"New Chicks" 4-30-08

I was at the Farm Center where I go to buy corn for my chickens, hardware type supplies and new mud boots when I need them. Well, they had new baby chicks! What can I say? I have a barn, I have chickens, I love chicks and being the little kid in a big kids body that I am...ahem...I bought them for myself!! It was to cheer myself up because I'm still hurting from my car accident.
Usually I would put them directly in the barn, but it is still quite chilly and I don't have a heat lamp set up yet or a pen. So I put them in the 'old' bathroom in the bathtub! Ha, what a surprise when my boys saw them!
I looked at it like an opportunity to draw them and do some studies, the dedicated artist that I am!

So the first page was sketches with a graphite mechanical pencil...it's hard to draw things that are constantly moving! The other page is watercolors that I played with. At the bottom you can see where I wet the paper first and touched it with my color on my brush tip. It makes fuzzy blobs that are fun to play with, but you have to be careful as to "how" blobby it gets. Watercolor has a mind of it's own, but that's what I like about it. You can play with this technique, just wet the paper first...let it dry a bit to lose some sheen, then touch paint to it and let it go. It will grow on it's own. Experiment with this to see how it reacts when your paper is wetter or drier. Then let it dry totally before you try to add details or they will be fuzzy too.
Go here to see my new Nature Sketching Class schedule! http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2008/05/nature-sketching-classes.html
or there's a link in the right hand column for my classes.

"Marsh Wren and Wood Thrush" 4-26-08 + 4-30-08

I've told you before I'm not the kind of person to waste time when I'm waiting around. Well, I started this sketch of a Marsh Wren while sitting in Regal Cinema waiting for the live broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera to begin! I put my sketchbook, a mechanical pencil and a small book with photos (it's listed on my sketchbook page) all in my purse. It was kind of low lighting but I was able to get it started, then later I finished the details. I hope I can see one in real life soon, I've heard their songs on bird tapes and it sounds so beautiful, like something from Walt Disney!

The Wood Thrush just happens to be one of my favorite birds, oh how I love hearing them sing when I'm near the woods! Especially near evening time. This one I did using Graphitint Watersoluble Pencils, they're watersoluble graphite. I only have two colors to experiment with, cocoa and chestnut, this one being chestnut. I really like these pencils and have to pick up some more to play with. You can sketch then wet it to make washes or bring out the vividness of color, then rework into it wet will give you VERY intense value or rework over it when it's dry. It's a lot of fun to play with and I love working in monotones. See three of my Goddess paintings on my website that show this...Autumn, Twilight, Etain. Someday I'll do a finer painting with these watersoluble pencils...ahmmm...when I have more time!!
I've added a short video clip that I took while hiking on May 7th, you can hear a Wood Thrush singing as I point it towards the trees. (no, you won't see any birds, just hear them!). ENJOY!!

" Evangola State Park" Brandt NY, April 25, 2008

Well I'm finally getting some pictures up from my day of exploring at Evangola State Park, in Brandt NY. (it's near Angola) My photographer friend Mark Baker and I are picking areas around Buffalo to go explore, he concentrates on photography while I grab some pictures and then try to sketch. It is nice to spend time with a friend this way but it is a little harder for me to settle down and draw things. I guess as we explore more together I'll get more comfortable with just saying, "I'll be sitting here for awhile while you go shooting". He got some neat shots of me working and I took the ones of my hand holding the palette in the creek bed and the cool "hanging by a root" photo.

It was a very overcast day, windy but pleasant enough. Sometimes that's a great kind of lighting for photography or drawing, no glaring sun to deal with. I sketched the covered bridge and wanted to work on it more at home, but never got time. That's why I waited so long to post this!, ah, the best laid plans of mice and women....ahem.
The picture of me standing in the stream, I'm sketching the scene very quickly using a permanent ink pen, then the close up of my hand holding the palette and pad shows how I hold it to use the watercolors. I just kept bending down to rinse my brush in the water flowing past me, no watercup necessary!







































Then I sat down on the bank to do a quick watercolor of the lake using my Chinese brush, the colors were really dull because of the type of day it was. But I wanted to experiment and practice painting outdoors. You can see in the picture that Mark took looking over my shoulder that I've spread my bag out in front of me, but all within quick reach in case I have to pack up suddenly and go. Um...rain, creepy men ...you ladies know what I mean! haha...another good reason to have a male friend on the exploration trip with you. A side note here to my painting, drawing, exploring lady friends, ALWAYS pay attention to what's going on around you!! Don't be naive, believe me you don't want to run into trouble out by yourself, better to be paying attention to who's around you.
Ok, back to more pleasant thoughts! I've also included an OK clip of the lakes waves. It was my intention to get a clip of the sound, but my friend Mark was diddling around next to me with his camera...made some noises. I'll shoot a better one next time!
Here's a link to Mark's phenomenal website www.mhbaker.com and Evangola State Park link: http://www.evangolastatepark.com/

"Bluebirds and Yellowflowers" 4-23-08

Today I've uploading my sketchbook pages that I did the other day (4-23-08). It was my first day going outside to draw since my car accident...what a great day to be out there! I got to observe the bluebirds trying to nest in one of the bluebird boxes I put up. A Red Spider Mite came and visited, then crawled all over my paint box. I tried to note the bugs I saw, one I need help identifying, the little brown one with tan spots.
The thing I wanted to draw most were the little yellow flowers, I still have to figure out what kind they are.

