Golden Days

Golden Days
Watercolor 9" x 12" Mats to 14" x 16"

The watercolor above titled Golden Days is a painting of one of my favorite summer

birds.  We always plant sunflowers across our back fence - both because I love sunflowers and because the finches love them as well.  We leave the sunflowers once the blooms have faded for the seeds to dry out and attract the birds.  Finches seem to be especially drawn to these seeds.    We also have several varieties of daisies in our flower garden which also attract a finch or two. 

Watercolor Tip:
How to paint weathered wood:
Begin with a pale, varied wash applied to a damp surface and let it dry. Wood colors vary. Use a wash of the following colors:
Yellow Ochre
Payne’s Gray
Sepia

Do not paint all washes over the top of the other washes, but blend the colors together.

• Use a  flat brush with the bristles fanned out slight to drybrush in wood grain lines. Use a medium dark wash of Burnt Umber/Payne’s Gray or Sepia/Indigo.

• Finish with wavy lines creating a woodgrain using Gray, Sepia or black. A fine liner brush can be used or a very fine line pen. These lines need to be soft, not hard heavy lines.

• Detail can be added using the following techniques:
Spatter
Alcohol drops to “bleach” out some of the wood color
A knothole created using your knuckle. 

Enjoy these golden days of summer while you can and paint a memory or two to carry you through the cold winter days ahead!

Happy Painting!
Karen