I love painting humming birds so I decided to invent one.  This little painting is painted for those that long for spring in the middle of winter.

This is a painting that is ready to be glazed.  It is completely dry  (more than 24 hours)  and will accept a new layer of paint very well.

The final finished painting is at the bottom of this post.

This is how the painting looks before I have glazed it.  Take a look at the painting and you will be able to see how different a painting can look after glazes have been applied.

You may also see area or shapes of some things which haven’t been painted yet.   Some direct painting or glazing with the same color will also need to be done to bring the values in line.  Values are difficult to determine unless you can see how  all the various colors and glazes effect each other.   Often an artist should go back and take a look at anything that has been changed just to make sure that anything that needs tweeking gets tweeked.   This means perhaps darkening an area previously thought to be OK.

Above you will see a section of the painting.  Look at the light green leaf here in the middle, I will glaze over some burn’t senna and  then some green and  last some pink which should push the leaf back a bit and look  like a shadow.

You can see this in the next photo below.

Under the bright orange leaf there is also an area which is not defined, look at this area and see how it will be redefined by direct painting & glazing. This photo above shows how I changed the shape of this area (under the large orange leaf).

Next look at the photo below… there was a very light  shape which was only painted a light grey blue but was left mostly white.  You can also see the blue leaf’s edges (in the corner) was given a blue and purple glaze .

 Here is the that same area and you can see it has been painted around (negatively painted ) also a few direct touches help to bring a little critter to life.

 

Below in the next shot there is an area of the painting I had to grey up a bit while defining the finger like shape.  I glazed over this area with Phatho blue.

Then I decided to scumble in some Andrews Turquoise and some Cerulean blue  Both are a bit opaque and can be layered rather then glazed. Opaque paint will sit on top of the first layer of paint, in this case the dark blue paint.

  This is the right hand lower corner of the painting, You can see I put in various colors as glazes to give the butterfly shape some dimension and I also added some colors to his body for a little more emphasis. 

 Here is the final painting.  Notice I also painted the little vine like branches again so they would stand out against the background.  I also glazed the big brown leaf at the right hand bottom corner with bright red so it looks a bit brighter.  These things are subtle but often these little tweeks are all a painting needs.

 

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I love flowers, always have ,I remember picking roses out of a neighbor’s yard to give to my mother.  I never thought it was wrong , I just assumed there were so many and they were outside… so its like finding a treasure. 

3 1/4 inches by 12 inches an appropriate piece for St Patrick’s day.
$45.00

22 by 30 inches 470.00 plus $12.50 shipping.

The Mandarin Chinese word for butterfly is “hu-tieh”. “Tieh” means “70 years”, therefore butterflies have become a symbol for a long life. In this culture butterflies have also become representative of young men in love.
In the Japanese culture butterflies are thought to be representative of young maidens and marital bliss. Many Japanese families use the butterfly in the family crest design.
Germany has a very unique belief about butterflies. As butterflies can often be found hovering about milk pails or butter churns, they have become associated with witches trying to steal the cream. The German word for butterfly is “Schmetterling”, which is actually derived for the Czech word “Smetana” which means “cream”.
There are many links with butterflies in mythology from all over the world, many of which, in particular Greek mythology, link butterflies to the human soul. The Ancient Greeks also considered butterflies as the souls of those who had passed away.

In ancient Greek the word for butterfly is “Psyche”, which translated means “soul”. This was also the name for Eros’ human lover and when the two figures are depicted they are often surrounded by butterflies.
In one of the Russian dialects, butterflies are referred to as “dushuchka” which is a derivative of the word “dusha” also meaning soul. There is also an Irish saying that refers to the symbolic meaning of butterflies. This saying is: “Butterflies are souls of the dead waiting to pass through purgatory”.
There is a small town in Mexico that also associate butterflies with souls. It is to this town that Monarch Butterflies migrate every year, around the holiday known as the Day of the Dead. The people of this town see these butterflies as the returning souls of the deceased.
Butterfly symbolism is closely tied to the idea of spirits and souls. It has been also been used in many religions and cultures. In the western world, the symbol of the butterfly stands for freedom, fun and joyous times. It is also symbolises a state of naturalness and purity.
In the Christian religion, the metamorphosis a butterfly undergoes is symbolic of the spiritual evolution all Christains go through. Butterflies are all small and appear to be the same(like the catapillar), but as we grow older our true beauty shows. Like a butterfly, we are all different, and beautiful in our own way.
In ancient mythology, the butterfly stands for wisdom and everlating knowledge. Butterflies symbolizes change or transformation in many cultures purely because they change from one thing into another.

There is a Native American legend that says, ” If you have a secret wish, capture a butterfly and whisper your wish to it. Since butterflies cannot speak, your secret is ever safe in their keeping. Release the butterfly, and it will carry your wish to the Great Spirit, who alone knows the thoughts of butterflies. By setting the butterfly free, you are helping to restore the balance of nature, and your wish will surely be granted.”

I decided to paint a few more fish into this painting.  This is a watercolor on paper.

12 inches by 18 inches.  $250.00

5 by 7 watercolor on ampersand. $50.00