Check out the pictures I added, the Red Spider Mite was crawling over my white watercolor block, I photographed it through my magnifying glass! The other picture shows my field bag and it's contents...also my palette. I kept the little binoculars handing so I could keep checking out the bluebirds.

"Butterflies in the Doctor's Office" 4-15-08

If you click the picture you can read my notes about when I drew these butterflies. I was in an awful lot of pain from my car accident and waiting to see the Chiropractor. The day was sunny and gorgeous so I tried to occupy my mind by drawing. I brought my small field bag, sketchbook, and a small butterfly book. I did the initial sketches one day then worked on details another day. I listed the colors I used as usual, they are Inktense Watercolor Pencils. For the Eastern Tailed-Blue I tried laying down an even base color of Leaf Green and Field Green then wet it with a waterbrush. After it was dry I experimented with layering Violet on the left, Deep Indigo on the right and Leaf Green on the bottom. Doing the background first made the butterfly really stand out white so later I could just come in and very lightly add some colors for shading. To do this I touched the waterbrush tip to the pencil then I used the color that it picked up.
For the Zebra Swallowtail I laid in Ink Black for the stripes lightly then built it up till it was darker. I used lively colors around it to brighten my sketchbook, it was fun to experiment with layers of color. I touched up around his tail with a micron 005 permanent pen.
I just love using these Inktense Watercolor Pencils! The color is so vibrant! I would love to see one of these Zebra Swallowtails in person.

Car Accidents Can "Set You Back" ! 4-22-08

Well as my title alludes...I was in a car crash a few weeks ago, that's why I haven't posted. I was rolling right along preparing for my classes, going out hiking, getting ready to do plein air oil landscapes again when I got hit by someone who ran a stop sign! Sigh...well, thank God I wasn't hurt worse, my car was totaled and I got out myself but I did take a ride in the ambulance to the hospital. I joked with the EMT's that I guess you need to experience everything in your lifetime. I thought I'd be back to normal again right away but just as friends warned me, the pains and problems might show up later. Yup...they came! I won't go into detail about all the pain and suffering, I'm trying to focus on the positive.

The killer is the weather turned absolutely gorgeous in my area of the world, and I just didn't feel like going out to draw. What I did do was carry my sketchbook with me to the doctors offices, I've never ever been one to 'waste' time sitting around waiting.
I threw my field guide into my small field bag and my sketchbook, my inktense watercolor pencils and waterbrush. So...I nursed my interest in drawing along as I nursed my body and nerves. I even drew a chair while waiting for the Neurologist, chairs you know, are very good to practice drawing skills on. Think perspective!
I have a few pictures that show stages, with more to follow. If you take note of the dates, I did them about one week apart...wow I HATE moving so slow in my work, but I have to be patient everyone says. I am WAY behind on my drawing! I will also upload on another entry about the wonderful two openings I was in at the Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca. Lots of great photos from those events. So for now...here's some pages from my sketchbook, though unfinished still, please forgive my taking so long!

This last sketchbook page is from a butterfly field guide, it's an Eastern Tailed Blue. I did do more work on it since this was scanned, I'll upload it soon.
I hope to take you on a walk with me this Friday, I'm going exploring with a photographer friend of mine and I will post about it after.

The Burchfield Nature and Art Center Open House 3-28-08

(I'm posting this late because of the car accident)
This is the Open House of the Burchfield Nature Center where I'll be teaching Nature Sketching (for kids and adults), plein air Landscape Painting (oils), and a Fairy class if we can squeeze it in! It's a gorgeous gallery and many acres of grounds to walk on and discover, located right outside the city of Buffalo, nestled alongside the Buffalo Creek.

Each teacher had an area to display their work, I brought some oil landscapes, watercolor birds, and a few of my Goddess oil paintings to show how I combine my love of nature and mythology. I brought my field bag and actual supplies to show people who were interested. People were very curious and loved being able to look in my sketchbook, like a glimpes into someone's personal world. Well it 'IS' a glimpse into my personal world, parts of it! Every page I've shared here on my blog they were able to look at in person, it was great. Three times during the night, new student sign up sheets had to be printed for my Nature Sketching class!! Wow, looks like I'll be busy!


Some guests and friends checking out my display, (me talking with my hands as usual!), Dave, an old friend from college, Ken Morgan and Gene Witkowski, some of my photographer friends. And a picture of me and Cy Alessi ,
from "Art Voice" magazine.
The last photo I'm talking to an interested student, sharing my sketchbook with her.
Check out the website for the Burchfield and view the grounds, classes etc. I'll post pictures as I teach and explore the grounds myself.