Creative Slump?

I've been working on various aspects of the upcoming exhibition at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum on Harker's Island, NC and have nearly finished.  All I have left to do is to take my paintings to the Museum so it's a relief to get most of the preparations behind me.

I think I've mentioned it before but after a marathon painting period, I sometimes go into a creative slump where I don't want to see another canvas, paintbrush or tube of paint!  Well, it's happened this time too but I was determined to keep painting through it.

We planted a new-to-us variety of that old Southern staple, okra, and it's gorgeous!  Really, it's gorgeous.  It's a beautiful variegated maroon color with bits of lime green in it.  It's not often that mundane garden veggies inspire me to paint them but did I mention that this okra is gorgeous?

That's why I chose a few pods of it to try to paint through this slump.  I know I haven't done it justice.  Reds are notoriously hard to shade properly - if you add white, you get pink instead of a lighter shade of red.  You can supposedly add yellow to lighten but that doesn't always work either so I just did the best I could with it.  It was a learning piece and I wasn't expecting a masterpiece so wasn't all that disappointed when I didn't achieve one!

Another reason I wanted to paint is that I received some new paint from an order I placed a while ago.  I've been painting in alkyd oils for a while now and I really like them so I ordered some replacement (& new) colors in various brands so I could compare them.  They only just arrived yesterday so I'll let you know what I think about them in another post after I've had time to play with them a bit more.

In the meantime, I'll be in the studio painting!

Tatters at the End of Summer

Here it is the middle of August and it seems that everything is looking a bit on the ragged side.  The flowers are not as bright and perky as they were just a month ago.  And look at that butterfly - note his tattered back end - not the best look for the beautiful yellow Tiger Swallowtail, is it?

This is coming to the time of year that's my least favorite.  Most people look forward to the time when the weather cools down, the kids go back to school and the hectic summer activity slows down a bit.

I don't look forward to the autumn like most people do.  Give me the spring and summer every time.  I love seeing fresh, perfect flowers and butterflies with complete wings!

But, this is what nature has given us so I guess I'll just make the best of it and look forward to next year.

A Little Update

Wanted to give you a small update on our Carolina Wren nest.  As you can see, the nest was built but we've never seen an occupant so guess it was a decoy nest that the wrens will sometimes build.  I think it may be a bit late in the season for them to nest again so we'll just have to hold out hope for a family next year.

As far as the Cecropia Moth painting goes, I decided to cradle the panel and do without a frame altogether.  I think it looks much better.  Unfortunately, the edges are still wet so I can't show you a decent photo of the completed painting.  I just think cradling it gave the subject more breathing room and gave the moth the dignity of space she deserves!

I've now begun to think more on what needs to be done for the upcoming NC Wildlife Artists Society show at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, 1785 Island Road, Harkers Island, North Carolina.  This exhibition will run from September 10 - November 27, 2015 and if any of you will be in the area, I hope you'll pop in and take a look.  September through November is my favorite time to visit the North Carolina coast as the weather is still very mild and most of the tourists have gone.  The views are stunning of course but I just love the chance to wander the beach in solitude and just refresh my soul.  I know that sounds corny but the ocean has that magical effect on me.

The title of the show is "Images of Wild North Carolina (from the Mountains to the Coast)" and must depict North Carolina wildlife.  This will be my first NCWAS show and I'm very excited, yet nervous, of course.  I have no idea of what to expect from this exhibition but am just glad I'm getting to be a part of it.

I'll keep you posted as more details develop!

Cecropia Moth Finished

I think I've finally finished the Cecropia Moth and hope I've done her justice.  Yes, this is a female - you can tell because her antenna are smaller and thinner than those of a male.

Anyway, here is a photo of her with a frame that I'm considering for the painting.  The painting is not fully dry so the frame is just leaning against the painting.  That's why there's a shadow area on the left side of the painting.

The moth colors look pretty accurate on my monitor but the frame has more gray in it along with the brownish color.  The color of the frame goes well with the painting but I'm not sure it's THE frame even though the barnwood frames are very, very popular now.

So now that the moth has been completed, I've started a portrait of a pug - a really special pug who recently went to the Rainbow Bridge.  Jack was a dog I knew well and loved and that makes it harder for me to paint him, I think.  A friend once told me that it's hard to paint your own pets or those you know well because you know them in so many different moods and ways.  You get confused over which expression or look best portrays them.  Anyway, I want this painting to be especially perfect so wish me good success with it.  I'll post it when I finish.

First Tenents!

I'm kinda excited as we noticed a couple of Carolina Wrens investigating a new style birdhouse we put up on the porch.  This morning we noticed a piece of grass/straw hanging out of the house!

 You may remember the wren house we put up a week or so ago - well, even though the wrens still kept trying to build a nest in the ceiling fan (see photo on the left), they totally ignored the house my DH built.  I did a bit more research and found that the wrens don't like houses with small entry holes even though larger birds can't enter to take over the nest or destroy the wren eggs.

So my husband built another house and made the entry hole really large, almost 3" in diameter!  This house design is very unique and easy to build as the body of it is actually an old metal coffee can!  That's the house we have hanging up now.

The larger hole did the trick and we now have a pair of wrens building a nest in the new house!  The next step will be to enlarge the entry hole in the other bird house he built and see if we can attract another pair.

You can see both the unique design of the house as well as the over-sized piece of grass sticking out of the entry hole in the photo below.  Click on either photo to get an enlarged view.

Unfortunately, the entry hole faces out into the back yard and I probably won't be able to get photos of the nest or babies because the porch is fairly high off the ground and because of the angle needed to photograph it.  Maybe I can find a tall enough step ladder to put me on level with the birdhouse and use the zoom lens to get photos - we'll see what I can do.

This is sort of anti-climatic but I did finish the Cecropia Moth painting or at least I'm pretty sure it's finished.  It's a painting I even like for a change too - well, mostly like - there are always things that could be improved!  Will post a photo once the shine dries enough not to get glare.

Cecropia - WIP 4

I've finally gotten a chance to work more on the moth.  We've had tons of tomatoes to put up and after peeling one only to have it try to slip from my hand, I twisted my back trying to catch it.  It just wasn't comfortable to paint or really do much of anything.  I did make a large batch of tomato soup yesterday though.

Lest you think I'm joking or exaggerating the amount of tomatoes we're getting right now, I'll show you a photo of the harvest from the past two days!  And remember, I used a dozen or more in the soup I put into the freezer!

 Maybe now you can understand why I'm not too keen on the harvest when I have paintings in the works!  It takes forever to freeze any and the soup yesterday took most of the day to fix.

 But, I'm feeling good and in the mood to paint so the tomatoes will either just have to wait or my husband can take them to the food bank or something.  There are more coming in all the time anyway.

The Cecropia moth is coming along and looking much as I'd hoped it would.  Even though I'm never totally satisfied with my work, I'm relatively pleased with this one so far.  The bottom wings still need some work and the viewer's left wing isn't finished but I feel as if I've gotten quite a bit accomplished today.  After the moth is totally finished, I'll revisit the background.

So that's the update for now.  Hopefully more tomorrow!

Cecropia Moth WIP3

I've been working more on the Cecropia moth and am fairly pleased with the way it's going.  With painting, it's usually painting one thing then having to adjust something else so it's been slow going.  However, there IS some progress and hopefully, this painting  will be finished soon.

I've lightened the background and still want to do more with it but will wait to see exactly what it might need after more is done with the moth.

The center wings are very detailed at the bottom edges so it will take some time to finish them.  Also, the body is just blocked in and will need to be refined and the (viewer's) left wing needs to be completed.  That's not so much left to do, right?