Black on black

I think this is nearing completion.  Another session and it should be done.

Getting a scan or photograph of black paper is so difficult.  I will try a photo in daylight tomorrow, however this scan is fairly true to colour, but the values I just can't get quite right.

Once this is finished, I can get back to some projects waiting in the wings and finalize a grant application that is due soon.  The amount of administration and marketing work that butts up against the process of drawing is always amazing and always more time consuming than I anticipate.

Rhonda Carpenter in her blog Watercolor and Words has generously given me  a Sunshine Award.  What could be better than some sunshine in February?  Thank you Rhonda for your generosity.

Duckling tutorial in progress

While I finish off the last cat in the quartet, I still work on other pieces too that drop into my head and need translation onto paper before they disappear.

This is a preview of a tutorial in progress of the drawing of a newly hatched duckling.  Most of my tutorials are designed for beginners.  I enjoy sharing the concepts and techniques of basic drawing that are so essential to those starting out.

It is said that all drawing or painting tutorials must be done by artists and that those artists must have the ability to explain and put technique and theory into words as well as images.   I know I am not perfect but from the feedback that I get, people seem to enjoy creating the pieces based on the information that I provide in the tutorials that I have produced.  And as part of my goals this year was to produce 4 tutorials, this will be the second.  Where, when, and what subject is open to what feedback I receive and requests that people have around their interests.  So if you have a suggestion about what you would like to see drawn or painted as a tutorial, just let me know and I'll do my best to oblige.

The drawing is always the easy part and forcing myself to stop and scan images is a difficult task sometimes.  The little voice inside my head keeps saying 'keep on drawing, you don't want to write!'.  And the write up for the piece can be challenging, especially when switching back and forth between the two tasks.  I usually write in sections as I complete a piece of the drawing.  That way its fresh in my mind and easier to explain.  I spend an hour or two drawing, then work on the explanation of how and why fits in around the scans.

Artist's proofs

Koi Pool 

Artist's Proof   8 x 10

In the production of prints, the process varies as does the agreement between printer and artist, depending on production numbers, printing process used and terms of the contract.

Historically, artist's proofs were proofs pulled from production so the artist could check the quality of the print. Because they were pulled early in the production process, they often contained more vivid colors and lines and were considered more valuable.

Modern printing technology makes all prints equal in quality, so today's artists can be given 5 to 10 percent of the entire edition for their personal use, as part of their contract with the printer. Sometimes the printer is also allowed to keep some of the artist's proofs.

When I have prints created, I haven't negotiated any percentage of artist's proofs, but I usually have a few in each batch.  These vary in quality and quantity and in the instance of the Koi Pool prints I am creating some of my own artist's proofs to play around with intensity of colours, sharpness of the image, etc. before I bring the original to the printer.  Even though I know I will still have to proof colours at the printer before prints are produced, I like to have some options in my head and on paper before that.


I have used Epson Velvet Fine Art paper to print some options. This is a 100% cotton rag paper with an acid free base and bright white surface. My Artisan printer uses archival inks and the print quality is professional.   I will have about six or so of these artist's proofs available.  They will be marked with the letters AP for artist's proof, numbered and  signed by me.   The prints are on 8.5 x 11 sheets with a white border, the print size is 6 3/4 x 10 inches.  They may vary in size on the page, some may be cropped versions.


If anyone is interested in purchasing one of these unique artist's proofs, they are available for $40 plus $5 shipping worldwide  Please contact me at jeanette jobson at gmail dot com to confirm availability and to order. As numbers of artist proofs will be very limited, please act quickly to reserve your proof.


A limited edition of Koi Pool prints will be available within the next couple of weeks in 8 x 10 and 16 x 20 sizes.

Fish

Sometimes it takes awhile before your niche finds you or you find it.

Over many years, I've explored many mediums and subjects.  My comfort zone tends to be living things - portraits of people or animals, but beyond that the other comfort zone that has become apparent to me in the last year or so is fish.

There is something fascinating about these creatures that live under the water.  They are mysterious, elusive, colourful, streamlined, and multipurpose for both art and life.

In the last year I have dabbled (pardon the pun) in a lot of aquatic subject matter and gyotaku is one of the techniques that I enjoy.  I also enjoy creating the shapes and subtle colour variations and irridescence of fish in watercolour or oils.

