Nesting Grounds: ..Paint...paint...Paint

FULL PREVIEW HERE

The ‘Nesting Grounds’ journey:
 
The concept for Nesting Grounds was set. Ten birds featured with 2 dedicated paintings: One page with the bird nesting, the other page showcasing their eggs in their nest. The birds have been carefully selected with considerations including bird familiarity, nest uniqueness and clutch size. The research was tedious but enjoyable. No more procrastinations. Time to paint.

It’s not that the procrastination was about dread….it was about fear. Fear of failure and fear of success. Both come with daunting responsibilities- the ego is delicate and with the success comes responsibility.  Can I pull these paintings off? And if so….then what? Being an ‘one-man band’ I wear a lot of hats. Artist is just one. There many departments in an art business: framing, accounting, logistics, photography, purchasing, and marketing. Now, I’m about to add ‘book publishing’. If I had thought about it too much, I would never have proceeded. But I did. Ignorance is total bliss.
 
I started to paint. The Sparrow was first to be completed as she lays 1 egg. I painted the paintings in pairs: nesting and eggs. This way, I know the colour palette for each ‘set’ would be cohesive. The first eggs where the trickiest. Eggs are a distinct shape and are delicately contoured. Another learning curve of colour value and gradation. Always learning.
 
After each painted set, a 4-line verse was created. The verse was to include interesting facts about the nest or the eggs…and it had to rhyme. My inner child emerges. Stay tuned.