377 Empty Nest With Feather

Today was an absolutely glorious day.  I blew off all my other responsibilities and sat on the patio and painted for most of the day with Oliver by my side.  The breeze, other than disturbing my still life, was lovely.

I am so happy that, once again, the beautiful song birds are populating our neighborhood.  For the last couple of years, we had sharp shinned hawks across the street from us.  (Wish I had a feather or two.)  Although it was fascinating to watch them pluck fresh twigs from trees to make the nest, and even more fun to see the fledglings fly for the first time, I was sad to see the the songbird population dwindle significantly.  An advantage to having hawk neighbors was that they took care of the rabbits too.
No such luck this year.

Here is a link to Daily Paintworks and to purchase:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/377-empty-nest-with-feather/235497
   

376 Two Feathers and an Egg

I am running out of feathers to paint!  The painted feathers have a little shimmer to them, which I love.
To be directed to the daily paintworks site, or to purchase, click here:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/376-two-feathers-and-an-egg/235345

375 Desperate Measures

It took a great deal of patience and resourcefulness to retrieve these red feathers from our window well.  Last year, a beautiful male cardinal got stuck in there while snacking on fallen birdseed.  We tried to free him by lifting the enormously heavy iron grate, but he crashed into it while trying to escape, and died very quickly.  It was so sad.

My stash of feathers is void of red feathers, so today I remembered the cardinal, and I was very determined to retrieve whatever I could from this beautiful bird. "Desperate times require desperate measures."

Click here to go to Daily Paintworks site, or to purchase:    http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/375-desperate-measures/235082

374 Feathers Side by Side

The pearl and metallic watercolor paints look particularly nice in this painting.

This painting will fit in a standard 5x7 frame or can be matted and framed to a larger size.
Purchase this painting here:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/374-feathers-side-by-side/234913

373 Subtle Shimmer

As I was studying the feathers, I realized that there are very subtle colors to the "black," even though it may appear to be all black.  The feather on the left is a good example of this---it was all black, ...but not really.  I wanted to paint the others feathers in colors other than their natural colors for a little variety.  There are subtle metallic glistens in this painting also.   

Painting can be framed as is in a standard 8x10 frame, or matted and framed to your liking.

372 Peacock Feather

Although I am enjoying painting with watercolors, I don't think it will take the place of my acrylics.  I have been experimenting and "playing" with different products.  This painting has a hint of metallic water color and it glistens in just the right places.  Unfortunately, it is so subtle that it doesn't show up in the photograph. 

371 More Feathers

I am re-learning a lot about watercolor and enjoying this experience

370 Feathers

Watercolor was my first love, artistically.  It has been a very long time--decades,  since I broke out the water colors.  It felt pretty good to revisit this old friend.  I have always loved birds and have collected feathers for many years.  These are a few from my stash.

369 Lilies in a Little White Vase

Color corrected photo of this painting.

368 Marigolds, Chives and Hosta

"Spring" is at least a month behind schedule.  This Memorial weekend I enjoyed working in the garden, feeling my hands in the dirt and planting a few plants, among them marigolds and chives, hoping to keep the rabbits away.  It's a constant battle: Diane vs. The Rabbits.

366 Simplicity

366 Nostalgic

365

This is my 365th daily painting for the Daily Paintworks website, and I am so happy and proud I took the plunge, which was very scary at first.  It began with my first posting on April 9, 2013 of a pansy painting, coincidentally enough.  It sold that first day.  This has been a wonderful learning experience for me as I have met many of my goals--to paint faster and looser, try new subject matter, learn how to crop and edit photos, and not obsess over the title. Painting has been such a delightful routine for me, and such an important part of each day.  There is still much more to learn and experience and I look forward to that.  Thank you to all who have sent encouraging comments and/or have purchased paintings.

364 Cheek to Cheek

363 Anticipation

A little exercise in tromp l'oeil.

362 Who Are You Looking At?

I didn't understand why so many artists paint dead fish so I felt the need to try it.  With so many variations in the colors, it was not an easy task.  I learned that the red eyes mean the fish was very fresh, among other things.

361 Violas

360 Parrot Tulip

359 Inside

358 Favorite

I received a beautiful little vase for my birthday from someone special.  It is one of many beautiful vases from Anthropologie, and unlike this one, it has a ceramic pansey attached.  I thought it would be difficult to represent, so I painted a real pansey.