While the rest of my week is tied up with finishing some cats, this next project is hot on its heels.  This is an initial sketch for the piece that may well change in terms of background and there may be something in the ring.  I'm still not sure of colourways for this piece yet, but it will reveal itself.  I see gold and silver in its future.

Common sense

Another update on cat three.  This is coming together now and another day or two it should be complete.  The fur on this cat is amazing, so thick.  I'm sure it doesn't feel any cold in winter, but summer may be another issue altogether!


I found this piece somewhere online ages ago, I forget the site, but it was too good not to share.  I did look again for the contributer, but there are many, as well as slightly varying content, but all with the same message.

Obituary - Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies. Don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two step brothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still know him please tell others about his passing, if not ,join the majority and do nothing.

Looking into the past

I have a pile of photographs from my mother's house that I sift through now and then and sometimes try my hand at drawing one.  They need to be scanned before I can do so as they're often small and quality isn't fabulous.

This was a sketch of one of the photos of my grandfather, quickly done on in a handmade, ink stained sketchbook.  I'd say that the photo was taken in the early 1960's or late 1950's. I seem to have made the hairstyle distinctly 'elvis-like' but is isn't that pronounced in the image.  I keep trying to draw him, but never succeed.  The likeness always eludes me.  Its the same with portraits of my father, I just haven't captured the essence.  But I will keep trying.

My grandparents lived in the same house as we did for as long as I have memory and I was so firmly attached to my grandfather its a wonder I didn't drive the poor man insane. He couldn't move, but I was with him.  When he ate, I sat on his lap and had some of his dinner, when he walked in the early evening, I walked with him.  When I went to the garden to play, he came too. 

Each morning he would get up early and my grandmother would stay in bed reading.  He would bring her breakfast in bed every day, then return to fetch the tray, clean up the dishes and amuse me.

He died in the early 60's when I was still under 10 years old, but even in that short time that we shared, he became firmly embedded in my memory.

Tabbies

 

I've spent time off and on today finishing up this puss.  She's a lovely cat, as most tabbies are.  Those markings are so distinctive and time consuming to create. I loved the perspective of this piece looking down on the cat and the foreshortening.

All domestic cats have the tabby patterning gene apparently, originating from the African wild cat.  The pattern is a camoflage which works well in a treed environment, but in most domestic situations is fairly irrelevant for stealth and is more decorative.

The dark lines running from the eyes toward the back are called the 'tabby mask' also known as an "M" with several folkloric tales around their origin. Besides striped tabbies (called 'mackerel', like the fish.) there are blotched tabbies, spotted tabbies, and ticked tabbies.

The name tabby is believed to have come from the word atabi a type of silk spun in the Attabiah region of Baghdad. This silk was exported in large quantities to the British Isles where it was noticed how similar the stripped pattern was to the coat of the tiger cat.  These tiger cats soon started to be called tabbi cats and later tabby cats

One down

I'm pushing myself to get these cat portraits done for the client as there are more pieces in the wings waiting.  And, of course, I'm sure the person would like to have them as soon as possible, as we all do when we order something.

Here is one of the cats that I'm calling complete, pending approval.  I should have the second done this weekend, perhaps even most of the third if I ignore housework, cooking and any other distractions!

I find coloured pencil difficult to replicate in true colours in either a scan or a photo.  The paper that this is on is bluer than show here but the fur colour is pretty much as I have drawn it.  This is the 'rogues' gallery' waiting to be completed.

The contents of my head

 

Manuels River

Sometimes I have so many ideas running around in my head I need to capture them before they disappear.  This is where sketches come in handy.  They're my quick upload tool for processing thoughts and visions into reality.

 

Bauline boats

These are a few sketches done over the last few days of ideas I have for paintings.  There are many more, but they all don't come at once and some hit the cutting room floor with a thud.  They may or may not be developed more into paintings or drawings, but there is an internal need - no, a demand - that they be recorded.

 

Gros Morne beach

But there is a certain relief in getting them on paper so they're not lost.  No sketch takes more than 10 or 15 minutes at most and is reduced to basic shapes, line drawings or values.  I don't know when or where I will sketch or have an idea for a piece come to me, so I always have a moleskine or similar small sketchbook in my bag and there are endless sketchbooks around the house.

Where do the contents of your head reside?

Cats and classes

Here is the start of the 4th cat.

