Flocking Birds - Painting No. 3

Vision 

The Linear flight formations of migratory birds  are called ECHELONS. 

A famous philosopher once said that Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.  I really liked this, and for me it rings true.  

Vision inspires me on a daily basis.  It keeps me going; vision helps me believe that I have hope, that things can improve, that I am well… This is a very important subject to me.  Many people reading this know that I have struggled with ovarian cancer much of my adult life.  

Did you know that your vision defines who you become?

Vision is VITAL 

Recently,  it occurred to me that MY vision for MY future is what enables me to have joy in MY today.  I must believe that I am well, even when my body tries to say otherwise.  It is the art of seeing what is invisible.  This is truly the essence of Faith.   

A little blue, a little black, a little green…and WALA! they all go well together! 

One must believe that behind the darkness, there is a dawn.  Not only does this dawn create light, but it defines the darkness creating forms of beauty.  A silhouette begins to  form.  In a nutshell, this  is what my Flocking Birds series is about.  

This was Flocking Birds No. 1 

I am one of those people that happen to believe that the birds hold wisdom, little truths that are lost to those who do not take the time to watch them.   At night, you cannot see the birds, but  You still believe that they are there because you may hear them.  At the break of dawn, they start to sing.  The light hits them and something beautiful unfolds.   

Flocking Bird No. 3
This one has the quotes written in the grass 

Like the other two paintings, Vision has little sentences written in the grass and on the branches and in the sky.  Each sentence holds a truth about VISION. 

Vision Quotes on Branches 

Thanks for taking the time to look at my artwork and listen to my story. :) 

ENJOY 

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Flocking Birds, Painting 2

Birds of a feather...

Number 2 

I am having some fun with this.  Now, I just need to find some unusual and beautifully shaped trees for No. 3. 

Instead of Scripture, this one has a bunch of "BIRD sayings" written in the grass

I am currently in love with vintage and antique lemon gold frames.  I found this one recently with a mirror in it and quickly tore it apart for this painting.  I like how the sayings are written in the grass.  One thing that I am really enjoying painting are the horizons.  If you look at Flocking Birds, post 2, painting 1, you will see a different horizon in that painting.  I love the blue mountains.  

You can see that this painting is somewhat smaller than the first.  However,  They go very nicely together.  

Each saying is different from the other and is about a bird and some truth that a bird holds.  People love birds.  There are many bird groups (people that study birds).  Ornithology the technical name and is a branch of zoology that concerns itself with the study of birds.  

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Flocking Birds Painting - Post 2

The many steps 

I take to complete a painting.

There are a few steps involved in starting a painting.  Yesterday, you learned that I started with a photograph.  Obviously, this is not always the case.  Many paintings I make up!   I am going to condense the rest of the steps into one final post for ease.  

Can you see the wavy glass 

Choosing a frame can be a job in itself.  This  one was an antique Currier and Ives frame at one time.  The print was not in great shape so I bought it for the frame. 

I drew the tree first.  

After cutting the paper to the correct size,  I drew the tree.  Here is the reference photo for your comparison.  This will help you understand my goal.  

The tree is the one with the bushes underneath! 

After drawing the tree, it was  then time to do the landscape area that you see in the background, minus the houses.

Can you see the hills in the background? 

It is a lot of fun changing things up, and sometimes the little twists that are added as afterthoughts really make the piece special.  For instance, I added a bunch of words about birds found from the Bible.   

You can see my layers of color that I am slowly building.  

As the piece progresses and the base is set, I am now sure what direction I want to go and can start to add detail in both texture and color, which further enhances and subdues the colors as I direct with washes of paint. Each step must dry completely before starting the next.   

I added some trees at the horizon.

My horizon has trees in the photo, and I liked them.  They are simple upward strokes of black and burnt umber.  This color is nice because it compliments the blues.  

I added some quotes taken from the Bible about Birds.  

Lots of detail here and different views of flight to create the flocking illusion that I like 

I love the punch of blue in the sky 

I sort of skipped some stages but I filled in the tree, making it nearly opaque and drew in the birds in pencil first.  This was a very time consuming progress but fun.  I listened to music.  

This looks like dusk to me.  

I love outside shots of sunsets and sunrises.  I frequently have them on my FB pages, too.  I love nature.  I have a few bird paintings around the house that I am going to hang this one to compliment.    I will eventually put this original on ETSY if you are interested, message me.  It will also be added to our print line.  I intend to start another one today that has the same feel.  

Here it is in my Living room Spot light.  

I photographed it in this light so that you could really see the color pop.  This is not a dull piece! 

This is my favorite shot 

I really like this shot in front of the Robin Egg Blue table and bright white plate!  It just pops!  Thanks for looking at the progress.  You can see more of my work at www.Spicherandco.com.  I sell to the trade but can get 

anything  someone might be interested in purchasing.  I do this frequently. Thanks and 

Enjoy! 

 

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Flocking Birds - Post 1

My Inspiration for Flying Birds

Came from this Photo  

Flocking Birds

It isn't everyday that I stand at my window and see this.  I live on a mountain, this is true, but generally there are not this many birds at my back door at once!  This was a beautiful site.  They flew back and forth and in PERFECT unison.  I couldn't help but think of that scripture "Consider the Birds."  I have actually used that title before on a painting.  I keep returning to it.  Part of what made these birds so beautiful was their unity.  I think there is a sermon in there somewhere…  

I like how the tree is off center. 

Although, I like how it is off center, I don't think I like how it is not plumb.  It will need to be straight.  This picture sort of reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds.  That part is sort of creepy, but I will make it alright! Look at the crisp blue sky…lovely! 

I like this tree.  

There are aspects of this tree that I like.  I intend to incorporate some of the folky nature of this tree.  It is fun and playful.  

Look at the beauty of each bird.  

While I might not be able to capture this day perfectly, I will do my best.  Check back in tomorrow for more photos of the actual painting!  

Enjoy! 

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Custom Boy Portrait - Part 2

The process unfolds 

Look at the brush strokes in the grass, water, and his pants 

If you read my Custom Boy Portrait, Part 1, you will remember that the last picture that I presented had the young boy drawn in pencil.  It was what I call a composition drawing, something that I do before starting to paint. 

Saint Bernard 

The customer wanted a Saint Bernard in the painting along with a book and a ship.  It is fairly common to see portraits of this  period including both a dog and a book.  

  

I love his sweet little smile and the colors really pop on the high quality water-color paper. 

When deciding on the composition of this piece, remember I had said that it was important to illustrate the dog in such a way so as the viewer realized that the dog was  of a large variety.  Even as large as I made him, I could have gone bigger.  I know this because my neighbor (growing up) had a St. Bernard.  To me, it looked like a horse.   Let's just say this is a young St. Bernard.  

This is a great example of what I am talking about.  

In this shot, you can see that the dog is really large.  It is nearly as tall as the child.  

This was one of the paintings that the customer referenced when requesting a child with a book.  They liked the ship, too, so I have included a ship in the background of our painting, as well.  You can read about this painting by going to: 

http://kolenespicher.blogspot.com/2015/10/portrait-of-young-girl-auction-item-for.html

This is almost finished.  I really love this frame
and think that the painting is really very sweet! 

I will look at it for a few more days, probably till Monday or Tuesday and then send it to be framed if I don't see any adjustments to be made.  

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a happy New Year!!  

Enjoy 

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