• Montana
      Participant
      Chirps: 15
      I found that the water brushes don't work for me but regular water color brushes. I loved painting this and it's by far my best watercolor painting...ever. Putting it all together worked well. image0
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 19
      I have been working with the water colors trying to create depth with just the color, instead of the pencil.  I came across this delightful photograph and I just had to draw it and color it.   Inkedbirds on a branch_LI
    • Terri
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Liz - I want to thank you for these lessons in watercolor.  I haven't started working on them yet, but I've learned so much in the past few days of watching how to blend colors, doing palettes and watching the start to finish video.  I took a watercolor course a long time ago and gave up on it because there was very little instruction and I felt like I was really out of my element.  Since that time I've always felt that I was color challenged and wouldn't be able to do watercolor.  After watching these videos, I feel that I may just be able to do this!  Your instruction is very, very helpful!  Thanks for giving me a boost into watercolor!
    • sondra
      Participant
      Chirps: 21
      7E276FC1-603B-45D4-A9F3-BE140461296F
      • Cecilia
        Participant
        Chirps: 19
        I love these! You captured the motion very well. Thanks for sharing :)
    • sondra
      Participant
      Chirps: 21
      5A7D7F90-6267-4C8E-940B-9B8330FC2E29L
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 16
      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.403EC678-CF45-4800-BDF6-BF1EAAAAC3FF
      • adriana
        Participant
        Chirps: 13
        Really good! Its beautiful and you did an awesome job using the pencil to make it darker
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 16
      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!8FB19B43-AD44-42D0-B62A-ED14E34B11F0
    • Kelly
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      9BE49E2D-D105-4737-8AFE-40B1D1B54753 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.
      • sondra
        Participant
        Chirps: 21
        This is so nice. Great detail.
      • Géry
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        Oh! You are very lucky to see that rare and endangered wood warbler species that breeds in old-growth hardwood forests! Beautifull sketch too!
      • Lisa
        Participant
        Chirps: 13
        So lovely! I might have seen one this spring, although they are quite rare in Maine. You are so lucky to have this bird in your neck of the woods. Beautiful painting!
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 19
      And another.   Kingfisher in color
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 19
      Here is another.   Red Breasted Nuthatch in color
      • sondra
        Participant
        Chirps: 21
        Your drawings/paintings are so nice. Great observations.
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 19
      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. House Finch in color
    • Leah
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      CWWReferenceR2 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!
    • Cristina
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      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: IMG_20200504_171639524     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 IMG_20200504_172104113
    • Jenny
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      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!D436204D-B1F0-44F6-8994-86F6C5F77542  
    • Student Birder
      Participant
      Chirps: 21
      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: Cedar Waxwing and Berry
    • Rose
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      first watercolor attempt ever- lilac breasted roller- one of my favorite birds.  Really enjoyed this- I have learned so much from this outstanding course   DD0B7923-4247-41F1-9C0A-5B0A28BD151C
    • amy
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      347103E5-6A54-4D5B-A661-FE7B82A6EC17kind 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.
    • Mudito
      Participant
      Chirps: 14
      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. image
      • Jenny
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        What a beautiful page!  You really captured the white crowned, did you do your drawing from your observations at your feeder?  If so, amazing and bravo!  If from a photo, bravo too
    • Amy
      Participant
      Chirps: 14
      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.  IMG_2976 3
      • Tatiana
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        I really like your painting. Looks so elegant!
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      IMG_2880IMG_2879 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.
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      IMG_2862 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.
    • Allison
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      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. 202B7851-1191-4DF6-9F59-570C02AD211A
      • Jenny
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        It’s wonderful and the eye is perfect, looks alive!
    • Leah
      Participant
      Chirps: 15
      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!
    • S
      Participant
      Chirps: 32
      Working from a photo.  My niece's cat Caspi.91923018_1053403388393992_8215855357268852736_n
      • Cristina
        Participant
        Chirps: 5
        This is amazing
      • Tanis
        Participant
        Chirps: 23
        This is amazing, especially the way you have captured the fur. How did you achieve the colour for its pads?
    • David
      Participant
      Chirps: 21
      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.92052378_245506916488342_4606270502753796096_n92243853_637936526771077_4085894365409443840_n