Pelican, Not Pelican't

Today I decided to use my watercolor pencils and crayons.  It's been a LONG time since I have tried them so I didn't really know what would happen.  In fact, I was so confident in my failure, like last weeks pelican, i just used old scrap paper.  And this is what I cam up with.

Here in Morro Bay we have two landmarks.  One is of course Morro Rock.  The other are the smoke stacks on the power plant.  Many people think they are an eyesore, but must admit that they, along with the rock are the first things people think about when they think of Morro Bay landmarks.  I've done a few paintings with the stacks in them.  Personally, I think that they are so integral to Morro Bay's history that they should always stand.

I'm also trying to get back to painting birds.  I thought I could get a little practice with both.  I found I was really shocked to see the colors jump off the page after I go the pencil lines wet.  Its like the painting was revealing itself to me for the first time, going from something dull and flat, to something vibrant.  Ok, the sky in this picture is a bit terrible.   I didn't remember that I would get such bad texture marks from the crayons.  But I really like the way the front wing on the bird worked out. And I really like the way the bird and the roof joist are clearly in front of the rest of the roof and the stacks.  I don't think the angle is quite right, but thats a different issue.

At any rate, this was a hoot to do and really quick.  I think I'll end up doing more of these quick pencil/crayon painting/drawings.

A Few Quick Sketches

I've been asked quite a bit recently as to why I got away from painting and drawing birds.  My answer was of course that I wanted to learn to paint and draw other things and that I didn't want to be know as just a guy who paints birds.  But the truth of the matter is that I like birds and painting birds.  So, I've started drawing them again, and sketching a few.  Maybe this will even lead to a few full blown paintings.

Given that this is a quick sketch, I used some old paper.  When I scanned it, it must have had some dirt on it that really showed on the scan.    Its not quite this visible in real life.

Well, working my way back to painting birds and having a good time.