Remember and Inspire.

Aspiring Chickadee #2 might look finished, but it isn't really. I'm hoping to finish sometime in the next two days. I thought it might be fun to peek back at a few of the steps that happened along the way.

I have often saved the bird for last. This time, I decided to do the opposite and I think I prefer that. It felt right, somehow, to prioritize the bird. I think I worked harder because I was now creating a setting for a creature instead of trying to suit the bird to the setting. By blocking in the basic colors of the bird, I knew how dark or light my background should be.

With the basic sketch and the bird established, I started blocking in the darkest darks and worked on the background. The blue crock 'read' as cobalt, and so I started with that. But as I did some more color checking, I realized it looked more greenish-blue when I stepped back and compared it to the still-life I had set up. I adjusted that later as you will see.

Next, I took a long look at the general feel and decided that everything should be quite a bit darker so as to create a spotlighted feeling. The chickadee is meant to represent an artist, or anyone in fact, who desires always to grow and stretch toward excellence.

And here below is the almost finished painting. Stronger shadows, more detail everywhere, a few strategic lost edges, and the ellipse at the top of the blue crock adjusted. There was also something missing in the step above, which I added below. Can you figure out what it was?

I'll show the final version to my newsletter subscribers first. The story behind the need for a second and possibly a third Aspiring Chickadee is in my newsletter, if you care to take a look at the last issue and the next one later this week. If fact, if you're not already a subscriber and want to see finished work before the general public sees it, you can click here to sign up for that.  Besides seeing finished work first, you'll automatically be entered into a quarterly drawing for a miniature oil painting. 

And do yourself a favor. I know it's cold out, but take a moment today to step outside and listen to birdsong.