Monday, August 11, 2008

Illustration Friday: "Sail"

This sweet little robin is sailing along through the rain puddles letting everyone know that spring is on the way! You can just see the watery sun peeking through.

I have been trying to learn watercolor on my own for some time and I've really struggled with it. I'm pretty determined to learn, so ANY help you can give me I would appreciate. I am loving IF and all the inspiration from y'all!



23 comments:

Gai said...

I think you have captured well the colours in your illustration. It has a good effect.

Unknown said...

very very poetic, thank you for visiting my blog!

Bella Sinclair said...

So wonderfully sweet! Sure says spring to me. I like your swirls in the water.

Solvere volo said...

I love the concept of the bird singing flowers! Your watercolor work is very nice, too!

Unknown said...

Wonderful! I love it!

Anonymous said...

this is so beautiful - just wonderful colors and details - lovely illustration:-)

Princess said...

Good job mama! Now can we all be expecting a painting for Christmas??!!!

Miss & love yall...kiss the boys & give Jeff a squeeze for me!

FRAN said...

Thanks!...like your images too...nice use of watercolours!

Linda Kay said...

Great illustration--love the bird & umbrella, so unexpected. There is just one rule of watercolor that I use--purchase good, heavy paper. That way you can manipulate the washes and "abuse" the paper as you wish. Happy WC!
Linda

Mônica said...

What a lovely design, so delicate and dreamy!
I agree with Linda, with watercolor it's important to use good materials, like good heavy watercolor paper and brushes. You can use student level watercolors, but again good quality, from Winsor and Newton or Grumbacher, etc. And then it's just practice, it gets better with each try.
This one already came out beautifully, with lovely washes!

Unknown said...

Fantastic!
Very delicate and what a nice narrative.
Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

Lovely bird. I love the twirls in the water; they make it look like the bird is happily drifting as the umbrella slowly turns. And the flower song, very nice. And, thank you for your comment on my "sail". Also, I am really looking forward to the 2009 Diary project being ready; thanks for the link!

beckasharpe said...

I love your take on the topic, especially the flower song and the colours.

Thanks for the kind comment too :o)

Artoholic said...

I'm a big fan of birds, of rain and umbrellas - all 3 in the one illo is just fabulous!

Cheers

Cindy

creationsbyeve said...

Lovely illustration! :)

ELLA ELVIANA said...

that's sweet!

Sandy said...

Oh this is clever, missed it last week, better late than never to find. Good job!

NANCY LEFKO said...

sweet and lovely watercolor !!!

Eugenia Gina said...

this one is nice, I love the white space on the right, it is very nice to see a composition that using 'yin and yang', keep on drawing :D!

Pam Mattick Art and Stuff said...

Oh, I love your little bird and umbrella. Thank you for the kind comments about Faith Folk. That is exactly why I started it, I could not find that community of believers in one spot...so figured it was up to me :)
Please come back often.
Blessings,
Pam

Carolyn said...

Hello Kathy, thank you for the nice comment you left for me on my blog.
I think your doing an awesome job on your watercolor. I love how bright the umbrella is and how it contrasts against the blue water. I do not paint in watercolor. But, I used to have this neighbor/friend of the family who did paint with water color. (his whole family did).
He gave me some pretty neat tips. I'll share them with you and you never know, maybe you already know them or maybe it will be useful.
When painting with acrylic or oil you usually start with the furthest object to the back and work your way front. With watercolor he said to start with the front and work your way back.
If you want to paint on your paper and miss certain areas, for instance if your painting snow. You wet your paper and sprinkle SALT on the area that would be where the snow is. Then when it is dry you shake it off and paint over that area with your color. The color will not go where the salt lays.
ummmm... it was soo long ago, he gave me some really neat tips. If I can think of anymore I will share them with you.
But you seem to know what your doing because that is a really pretty painting!
Sorry to ramble on....
Carolyn
PS. I just LOVE this doll class were taking.

Michelle Palmer said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! LOVE your illustrations~ From one self-taught watercolorists to another...you're work is FANTASTIC!
It is a wonderful medium to work with...each paper gives you different results. The best advice I can offer is to purchase the highest quality your budget will allow. Paper seems to be most important but you do want to spend a little extra for professional grade pigments. Many of my students would purchase "expensive" materials...all fancy & wrapped with embellishments~ only to find it would have looked pretty on the shelf, not painted on. The best materials are not fancy...until you put your brush to them!
Wishing you the best!
Michelle

Quilt Rat said...

oh my .........I just LOVE this!