Earth colours.

It is getting hot outside. The last several days the temperature has reach over 30 degrees. The AC is very much my friend right now! 

'Ut i det fri' (Outdoors) Acrylic, oil and collage on canvas. 25x25cm. Nuthatch reference with kind permission from Russ Bridges from the FB group 'Photos for artists'. First I was not all too pleased with how the background was coming along on this one, but as soon as I added the splatters and the stencil I started to like it. Now after painting the nuthatch I am very happy with how it turned out.

Today I have been working on the two blackbirds. Black is not an easy colour to paint. In the reference photo the blackbird looks almost blue. I have taken the liberty of adding purple to the mix, to set it of nicely against the yellow and brown background.

Almost done. I have to wait for it to dry before adding the last refining details. I think I need to add a leg as well, as it now looks like it is floating above the tree stub. The photo is not the best as it is already dark outside. 

The second Blackbird. The same goes for this one. It needs to dry a day or two and then I can finish it.

The swans are coming along slowly. I should have finished these by now, but the wings are taking longer than I thought. Or I am just too picky. Now I just have to add the last layer on the swan to the right.

This is a new one. I really should not start any new ones anymore and just concentrate on finishing the ones I have. But I have had this background ready for a long time, and the other day I just found the perfect bird for it: a Bearded tit. Now when I see it on the screen I think I need to move the leg a little. Horrible picture, but it is dark already and I am too lazy to go and take another... ;) 

I have wanted to try out acrylic inks for a while now, and a few days ago I found some in a local art store. They works almost exactly as I had imagined they would. I will have a lot of fun with them when I come back from my visit home to Finland. I would love to take them with me, but they are a little heavy to carry along in a sketch kit... I filmed the process when I did the swatches of the colours, and played with them a little. See video below!

That was it for this week! Have a great day!