Drawing black cats or any black animal is a challenge and getting an image of it either on scanner or camera is even more challenging.  Finally, the scanner cooperated and a reasonably accurate image is here.

I'm not sure if I'm proceeding or if this will be a do-over yet.  I'll give it some more time and work and see if it comes together more.

And a little link that I came across for a free watercolour workshop online.  Creative Techs is hosting a workshop by Molly Murrah

Course Dates: Fridays, February 19 – March 19, 2010
Time: 11am Pacific (Seattle) [Other Time Zones]
Duration: 90-120 Minutes
Cost: The LIVE event is FREE to attend!

Feb 19, Week 1 – Watercolor Overview.
Feb 26, Week 2 – Paints & Colors.
Mar 5, Week 3 – Paper & Brushes.
Mar 12, Week 4 – Drawing & Composition.
Mar 19, Week 5 – Additional Fundamentals.

Cat updates

I'm pushing on with the cats with little updates, as I have a number of other projects both on the easel and in my head to move ahead.  My brain is almost into the fall and its only February!  Oh to have the luxury or more time.  Then again, it's good to have some pressure and time limits to produce as it spurs me on and I can be more productive then.

I like working on a number of pieces at the same time.  It keeps my interest level high as each piece is different and presents a new challenge.

These portraits are in various stages of completion with one that I haven't shown yet as I haven't done much to it yet beyond the eyes.  I hope to have the last two complete within the next couple of days, then concentrate on the other two.

All are done in coloured pencil on the smooth side of mi-tientes paper.

Lionfish

 

 

 The lionfish is one of the most venomous fish on the ocean floor. Lionfish have venomous dorsal spines that are used purely for defense. When threatened, the fish often faces its attacker in an upside down posture which brings its spines to bear. However, a lionfish's sting is usually not fatal to humans. If a human is envenomed, that person will experience extreme pain, and possibly headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties.

I started another watercolour this weekend of a wild looking lion fish, one of Mike's images from the Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. 

Still using the masa paper and batik-like effect, I have been adding to it in bits and pieces while I work on some cats as well. The jumble of fin patterns is a bit confusing so I'm taking my time with this and referring a lot to the reference image.

Lucky

I'm flitting between cat portraits and a watercolour.  The change of medium and subject makes a nice break in concentration.

I haven't drawn many detailed tabby cats and forget just how much detail is in their fur.  All that ticking makes me a little cross eyed after working on it for any length of time.  But its coming together, as long as my pencil sharpener holds out.  To create realism in fur, a very sharp point is required and my coloured pencils are sharpened frequently.

I never understand why some people are so reluctant to sharpen pencils.  Its as if the act uses needlessly some horribly expensive commodity.  I'm not a person to deliberately waste materials, but when they are needed to produce a piece and, in the case of coloured pencils, pretty inexpensive to replace, why not sharpen and have the best instrument at your fingertips?

Here's Lucky, with what I interpret as a look that could only say 'It wasn't me who broke it.'

Living in between

 

There are advantages of getting up very early in the morning.  Winter sun creeping over and through the bare trees creates a whole new world of images on the wall.  

This stark landscape in reality is a gold sun rising, silouetting a dried stalk of a orchid on the windowsill.  The roughened hill is a cosy blanket on the back of a sofa.  The clouds against the golden sky a network of branches from the maple outside, framed on the right by a tied back curtain posing as a cliff face in the foreground.

Each day at dawn, the light is so perfect.  I wish I could make it stand still and live a day in dawn or twilight.

And one of my favourite songs by The Weepies - Living in Twilight

Pre-order giclees

Its been a crazy busy week for me and when it gets like that at work, it tends to make me lose sleep.  Instead of tossing and turning and trying to blank out my mind so I can get back to sleep, I usually just give up and get up.

When the world is dark and quiet I can accomplish a lot.  Early this morning I was up and tackling cat eyes.  I have a number of commissions and need to be fairly productive to get them completed.  Deadlines push production too and while its not good to be over taxed with work, it is good to have a few pressing demands to keep me moving.

Current commissions will keep me attached to the paper until mid April, depending on what else comes in.  I also have some other projects that I will be working on as well and a grant application.  I won't go into that right now in case it doesn't pan out.

So for now, here's a peek at another cat, a Persian this time, called Starr. 

