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Advantage of a rainy day - I decided to attempt to use the metallic/florescent watercolors that I received when I first ordered to see what I could do. Others have mentioned they also got this pallet by mistake - it doesn’t contain a black or any flat color. Our only local hummingbird is the ruby throated, and it has iridescent colors, so that was my pick. This was from a photo in Stokes Field Guide - I found I could add some darkness with my pencil which I wouldn’t have tried if I’d had the regular color palette. So a good experiment.

It’s been pouring rain the last couple of days so no outdoor fun. I went back to one of my earlier journal entries to fill in a picture of the Caspian Tern - we see a lot of them flying up and down the Lake Michigan shore, and I’d seen several that day. My journal is more wordy, lots of text, little room for pictures, but filled this in trying to use some of the new water color techniques I have been learning. I’ve got to work on the wash technique. I needed to keep a lot of white for the tern. Adding the blue sky after the fact was tricky and it’s uneven. I also used a reference pic from Stokes Field Guide. Definitely need to practice watching the real thing!

I haven’t taken my kit outdoors yet because it’s peak migration season here and I’m moving around too much.  But I did make this journal page from a reference photo I took in the field.

And another.  

Here is another.  

I finally got brave enough to try color on my drawings, actually copies of my drawings, copies onto watercolor paper.  I am not totally pleased with them but here they are and I would like suggestions from any  other students.

Still working on figuring out the techniques to get the right depth and natural textures. Seems like I need to work on the consistency (pigment to water ratio). Appreciate any tips!

Just as you say, the first one won't be the best one, but I have followed you during the video and this is the result:     Also, I went out and took notes on how this flower dry's up, it was pretty exciting putting what we have learn into practice

I can’t get over how great this color set is, how portable , and how neat the water pen/brushes are!  I’m struggling to get the detail, but it’s super fun- something I look forward to, yes, the calming and focused joy of art, what a wonderful course ! Thank you!  

I finally got around to drawing the cedar waxwing with berries. It was a challenge to get the subtlety of the colors and forms of this beautiful bird.  Trudy Here is my attempt:

first watercolor attempt ever- lilac breasted roller- one of my favorite birds.  Really enjoyed this- I have learned so much from this outstanding course  

kind of amazed how successful I’m feeling with this course!!! I *see* much better, and I depict what I’m seeing a fair bit better. Good lessons and exercises.

I am finished the course now and loved it.  I learned a lot and feel much more comfortable with watercolour now.  Even drawing these little bitty birds and flowers.  I feel the look of my journal is emerging.  I am heavy on the images, poetry and commentary, pretty lax on the scientific stuff. Keeping track off all the tools and equipment is a challenge for me.  Nearly every sit spot claims a pencil, eraser or a pen cap, some of which I do find at a later time.  I spend a lot of time close to home as I love my comfy folding chair but it is very awkward to carry.  So my garden and my bird feeder are the focus of my pages.  In this time of Covid 19 I am staying home a lot, most of the time in fact.  This course has greatly helped me to fill my days and to get me outdoors to do it. I continue to draw from photos but do practice the gesture drawing from time to time and it gives me ideas if not particularly good drawing that I work on to the finish.  Hope to see that improve over the summer. Forgot to take a picture of the very first bird but there is considerable improvement over the time of the course. So thanks to Liz for her really great classes.  It was especially helpful for me to see her actually doing the drawing and painting.

I know I have improved.  Painting from a photo taken in the field seems to be the easiest option for me now.  Too cold and snowy right now to find a warm sit spot.  This fox surprised us on the golf course.  Its not as good as I'd like - practice practice practice!  But better than I ever could have done several months ago.  

It was much easier painting from a picture than in nature.  I noticed that the shadows changed before I was finished, I tried to use all of the techniques learned to date on these drawings.

Oriole I saw in my yard, found a picture in one of my bird books to sketch, then watercolor.  I tried to use most of the ideas that have been shared.  how to get proper proportion, color matching, and trying to pay more attention to detail and the eye.

It is definitely going to take practice to learn to control the watercolors. This is a brown headed nuthatch I copied from the Merlin photo. Not too bad for my first solo attempt.

Sketching and painting the Steller's Jay that I was drawing took a long time, though I thought it wouldn't take as much time as it actually did. Though this was a really fun experience, and I would love to keep on doing this!

Working from a photo.  My niece's cat Caspi.

My sketches took me a lot more time then I was expecting. I was forced to draw and paint from photo, but I did both in my backyard without furniture. I sat on the floor so I can experience doing this in an unconfortable position. I noticed something i wasn't expecting: in the Northern Shoveler the speculum is more visible in the reflection than in the actual bird. I never notice that before. I'm used to ID directly from the bird but maybe I can search for "clues" or field marks elsewhere, like reflections.

For a few years I have tried to photograph the tree swallows with no success. But today was different. While weeding quietly I noticed these birds accepted me and put on a show. They fed their young in the nesting boxes. They chattered with each other. I love the way they fly - just swoop on buy. I only see them in the Spring and the Fall. They are never at my bird feeders. I discovered later they are insect feeders. But what I love most about them is their color. Their dorsal side is this iridescent blue green color, while their belly is a vivid white. Sometimes when they sit on the fence they remind me of mini penguins because of their color contrast. This was a perfect Spring day in E. TN. Temps were in the 60’s with a slight breeze blowing.

I have been taking advantage of beautiful weather here in Boquete to spend time in the garden and observe the many birds and flowers.  The woodpecker is a rare sight and the pink ginger is changing everyday as the flowers open and put out new blossoms.  This course has been helpful in raising my awareness of how quickly even the flowers change from day to day.

It's still too chilly here in Northern Indiana to go sit out back and sketch, so I've been working on copying some of my birding photos. I'm pretty encouraged given I hadn't drawn anything since about the 5th grade - close to 60 years ago. The hardest thing for me is mixing colors. I suspect it will be even more difficult once I head outside.

I'm am very happy and suprised with the way this turned out! I think I found my niche!