Olivia

".... pss, wake up! yes, I know, it´s raining and it´s a cloudy day, but, don't you think it's the perfect day to start it drawing? so quiet, relaxing, inspiring... first of all, let me tell you that I can appreciate that you grow and develop in a very healthy way, your warm and incipient brown tones prove it, seems like you feel confortable and calm too, surrounded and protected by all those powerful `acículas´, but... I can see some kind of loneliness, maybe, not too many birds or other species today..." "... yes! you're right, obviously they prefer leafy trees with bushy leaves, making them feel warmer,  I suppose offering them more shelter, but I'm not worried, in other conditions they will return, it´s nature and their mechanisms... but let me start sketching you, because in my perception I could appreciate an harmonious and lovely contrast between the different scales of rose on the leaden gray background. creating an anticipatory, balanced and beautiful canvas..." "... hey! and what about me? no connection? no merit? It could be fun, why don´t you try to give shape and relief ... to those brilliant droplets that I keep carefully in balance and their double function, drop by drop, slowly, with a lot of pulse and the exact amount of water and paint with your amazing and fantastic brushes? can you do it achieving the same effect?..."

I´m really satisfied with the composition that I got for this exercise, because I think is balanced in terms of shapes and colors, obviously according to the season and their different landscapes and natural motifs, otherwise, sometimes its difficult but step by step, I´m achieving to capture the contrasts, reliefs and tones that nature expresses us and I hope, surprised again for how easy watercolors make it. Usually I investigate to identify with scientific names to know more about what I´m drawing and can share it, and to finish specially in details and with all this information, gather each technique learned in the same picture. I love to see how every natural journalist develop these techniques and personalize it, creating and contributing with really differents points of view or interpretations in their blocks, and that's what makes it interesting.    

I started using watercolors about two months ago, and as we progress in lessons, I can see all the possibilities that offers us. For this exercise, I created my own palette selecting earth tones´ and other two for mixing, as the most suitable to representfossils´ focusing my attention on the left one (attached scientific names). About ¿any discovery? not sure, but draw all privilege information that fossils provide us to know about landscapes in the pass, for example, and be able to express with volumes, reliefs, shadows, etc. that watercolors offers me, it makes me feel like an enthusiastic archaeologist finding some hidden and precious treasure , thank you.

It was fun but more difficult than I thought at first. Usually I start drawing or I take as a guide from top (head) to bottom (rest of the body), until the drawing is complete, and curious but for the exercise, I needed to do in the same way so I started draw in the opposite direction, bottom (h.) to top (r.o.b) / In combination I could see what bird is, and then, looking for different shapes, lines, etc (and getting to fly my imagination of course) I found yes, something else, but it´s easy to find it if you roll your eyes (it's a little trick) that I shade to emphasise.

of course `gesture drawing´ helps me with the observations, but was difficult to coordinate both of them, because capturing a specific moment when I don´t Know when the animal leaves the scene, or change their movements or posture, made me feel a little nervous and was not easy to represent so quickly.  I agree with one of the nature journalist´s comment, that sometimes feels like the the drawing is unfinished, and I need to highlight, shade, color, etc. but it´s not the essence of the exercise I suppose, so once again, a question of practice, anyway, for this first time, I´am quite happy and satisfied with the result.

It wasn´t easy because in many years of drawing, I never considered to do it with this method, and yes, it´s true, helps you focus exclusively on the subject, concentrate and appreciate the details slowly, but feels, or my personal perception, was a difficult connection between eye and hand at the same time, but I will put it into practice, its a very interesting, healthy and surprising experience, especially when you see the result.

• Trying to put in practice several `hatchings´ for this drawing, but when I took the draw´s photo, lights and shadows appears in the opposite distribution as you can appreciate.- I hope next time.