10 Days of Walking in the Winter Wonderland, Day 4

"Twosome"

It's Day 4 of 10 Days of Walking in the Winter Wonderland!

So for those of you who can't get into the Christmas spirit without a covering of snow on the ground I am presenting 10 days of snowscapes. And as promised here are the Cardinals. 

I'll bet you were expecting this painting:

I have painted a few Cardinal paintings. I love the contrast of their bright red plumage against the heavy winter sky. Even the female with her brown coloring still has quite a bit of orange and red popping through, making these birds easy to spot as they perch in the trees. Last year I painted the grouping of Cardinals for the Art of Winter Show at the Thousand Islands Arts Center. The painting won a Staff Pick Award and sold before the end of the show.

"Twosome" was painted for Associated Artists Holiday Show "Off the Wall", which gives customers the opportunity to purchase a painting and take it home that day instead of waiting till the end of the show. "Twosome" sold during the first week of the show so I guess I am not the only person who like cardinals.

Both paintings were done in watercolor, using crinkled plastic wrap on the wet surface to create a texture. When the plastic wrap is removed it leaves behind a random textured pattern of lines and creases which can be used as is, or enhanced with more pigment to create a sense of depth. The sky in  "Twosome" has touches of yellow to add warmth and the feeling of a bit of sunlight peeking through the clouds. The sky in "Cardinals" is definitely a winter sky; much colder although there is a very small bit of yellow and alizarin crimson to warm it up here and there for contrast.

You can read more about this technique by clicking on the link to a related post below.

Related Posts:

http://joanapplebaumart.blogspot.com/2014/12/for-birds-adding-life-to-subtle.html

Tomorrow: We're going skiing! (in our painting) I'll meet you at the chair lift!