By trying to match the shade for the chrysalis, I realized the importance of using tint. I also muted the leaves with a bit of red because the original chartreuse popped out too much. In trying to add some mottling, I used too much water and that caused some hard edges. Most importantly, this exercise brought me right back to the beginning because what drove this for me was trying to document the fascinating process of the monarch butterfly. During the week I had been observing the caterpillars and thought they were dying. I was very dismayed. Yet, when I started researching I learned about their 5 molting phases. What a blessing to observe this so closely! I also worried that the metamorphic process was coming too late in the year. Now I know there are 4 generations of monarchs that complete the entire journey to Mexico. By seeing them this late in Virginia, this means that what I am observing is the 4th generation that will fly down to Mexico and start the 1st generation all over again!

Practice painting as realistically as possible (for me) based on photo of Olive Backed Sunbird from eBird. This is a bird I often see around home, but they are very active. After spending a fair bit of time on the “realistic” version, just for fun I decided to do quick gesture sketches and add some of the left-over paint.

I love how the watercolor kits are so easy to carry but I once forgot to bring a paper towel for drying/wiping my brush. It made things a lot harder. So now I carry a little pencil box with scratch paper and paper towels to throw in with my personal kit. I find I have the hardest time waiting for the paint to dry and when I don't, sometimes the colors run together, like the yellow in this Seaside Sparrow's face. Also, eyes are hard to get right!

I painted from a photo this prairie warbler. I practiced using negative space, mixing colors, and attempting to keep my brush dry enough for some of the detail. I came out much better than my first attempt at a bird in watercolors! But I still need lots of practice.

I bring my binoculars along with my art materials. Spring is such an amazing time to see returning songbirds and the woods are full of warblers. Even if they don't sit still enough to draw or paint, I will try and commit them to memory for later. Bug repellent is a must have! I also bring water for myself in addition to refilling pens if need be. I try to note anything interesting, or things I want to look up when I get home. Lugging too many guide books can be a hassle. This was my best attempt at a landscape; a view off an escarpment atop Browns Hill.

Organizing material: Preparing my tools in a special bag helped so much. I had everything I needed and I was ready to go. While outdoors, I needed an extra empty bottle to discard used water. I will include it for next time. Responding to observation with drawing and water color is challenging and fun. It is exciting to mix colors to match with nature. I became more curious and tried to find answers to the questions I had during my observations. Below is my trial of capturing very nice trees. It is amazing how you see things differently when you draw and paint. Water color is a wonderful medium, because it is transparent and works well while painting outdoors. Negative space helped so much. I managed to correct proportions and draw more accurately.

The weather has been marginal to terrible this week.  I haven't seen the mountain I want to use for my landscape in days...feels like Denali!  As a result, I'm not getting out in the field much and end up painting a view from my window.  I'm not real happy with my landscape, but I feel like I learned a lot doing it.  I really have focused on my observational skills everywhere that I go, and think about how I would paint various scenes, how I might apply the techniques we've learned, what I need to work on and do differently.  I do think I will take an extra paintbrush with me to use for dry on dry, the water brush is not working for me.

1. I am not managing my materials well in the field, I am pretty much a kit explosion.  My watercolours come in tubes so that doesn't help.  Having said that, I am enjoying the process.

Getting deep colors with lots of value was challenging, but repeated layering (and drying time between layers!) helped a lot. I also used a "stippling" technique with points of color on the tip of the brush very useful. Initial sketch and watercolor painting based on recent cover of Birds & Blooms.

I painted this from a photo on the Birdwatchers of NH Facebook page.  Still working on balancing values but progress.  I attempted using white pencil for some feather features some show up but not all.  I had fun with this and am happy with the eye details. The bird is a White Throated Sparrow.

This has been a challenging attempt to draw and paint a female cardinal.  I used  mainly wet on dry technique in most of this  picture with layering of color in the body. Used some dry brush on the branches and layering over them.  I tried to create the shape by varying light wash on body .  

I picked a picture of a tufted titmouse from a magazine; this was different for me as I am used to using regular watercolor brushes and take my time and usually would take me at least a month to paint a detailed picture. I went outside my boundaries and did this in 3 days. so it is not very good, but okay.

I haven't done anything in the field yet. But here's my first line and wash from a reference photo that I took from my bird feeder. I struggle with not worrying about every detail and trying to make it look photo realistic. Although I enjoy working that way, for my field journal I want to keep things more simple and loose. One effect I want to achieve is keeping the focus/ detail/ colors on the main subject with the light wash and sketchy surroundings. I definitely have room for improvement, but for now I'm happy with my first try.

My attempt at a Yucatan Vireo (Vireo magister) based on a photo on the BOW account for the species. I often encountered this species while conducting fieldwork for my master's thesis, studying the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris) in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and on Isla Cozumel. I even found a few nests, which formed the basis of a manuscript that I just submitted. Working on that manuscript and thinking about vireos made me want to try painting one, and this piece is the result. This sketch/portrait is the first time I've produced something in color that I was pretty proud of. For a long time, I've found making art in color daunting, probably because I didn't have the patience to experiment more and find the exact effect I wanted. I always dislike the resulting texture of colored pencils and never wanted the mess of other painting media. Liz's art and this class have shown me the media I was missing: watercolor. I still want to refine some techniques and pick up more tricks of the trade, and I'm looking forward to tackling more projects. I have my eyes set on a Greater Ani group portrait in the near future :) Thanks, Liz!

This is from a photo.  I have enjoyed this class.  I hope to do field sketching when spring arrives and I can get outside to sketch.  Also hoping to improve my watercolor painting.  And sketching birds which I enjoy doing.

I did this from a photo since I was painting a 5am before the sun came out, it’s not super accurate and I ran out of time for more detail.  I did the left half of this scene.

Getting outside.  How to add white lacy rime frosted branches in front of dark trees?