico and red and white striped tulips. I start, as always with a loose, painting directly on the prepared board.

I really should have worked the background first but I decided to block in my reds instead.

Eager to see some tulip action I painted these in loosely as well, letting the pigment pull through the brush strokes.

I was eager to see the finch too .

I worked on the teacup next, as it supports both the flowers and bird, I wanted to make sure they felt well integrated.

Dobbing in the foreground to feel where the shadows would fall.

Filling in the vintage linen embroidery backdrop I experimented with a crosshatched look.

Dropping the crosshatching, I tried more definition and a brighter backdrop.

Wanting a deeper shadow I try blocking in dome darks but the grays are all still too wet.

I end up wiping it off down to the initial sketch with a rag dampened with mineral spirits.

I begin to apply the darks in a more controlled way – a muddy mess is a nightmare!

More to come….

Finished! I’ve messed around with little details until the painting told me I was done.

Meeting of the Models

October 2, 2015

For those of you who have been following my Birds & Teacups series, you must know my process by now:

antique teacup ✔

matching bouquet ✔

combine above and wait for a bird (or two) to fly in and pose while I shoot with dramatic lighting ✘

combine above and shoot with dramatic lighting ✔

take pictures of local birds ✔

add birds (in a naturalistic way) into the still life using photoshop ✔

paint the heck out it ✔ ✔ ✔

But yesterday was something new…a scrub jay was busy caching acorns about my yard and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a shot of the bird with the actual teacup I had planned on pairing it with. Usually I try to scale the bird to the teacup with the measurements listed on birding sites but this was going to give me a real life comparison, if only I could get them in the same shot! I filled the teacup with birdseed and acorns and retreated to my studio stoop with my telephoto lens on my camera. I had only a few minutes to wait before there was some interest…

…of course the jay wasn’t the only one who likes a tea party !

Widow Among the Butterflies and Roses

June 2, 2015

I just want to preface this post by letting you know that my gorgeous model has been safely released into the woods far away and no one was in danger of being bitten or hurt during this process.

Having said that, I can now go on about how thrilling and captivating it was to shoot this elegant, deadly spider with my delicate antique china and petals from my favorite rose. The scent was intoxicating, the beauty engulfing and there’s nothing quite like the creepy crawl of a spider to keep you on your toes!

I love the wild and dangerous darkness of the spider along with all of her creative, powerful and cunning associations contrasted with the domestic refinement of delicate petals and porcelain – I could drink it in for days!

Innocent Celibacy?

May 14, 2015

In a Victorian world where bachelors buttons signify male celibacy and daisies refer to innocence, a bouquet of both would leave you with innocent male celibacy. That’s quite a bundle for a little teacup yet here it is with this “Elizabethan” teacup from England – 1940s or 50s I’m guessing:

Bachelor’s Buttons Blues

May 8, 2015

My Bachelor’s Buttons have just come into bloom – and I’m too impatient to wait for a whole bouquet – so I snipped the ones that were available and popped them into this vintage Japanese teacup, pulling a dress from my closet to use as a backdrop.

Bachelor’s buttons are also known as cornflowers but the Victorian meanings for each are very different. Bachelor’s Buttons indicate single blessedness and celibacy while the cornflower suggests refinement and delicacy. I wonder which symbolism to explore?

I do know that I’d like to pair this teacup with the Scrub Jay which is that same lovely shade of blue- nothing refined or delicate about this bird though they are tough raucus and smart!

Here are a few shots of the jay I took near my house.

Check out that sashay on this bird as it stakes out it’s feeding grounds!

And that rakish profile!

Brewing Mushroom Tea

May 3, 2015

Brewing up some mushroom magic in the studio!

It started with that gorgeous barn owl, “Owlivia” from the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center. I knew I wanted to include her in my birds & teacups series so I took lots of pictures when I had the chance. Then I had to scout out a perfect teacup. I thought should be a in a woodland theme, maybe ferns or branches but when I saw the mushroom teacup by Aynsley of England (circa 1939 -) I knew I had found the perfect whimsical compliment to the owl. At first I arranged pink oyster mushrooms in the cup and while I love the color, I wanted to see what a stronger form would look like. In the end, I prefer the king oyster mushrooms which will help to make a more interesting composition.

