Taa-daa! Still working the kinks out with the lettering, but I am loving this! I used an X-acto knife to scrape away the paint to create the fluff on the cattail. I have also discovered that painters tape - the colored stuff you use to protect moldings and create a clean edge when you are painting walls - works very well to preserve the edges around these watercolor pieces, too. Go figure.You may remember the quick sketch I did of this bird a few months ago - I used the same pose for this piece. It makes such a difference having my own reference photos! The avocet in the previous painting was a made-up pose based on a bunch of different photos from various sources and I think it showed. So from now on I'm going to try to choose birds that I have good photos of. It makes such a difference. Hmm, I wonder what I've got in my photo collection for "C"...
I do find that the imperfections in the lettering attract my attention away from the piece as a whole though, and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should skip painting the lettering by hand and just do it digitally. (Please let me know YOUR opinion on whether I should go with digital or handpainted lettering or even include any lettering at all, in the comments section. Thanks!!! )
These ABC pieces take a lot of time and planning, so the paintings are not materializing as quickly as they were before and I have fallen behind in my 100 Paintings Challenge. I am thrilled with the series, but I'm not about to abandon the Challenge. And this is still quite a ways in the future, but I'm also wondering what I am going to do for the letters "X" and "Z"!
6 comments:
This turned out super! Really love the bird and cattail, but I think overall, the piece works great!
You're the only one that minds the "imperfections" in the lettering! I love hand lettering. Digital usually looks too commercial for me. It's the graphic designer in you!! ~ L
I agree with Laure....I like hand lettering. I especially like the lettering down the right side. The bird is gorgeous.
I love your work. Wish I could do this!
I love this idea. They look great! I also love the look of the hand lettering. Looking forward to seeing more.
That bird looks stunning against the blue background, and I like the cattail, too. I'm on the fence about the lettering. The "blackbird" words look great, but the "yellow-headed" lettering is just the teensiest bit distracting - the "d"s look off (this coming from someone who doesn't paint - what do I know?!). But I still LOVE the whole thing!
Wow ... I just wandered over here and looked at your paintings I think for the first time. I love your compositions with the bird and lettering combined. I say keep the handpainted lettering!!
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