I will be having open edition giclee prints  made of two of my watercolours in two sizes and am offering a discounted price for pre-orders until February 28th.  Frozen Door to Dawn  and Koi Pool will be available in 8 x 10 and 16 x 20 sizes.  I am offering the 8 x 10 prints for $22.00 and 16 x 20 for $45.00.  After February 28th, the price will be $35.00 for 8 x 10 and $60.00.

If you would like to pre-order a copy of either of these prints at the discounted price, drop me an email at jeanettejobson at gmail dot com and provide your name, the print you want to reserve and the size.  I will contact you as soon as they are ready to ship. March 1st is the anticipated date for availability.

    

Procrastination

 Macro ice

This little watercolour was a procrastination result.  All week I have been working on projects about ice and its properties for work .  Some scientific studies and microscopic images of ice structure stayed with me as well as colours and shapes of shards of ice with dark water beneath a pale surface.

As I sit here, checking email, looking at blogs and thinking I should be making master drawings, this article hit a chord and made me want to share it with you as well as get back to what I am here to do - create art!

People who say that procrastination is about laziness are probably the same people who think that anorexia is about not eating enough.

Procrastination isn't about laziness. It's about fear. It's about perfectionism. It's about overwhelm. We all experience it, and there are some tricks to help you get moving again.

Here are 9 ways to break the procrastination habit:

1 - When you get an idea, do some little thing to begin.

When I read Stephen King's book On Writing, I noticed something. I noticed that when Stephen King gets an idea, he writes it. Immediately and imperfectly.

Most people get an idea. Then they sit there. They wonder if it's a good idea. Then, they wonder if it's a good idea some more.

Got an idea? Begin it now!

2 - All hail small chunks of time!

Lots of us complain about having no time. My guess is that we all have lots of time. It just doesn't happen to be all at once.

Are you waiting for many hours of spare time to begin your idea, your project, or your taxes? Stop waiting! Learn to use the spare half hour that comes up here and there. (I gave myself 45 minutes to write this article just to take my own advice.)

3 - Agree to do it badly.

Set a goal to do it badly. Set a goal to show up. Let go of doing it ALL, or doing it WELL.

Some of my coaching clients' biggest victories have a lot more to do with getting over perfectionism and fear, than they do about getting it all done perfectly.

4 - Commit aloud.

Call a friend and say something like this: "I'm going to spend the next half hour working on my Law School Essay." Then go do it.

Call the friend after the half hour and make her congratulate you. Repeat daily.

5 - Define quantities.

Nebulous goals make for nebulous results. "I'm gonna get my office organized" is a lot like saying, "We oughtta do something about Global Warming."

Most procrastinators have a hard time defining quantities. We think everything needs to be done NOW.
When are you going to do it? For how long? Which part of your office? The file cabinet? Or your desk?

Define the goal and acknowledge its completion.

6 - Install this System Upgrade into your Mental Hard Drive: Less is More.

Have fewer goals. Have no more than three priorities for a week.

Why?

Because you're not lazy. You're just trying to do too much.

Find out what it feels like to accomplish one thing instead of not quite getting to everything. Wow - what a difference this makes!

7 - Do it first.

My first coach made me write songs first thing in the morning. He told me to schedule the 2-hour chunk as my first activity upon waking.

Why?

"Because you're telling the universe that this is your priority. And then the universe lines up everything to align with your priority."

Action grounds your priorities. It makes them real. It also makes your day easier because you're not wasting energy thinking about this thing you're supposed to be doing.

8 - Avoid nose-bleed activities.

Email, voicemail, web stats - any activity that bleeds itself into your whole day becomes a non-activity. It becomes a nose-bleed.

When you do it all the time, you never complete it. You just let it slowly drain the very life force from you. Define times for these activities. Then, turn off your email, your cell phone, your web stats, until that time comes.

9 - Don't ask how you "feel" about doing the activity.

Have you ever committed to getting fit? And then when the alarm goes off, you lie in bed thinking, "Do I really feel like going to the gym?" (Like you even have to ask!)

Change this pattern. Make your decision the night before. Commit to getting up and going right to the gym, the computer, the blank canvas. Don't have coffee and sigh and think, "I'll probably feel more like it at lunch time." You won't!

If it's a priority, don't waste time asking yourself how you feel about doing it. Feelings are an easy out.

---

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FREE subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

Cats, cats, cats, cats

Four cats to be precise.

