“Mockingbird teaches a valuable lesson about mimicry. What we mimic in our lives will be reflected back to us in our experiences, which allows us to see what we truly are or what we are striving to become.” ~ The Healing Wisdom of Birds by Lesley Morrison
The finished drawing before applying paint.
My watercolor paint palette and initial washes.
Painting Mockingbird was a soothing endeavor. March was a bifurcated month, starting with my fling with the flu and ending with unexpected life stuff challenges. But through it all I was dreaming about mockingbird.
Painting upright and upside down while applying washes.
Eric Lindahl, a photographer and facebook friend saw my posted painting and asked me:
“I am curious about the palette you chose for this, it’s more… focused? You chose a narrow, warm section of colors, not as wide of range as you often use. What was the effect you were going for, besides a warm glow?”
I had to think on it because I acted on creative impulse rather than mental pretense. I wanted to capture a sense of the golden hour, a time when birds congregate and sing daylight’s last song. I wanted to evoke silent power, self reflection and the complexity of our thoughts, like a marvelous mockingbird repertoire. It was also my grandmother’s favorite bird, so on a personal level I feel comfort and warmth in her memory.
Working on details.
Finished painting
In other studio news
Women in Fantasy Illustration is a weekly interview conducted by tarot artist and illustrator Kiri Østergaard Leonard . This was a fun experience filled with questions I’ve never been asked before. Please check it out and follow her blog for more wonderful stories about the many talented women working in the fantasy illustration field today.
In other Hunt-Kramerville news.
Bird nesting in shutter.
Birds are abundant in Florida this time of year. Many are resourceful itinerants or “snowbirds” who winter in the tropics. Every year Mama Mourning Dove makes her nest on top of our hurricane shutter greeting me with her pensive black eyes! During the spring season, the studio window is open, filling the room with birdsong, fresh air and inspiration! I’m relishing this time before the hibernating months of a hot Florida Summer arrives.
~ Lisa
