Saturday, January 23, 2016

THE GREAT BLUE HERON


                                       The Great Blue Heron  Pastel / 6x8

IF I were Native American (which I'm not) and IF I were to take a spiritual guide, the Great Blue Heron would be my choice.  It embodies the traits of my solitary side - comfortablness in being along, in entering unknown situations, in seeking out my own path.  I have long felt an affinity for this magnificent long, lanky, solitary figure.  We are lucky around here to have a lot of them, even within the suburban landscape. Proximity to the Sacramento River enhances that.  I can't recall ever seeing two or more together, though. That would be a highlight, especially to see a heron couple!

Painting Notes:  I immediately went to a sheet of Canon Touch in blue for this. The drawing was done carefully but of course, on this size paper, it was difficult to get the points I wanted and fill in narrow feathers. Again, I'd say this nubby paper - Touch - for me works better when I'm painting larger than smaller. I would liken it to a UArt 320. I used my 'magic blender" a lot on the background - a rubber finger tip turned inside out. It is a lovely tool for blending as it pushes the pastel into the gritty surface and yet does not take up any of the powder, creating an almost velvety smooth surface, perfect for some skies and hazy backgrounds that stay in the back.


1 comment:

  1. What a joy to find your blog. You've been doing some beautiful work this month!

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