I am working on some pet portrait commissions that have  come from some marketing I've done at a pet groomer's.   I do pet portraits off and on throughout the year and late last year put a couple of portraits in a groomer's along with some information to generate interest.

This month I provided a 'Valentine Special' which placed a number of commissions my way, including this one for the cats.  Finding time to fit in all the commissions is challenging and I think I'll be working on a couple at a time.

I'm drawing these in coloured pencil , confirming composition and the colour of the toned paper I will be using as well as some value studies.  I will share them here in snippets so over the next few weeks you may see a cat face appear now and then.  For tonight, meet Katie or part of her anyway.

Batik-like effects with masa paper - the demo

A tangle of capelin  11 x 15 

I did promise that I would take readers through the process of this batik-like technique to the finished watercolour, so bear with me.  Photos are taken under artificial light so most htings have a yellowish cast.  One of these days i really will invst in a white light, honest!

I started with a half sheet of masa paper.  There is a smooth and a rough side to the paper and I drew my image on the smooth side.  This will be the side that I will be painting on.

 

I then lightly crumpled the paper into a ball and wet it under warm water for about 20-30 seconds til it was thoroughly wet.  I squeezed the excess water out and very gently unfolded the masa.  Be gentle!  When wet this paper becomes fragile and tears easily.

 

Masa back

I laid the wet sheet of masa onto a layer of paper towel which was placed on a large drawing board making sure the rough side was facing me.  I used very wet, strongly pigmented washes of watercolour and a large brush and randomly added them all over the sheet.  As the drawing is face down at this point, there is a certain hit and miss to knowing whether or not the colours and lines will be quite where you want them. You can`t use masking fluid on masa, but low tack tape may be an option for leaving areas white.  That experiment comes later!   I like the surprise element of how the pattern emerges.

Masa front

The paint on your piece of paper will appear very bright and start seeping into the cracks in the paper to the other side.  This is good.   The paper towel will absorb the excess paint and becomes a painting in its own right almost. 

I left this to dry completely then cut a piece of 140lb watercolour paper that the masa would fit on, leaving about a one inch margin on each side.  I used general purpose white glue that I squeezed on the rough side of the masa.  Using a wet brush, I made sure the entire surface of the paper was covered with a light layer of diluted glue.

Glued masa

I laid the masa onto the watercolour paper and used my brayer to roll  the paper, taking out any wrinkles and leavingn a smooth surface to paint on.  A baren would work, even a rolling pin, anything to ensure contact with the glue and to create an even surface.

 

I left the paper overnight to dry.  It bends a little, but not significantly enough to be a problem.  It can easily be flattened under a weight.  Once dry it is ready to be painted.  My pencil lines were still intact but a little bound up in the batik pattern.  I started adding light layers of watercolour to the surface, following my pencil guidelines.

Masa is more delicate than watercolour paper and you can`t manipulate the paint on the surface so knowing what you want to put where is important.  As well as having patience in allowing it to dry completely before adding additional layers.  Too much water and too much rubbing will cause pilling on the surface of the paper and it will tear.  Believe me.  Not fun.

A tangle of capelin

 
I'm moving ahead on another fish piece using masa paper and a batik-like technique again.  I like the texture it provides and it seems to enhance all things piscean.  Or perhaps its just a phase I'm going through.

This images is from a reference photo taken during the summer of some capelin caught on the beach in Middle Cove.  The little fish come to the shores around the province every summer to spawn and many people like to eat them.  I find them a bit strong tasting so keep a few for photographs freeze some for use in gyotaku prints later in the year.

Either way, they're one of my favourite fish for painting.  They have a wonderful irridescence with silver and turquoise and pink.

This piece is a half sheet of masa glued onto a half sheet of Bockingford 140lb watercolour paper.  I created the colours in the background hoping to reflect some of the colours found in the fish.  It seems to work so far.  I'm working on the form of the fish as they lay all jumbled together in a bucket and hope I can do them justice.  I'd say its about half done by now.

I've added a little detail to the mouths and gill covers with pen and ink and am playing with a little bit of silver leaf paint to add some highlights.  I don't want it to overpower the fish, but hope that it will be a subtle flash of light within the painting.  I am toying with trying some real gold and sterling silver leaf gilding in some of these fish paintings, but I know I can't access it here easily and am not sure if i can manipulate it enough to be subtle or not. 

