Tag: duck

Finished this Duck Patrol

DuckPatrolF1225I just finished this Duck Patrol watercolor painting, a 9″w x 12h” on 140lb wc paper.

I started on location at the Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore in northern Idaho. Sitting in an area named Tubbs Hill that is just south of the North Idaho College campus. I was painting the well known scene when a duck kept coming over to me and checking me out. After multiple photographs I did a quick water closeup with two versions of the duck laid out in it. I finished it in the studio using the photographic references I had.

You can see more of the process for this one if you look at this previous post.

I have found that painting while outdoors is a real treat for me. It can sometimes be more difficult if there are weather conditions that get out of hand but still the bright colors are much more alive.  I find that more and more of my artist time is spent painting and drawing en plein air because I am getting more comfortable setting up outside.

You Are Not Alone

If you ever feel like doing this yourself, you are always welcome to join us. There are many like-minded artists at painting meetups by the Inland Northwest Outdoor Art Group on Facebook.

We are all going when we can and staying as long as we want. The main thing is that you can meet other artists who like to paint outside and make friends so that possibly you will be able to not have to go to strange new places all alone. Whenever I have joined this group it has turned out to be a really enjoyable outing and I get to learn something really cool from someone in the group each time. Some of my best friends are artist’s!

A Second Subject

duck05A second subject appears, as I paint en plein air with the Inland Northwest Outdoor Painters Group last Saturday (Tubb’s Hill in Coeur d’Alene ID).

You know how that goes don’t you?

Just A Second…

You see something that just really catches your eye, so, you grab a camera and take pictures as fast as you can. There are 6 different shots that I took.  There is really no choice, because, you sure don’t want to quit painting what you are already working on.

What kind is it?

When my subject appeared it was a single beautiful duck on patrol for goodies. Can you find this kind of duck on the ducks.org link? What kind is it? Message me the answer and win a free sketch. This one duck was so interested in me (us) sitting on the shore, that he/she came back again and again to see if maybe I had decided to share some kind of snack. I wasn’t eating, but, that is the only reason I could think of for so many return trips throughout the morning. I was not the only one who noticed. A fellow pléin air painter, Aimee, noticed this character too. Now, I am curious to see if she decides to paint it when she gets back home too.  We’ll have to wait and see.

Mix and Match

As I look through these photographs I realize that the water changes so very much, in every single one! Using my artistic privilege I pick my favorite positions and also sort through the best water patterns to do. During this process, I have a crazy thought of maybe doing each and every one of those water patterns and maybe even doing them in psychedelic colors, Hmmm… Neon green and yellow highlights and blue with purple shadows. WATCH OUT! The crazy artist is emerging out of me. I settle down my inner creative lady and convince her to just do one simple pair of ducks on the water (real water) before actually starting the project. If we want to, we can do a totally neon one after we finish this one.

duckPatrol03smThis is the, “Duck Patrol”,  painting beginning. You may notice that I have altered reality just a little bit by giving my single ducky/goose/waterfowl a partner to cruise the waters with.  With many swimming around in my photos to choose from, “Why not?” Life is so much more fun when we are lucky enough to have friends join us along the way.