V L

My sit spot is in my back yard watching the birds that come to my feeders.  Right now Ruby-throated hummingbirds are really tanking up preparing to migrate across the Gulf of Mexico.  It is fascinating to watch them protect territory and fend off "invaders".  Also, we were affected by Hurricane Nicholas so I wondered how much that had affected their migration.  I really enjoyed the process of painting one of them at a feeder, but I have to admit, I wasn't too far out in the field so I had a table and everything I needed at hand. I try to be sure I include my observations and questions - even if its about my painting/drawing technique.  I have really learned a lot about using water color, although I tend to default back to colored pencils.

This was my firs texperience with watercolors.  I've mostly used colored pencils.  It was actually more difficult thanI expected.  In fact after it dried I went back in with some colored pencil,  a black gel pen and a white gel pen. I did have trouble mixing the browns in my palette.  I would get to a spot where the color wasn't quite right, but I don't know my paints well enough to know how to get to where I wanted. Yes, focussing on the colors made me notice the different shades of gray as well as the different sades of brown. I also became very aware of the patterns in the feathers and my own inexperience in capturing them.

I was amazed at how accurate my drawing turned out.  It was fun, but several times I felt like I was getting lost.  I tried to keep myself from viewing it as a bird and kept going back to just drawing the shapes.

1. I did a comparison study on 2 different firebushes I have in my yard.  One had yellow flowers and one had red flowers, but I've noticed before there are differences in the 2 bushes.  I was very surprised to observe that the red blooming firebush had 3 leaves around the stem and the yellow blooming one had 4 leaves.  Then I had to do more research to be sure they actually were the same kind of plant. 2. I am still better at writing than drawing, but enjoyed the drawing experience.  Adding numbers made a big difference in my observations. 

1) I like drawing from a photo.  The bird doesn't move and I can get posture and proportion better.  I can erase and correct.  I'm still working on the need to get an "A" on the test.  I found the wings to be really challenging.  How much detail to put in and how to draw what i was really seeing. 2) I didn't notice all the lichen and interesting stuff going on on the limb until I started trying to draw it. This definitely would make a difference in nature journaling.  I guess there's always a decision about where to stop and what details to put in.