More Play Time!

And even our 'bandits' are taking time out to play and to get into nischief!

I don't know if you can tell or not but that's a baby raccoon butt going over the fence to the vegetable garden!  The garden is my husband's domain and he thinks it's cute that the little thieves have learned to get into the garden as well as into the back yard in general!  He just feels that way because most of the vegetables have quit producing for the season but what about all the new and tender vegetables we should have next year?

Well, as I said, that's his problem but I have a feeling he'll regret not doing something now while they're little!  Grown raccoons can wreak havoc!

I got a replacement brush today for the one that I ordered that wasn't right.  And Jerry's Artarama was kind enough to let me keep the brush that was wrong.  I'm sure it would have cost them more to pay for returning it than the cost of the brush but it was a nice thing to do anyway and filbert brushes are my favorite for painting in gouache.

The new brush gave me an excuse to play today and I painted a great egret standing on a sand bar waiting to catch dinner!  I call it "Fishing Without a License" and it was something of a quickie.

Hmmm, the shading doesn't show up all that well on this monitor so hope it does for yours.  It was a fun painting after spending most of the day at, or traveling to or from, the coast.

My husband and I took three of my paintings down to Harker's Island to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum for the annual NC Wildlife Artists Society exhibition.  The people at the Museum are just wonderful and the Museum itself is fabulous with lots to look at and learn about.  Last year was my first time there but Pam Morris, the Director, is such a pleasure to know that it felt like I'd been doing the show for years.

Anyway, the show gets underway on Friday, August 19th with an opening reception that is supposed to be like no other.  I'm told the Museum isn't satisfied with cheese and crackers and cheap wine but puts on a spread that could pass for a full meal.  The reception is open to the public so if you're in the area, you should make it a point to attend!  I'd love to go but it's so far down there plus it's at 8 pm which is almost bedtime for us old fogies!  One glass of wine and I'd probably fall asleep!

The show is supposed to run from August 19. 2016 to November 17, 2016 so hope you can make it sometime during those dates.

OK, back to playing with my new brush - I want to do some more painting before I decide whether I like it or not.  I do like the #8 round Escoda Versatil but this #12 is made a bit differently so I'm not as sure about it yet.

Maybe another new painting tomorrow or at least a WIP.

A Put Off Painting!

I honestly don't know how long I've been "working" on this - several years I'm sure.  It's one of those paintings that I really want to finish but nothing seems to go right with it.

For one thing, it's being painted in acrylics which is my nemesis.  And for another thing, it's all dark, creepy and green except for the egret.  Of course, all the swamps I've been in were dark, creepy and slimy green so I guess it's pretty authentic!

I guess I don't mind the green so much and I actually like the background of trees although there's still a little bit more to do there.  The thing with slimy green swamps is the green on the surface is sometimes kind of phosphorescent and I'd like to portray that but it's escaping me.  The foreground, and of course the bird,  need a lot of work and I'm just not sure where to go with them.

The composition is a mix of many reference photos and my own memories of camping in the swamps of Mississippi back in the late 60's.  I guess I want to capture the feel of the swamp rather than the actual look of it and it's proving a very elusive thing to do! It's too bad one can't paint in the sound of a bobcat's cry in the middle of the night.  I'm sure that would certainly complete the picture of the very essence of the swamp!