Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Duckling


Here's my submission to the Paint and Draw Together artist group. My life has finally settled by increments enough for me to be able to sit down and paint for six point two minutes.

This is not a photograph I would ever have chosen to paint on my own. I typically shy away, like running and screaming away, from water and reflections as I have no experience or skill at doing them well, or evenly poorly. But that's what's so great about these online challenges. Even though I technically don't have to paint any of these challenges that I find, er, challenging, something about my kind of obsessive personality won't let me rest until I face my challenge head on.

So I painted the dang duck.

Duckling. Whatever.

I think it came out OK. Not bad for someone who has painted water exactly three times in her ten year painting career. Now I'm referring to myself in the third person. I must need a nap.

Whatchya'll think of my duck? Please give me any and all suggestions, tips, techniques, and pointers to painting water and reflections.

Thanks. Swim on.

2 comments:

  1. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim. ...

    I think your duck looks sweet not sour yet kinda unusual with the three heads in the water. Perhaps I would put more contrast in the water by pushing the darks darker and also some white highlights/ scratches/ textures to add movement. I'm thinking of the kind you'd find in a Japanese woodblock print.

    I shall swim on now-

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  2. Having a family of my own, I know how difficult it was at times just to get a few seconds to paint - especially when my children were young and living at home. Just painting is the best teacher you will ever have, so taking advantage of that 6.2 minutes to do your art is impressive in itself!

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