Mushrooms turn out to be pretty fragile to work with ….I ‘d better eat them up quickly!

Narcissus Tea I

April 17, 2015

Brewing Narcissus Tea

February 4, 2015

I can’t decide whether the stylized flower on this English Deco teacup by Royal Grafton is meant to be a narcissus or a daffodil but I think there is some wiggle room. I will shoot it both ways. My favorite flower shop, Bunches, had nosegays of narcissus on two for one so that was the perfect place to start. Even as I write this post I am surrounded by the heady scent of spring!

Narcissus sends the Victorian message of formality, or “Stay as sweet as you are” conflicting concepts I think! Let me know what you think – do you prefer the drama of the black background or the quaintness of the quilt?

I think I’ll pair up this teacup with this sweet White Crowned Sparrow. I have lots of photos of this little guy and his flock mates from the grounds of a local church and his markings seem to match perfectly! The bird says sweet, definitely not formal.

Tulip Tea Tryouts

January 9, 2015

The sun broke through just long enough to shoot tulips in a teacup today.

I love these little teacups made in Occupied Japan, they’re hand painted with such vibrant colors and the flowers are so playfully stylized. Look for more coming up (when their flowers are finally in season).

Now what kind of bird? Here are some from my archives, though I don’t know…

Does it help to know that the tulip symbolizes “perfect lover” and “fame”? Perhaps not, I’ll have to think on it.

Good Luck Bamboo (& Teacup)

January 7, 2015

Found a perfect bundle for the little bamboo demitasse I had waiting in my studio (like so many other vintage teacups I have, just waiting for their flower to come into bloom so I can take their picture in some dramatic light and pair them up with a matching bird – all so I can paint a picture).

This three stemmed lucky bamboo symbolizes happiness, long life and wealth.

Bamboo isn’t the typical Victorian flower I like choose for these teacups but I’m feeling freshly inspired my recent visit to the National Botanical Gardens in Kauai with their gorgeous bamboo groves.

I think I’ll pair this teacup with the lovely little Japanese White Eye birds I spotted there. Can you see it hanging on to the bottom of the bougainvillea? It’s a lovely shade of chartreuse which should be a vibrant counterpoint to the cerise teacup, its endearing white ring around it’s eye echoes the rim of the teacup too!

Rose Tea I

July 4, 2014

Pansy Tea I

July 4, 2014

Forget-me-not Tea I

July 4, 2014

Painting Pansy Tea

June 4, 2014

Now that I have my reference material all composed, I am able to precede with my Pansy Tea painting.

I like to sketch out my outlines with thinned oils on a white ground. I feel it helps me to maintain a clarity and vibrancy of color.

I begin to block in a bit of color as I feel more confident about the way the drawing is going.

Since the bird is the primary subject, I wanted to concentrate on it first.

The next goal I had was to work the entire canvas (all twelve inches of it).

Here I’ve built up highlights, shadows and details.

I will continue along this path, adding glazes to tone down areas until I feel it has enough depth and presence. Speaking of presence, I see my little finch is looking more like a chubby chick! Taking pictures as you go along is a great way of seeing your work in a new way. Let’s see what I can do about that tomorrow!

Birding

June 2, 2014

Lately I’ve gone from painting dead birds to live ones!

My teacup birds, while quite whimsical in concept, are a really about putting some life into the still life genre. I love the layers of artifice that go into these pieces, There’s the teacup artist’s interpretation of a flower and then my re-interpretation of that as well as my careful observation of the real flowers in their corresponding teacup that I’ve arranged in the low afternoon sun that comes streaming in my studio windows.

Then I coax a bird to land on my vignette while I snap a picture. Yes, I wish. I must rely on my growing collection of photos that I take myself as well as some other photo references which I combine with my own work and obscure beyond any point of possible copyright infringement. I need to invest in some more feeders – but I’m not beyond stalking the neighbor’s feeders. I find mornings are best! Although I’ve paused while writing this to take shots of junkos with my telephoto out here on the patio with my feet up on the fire pit and my laptop on my lap! Now if that humming bird will just come back for my pommegranate blossoms – no such luck!

Here are some of my better birding moments, not all teacup appropriate, but you never know…