My sweetheart just had a big birthday this past weekend, and I know how much he loves bald eagles – they are, unquestionably, his patronus. I know as a beginner painter I am likely to make big mistakes when trying to paint…well…basically anything, but I truly liked how this one turned out.
Eagle Over Mountains
I love to gift my people with cards that are meaningful to them, and that bring some sort of reference or symbology to what we are celebrating.
What should I paint next? Any suggestions for Easter? That would be fun!
I’m sipping on my coffee, thinking about how accomplished I feel after finishing one more painting today. I’m fantasizing that painting is my full-time job, and that living off my art is making me rich. Is that what all artists must dream of? Fortunately, I’m a little more realistic than most artistic souls…
Free-handed, dry on wet.
Beija-Flores is the plural of the compound word ‘beijo-flor’, which in Portuguese means ‘hummingbird’.
This is another piece to celebrate the month of love! It’s just too cute.
My favorite part about this painting is the lack of hard lines. The aquarela really feels like water. I love how the paint dried up, so maaarblelous…
Happy 2023! I’ve been MIA from the blog but in real life I’ve been working on some cute pieces, including this lovely (and fairly easy) idea for a Valentine’s Day card:
‘Mates For Life‘
I painted this one for my beloved parter, it was inspired by an image I found on Google.
Also, I’ve been taking an online watercolor course, I intend to share more information about it in the upcoming posts, so stay tuned!
I have been missing home very much lately. It’s been almost three years since I last visited my home country. So I decided to start a new series of paintings that remind me of it, and that make me feel closer to it.
Here’s my inspiration, a picture off the internet.
One of the exercises I’ve been doing is to watch and replicate. The very first paintings I have done required outlines as step one. I was not confident enough to freely strike the brush onto paper. I needed some sort of assurance that the work would be “under control”. Eventually, I learned different techniques of watercolor painting and I’ve been able to freehand paint ever since.
I started by painting the toucan’s chest – wet on dry. Always start with the lightest areas of your paint, if needed use the paper as your white. I love using white paint because of its texture and finish.Art is all about personal preference.
As I waited for the chest to dry out I began painting its beak. Honestly, it was my favorite part. I love the yellow and orange combination.
As the other parts were still drying I worked on the branch that my toucan would sit on. (The weather has been nicer here in the Midwest, one of the signs of it is the paint taking longer to dry – it means the humidity levels have gone up! Thank goodness!)
Then it’s time to work with the black paint. I started off with the smaller details on its beak, eye and then body. I purposely left some areas unpainted and used the paper as my white for some highlighted points, dimensions and texture.
Painting the foliage around the toucan was fun and so relaxing. It was the step that didn’t require much precision. All I needed was my carefree imagination and a combination of greens and yellows that felt good – that was easy, green and yellow are the National colors of my home country. I just painted the leaves away…
‘Tucano Tupiniquim’
“Tupiniquim” is the name of one of our tribes. We often refer to ourselves, our culture, and anything we love and enjoy from our country as tupiniquins. It’s a culture for us. So, there it is! My Tupiniquim Toucan, a little bit fluffy, but a very happy one!
Gisele's Gallery 