Post 142: A Painting in Progress: Blue Heron

Painting Name: Blue Heron at Blue Ridge Shores, Virginia

SKU: 06CC21AC

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 10x20 Stretched Canvas

Price: SOLD

Edition Year: 2021

Commissioned? No

The Image for Reference:

Photo Credit and Permission Granted from Peter Olsen, May 2021 at Blue Ridge Shores in Louisa, Virginia

Painting in Progress Images…

What would you name this Painting? Blue Heron just does not seem quite enough. Maybe a name suggestion will happen as the painting develops. Follow "the painting in progress" here and leave your comments!

Monday, June 14, 2021 5:10 PM - Roughed in the heron and the background

Monday, June 14, 2021 5:43 PM - He looks kind of ghostly doesn't he?

Monday, June 14, 2021 6:47 PM - bird has a bit of a hunchback. Blue Heron of Notre Dame. I'll have to smooth that out. 

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 8:32 AM - Still no legs but he has an eye. I like painting birds, and other critters. (That's the southern influence on me.) Feathers are such intricate delicate things. Our God and Creator really let His imagination soar (<- get that?) when it came to birds if you think about it. Their colors, how they are so exotic and different from each other, eh? (Eh? - That's the Canadian influence of friends and family there.)

Blue Ridge Shores is a lake in Louisa County, Virginia. The lake is man-made lake that began in 1960 as a resort community. The water has a lot of sediment in it, therefore the "color of water" has a green look to it. 

Coloring water also depends on other things like its bottom (or substrate), what's in it (even as recently as a good rainfall), the surface - refraction and reflection, and a biggie is the light which is directly influenced by the surface.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 11:11 AM - Still no knobby knees or those long luxurious "strings" of feathers. Coming along but a long way to go yet. Detailing feathers takes awhile. 

What NOT to paint opposed to what to include

Also, from the real picture at the start, I am assuming that the lumpy stuff on the dock are things I do not want to paint. When you blow up the photo, the nails on the dock are actually quite raised. Much for bare feet to be aware of.

I also did not include the stick on the pier as there wasn't really enough room to do it justice. So far I did not include the red reflector on the side of the pier. I'm thinking it over. Attention should be on the bird not the pier one might think.

I was just wondering what these guys sound like? Anyone know?

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 1:15 PM - Pause in the painting for a bit. My neighbor had commissioned a painting for me to do for her daughter, Alison's birthday. Alison is visiting a couple of days and we "sprung" the surprise on her. See the entries listed under the keyword "Richmond VA". Warms your heart when someone sees the work for the first time.

Face details on the heron coming together...

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 3:30 PM - She's got legs, and he knows how to use them. ZZ Top, right? At least these little rinky-dinky things will become legs. HOW do they hold themselves up with those stick legs? Baffling. Like bumble bees. How DO they fly with those big bodies and rinky-dink wings?

I am reminded of the famous painter that painted geese, ducks, etc and she never painted feet. The birds were ALWAYS in the water or sitting down. She had a thing about feet. If you don't know who she is, she's P. Buckly Moss, of Waynesboro, Virginia. http://www.pbuckleymoss.com/

I am currently really liking the idea of no feet. Guess I cannot get away with having the heron standing in a bucket of water.

See the completed Painting at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/2021/06/blue-heron-at-blue-ridge-shores.html

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