Something else to experiment with...

Koi pool complete

I have been without telephone, television and internet for the last 24 hours due to the blizzard that hit, leaving a calling card of about 45cm of snow.  Not fun.

But the lack of distractions increased productivity in terms of painting and the business and marketing side of art.  I rearranged files, catalogued images, tranferred documents and images to my external hard drive and created new ones.  I may never find anything ever again...

I continued work on the batik-like watercolour that I started the other night and am calling it complete now.  I have to say that I quite enjoyed painting this and love the colour contrasts.  I'm planning more when using this paper and have another piece started that I will use as a step by step piece for anyone who wants to try this technique.

This is done on a half sheet of masa paper which is glued to another half sheet of 140lb Bockingford watercolour paper. Buckling wasn't too much of an issue, nothing that flattening it under a box of paper won't cure.

Koi pool

Insomnia has benefits and drawbacks. 

Last night, well this morning, I woke and couldn't get back to sleep.  My mind kicks into gear as soon as I'm awake and the longer I lie in bed willing myself to sleep, the worse it becomes.  So I gave in and got up.  It was 3:30am.

Armed with a cup of coffee, some digestive biscuits and a long cold night I decided to prep some more masa paper for a new painting.  My sights are set on koi carp in this one and by the time light filtered through the window of the studio, I had the piece drawn and the paper wetted, crumpled, painted and drying.

It looks very abstract right now but is coming together slowly.  Masa does become much more fragile when wet, so it doesn't take much moving paint around or scrubbing.  You can't lift pigment out of the paper either so once you've made your mark, you're more or less stuck with it.

The drawback of insomnia is that I was tired all day and still am.  But I'm fighting it til normal bedtime in the hopes that I can sleep. If not, well there's always another painting to do.

A murder

A murder of crows. Why are they called that?  I think its more the poetic terminology for a group of crows or ravens and the scientific word for the collective would be flock, like most other birds.

I'm working on the background for the crow painting and am not happy with it so far  Its just....blah.  I may see if I can save it or simply add the piece to the never never pile in the big drawer.  I hadn't planned a background for this piece as it wasn't intended as a full painting, more an exercise in colour and form.  Then I got carried away.  Not always a good idea.

There are elements of this that I like, but a lot I don't. I accept that everything I do won't turn out to match the vision in my head.  I also accept that each piece whether good or bad becomes a learning experience for me.

Update:  I've added this image Feb 4/10 as a better resolution image of the crow itself and a meeker background.   

And now for the murder of crows.  In Ottawa, every night a huge number of crows gather near the Experimental Research Farm to roost.  Dusk or dawn you can see, and hear them in their hundreds.  What makes them gather - and only in fall and winter - no one is really sure.  There is a thought that these are the younger birds but no concrete research has been done that I know of.

Ol' blue eyes

I usually have sketchbooks all over the house, pretty much in every room in fact, just in case something inspires me.

While the crow is still in progress, this blue eyed cat caught my eye.  Blue eyes in cats is usually reserved for Siamese and similar breeds but sometimes finds its way into crossbreeds.

This cream/ginger cat has the most beautiful eyes and because I love to draw eyes, I started it just as an informal sketch.   I also wanted to use some coloured pencils again, as I haven't touched them for awhile.  Its always a pleasure for me to get back to drawing again.

These are the progression shots I took along the way going from bottom to top.  It was done on Dayler Rowey Earthbound sketchbook, recycled brown paper using Derwent Coloursoft pencils.

If I had a cat with eyes such a lovely blue as this I'd be doing a lot of portraits of it I think.

Corvids continued

.

I have done more work on the crow, mostly building values and am nearly there.  Now I can start the fun part of adding detail to the piece.  This is watercolour, but may end up as a multimedia painting.  It depends on where I want to go with it.  Some times paintings just tell you what to do.  I just need to listen carefully enough.

Do you remember Alfred Hictchcock's film, The Birds?  Its outdated now in terms of special effects but at the time it sent chills down spines and a greater respect for birds of all kinds, bringing a whole new meaning to 'a murder of crows'.

While I don't hold much store for malicious intent in crows or most other animals (that seems reserved for humans), I do respect their intelligence.  In the TED talks, Joshua Klein gives an interesting lecture on the ability of crows to learn.  Fascinating.  Next time the vending machine won't work for you, find the nearest crow to help!