". . . a brush with nature"

It isn't easy painting green . . . or any of the other colors really.  But green in all its glorious splendor seems especially difficult for me. In fact, my husband accuses me of having an aversion to the color green, but that isn’t it at all. It is just hard for me to get it “right” and natural looking.

I am often reminded of that cute little green fellow, Kermit the Frog, as he lamented, “It’s not easy being green.” He went on to sing about the many beautiful things in nature that happen to be green and therein lies the problem for both Kermit and me.

There are so many lovely shades of green surrounding us in nature. Although I am not a landscape artist per se, the landscape often plays a big part in my wildlife paintings. Looking out my studio window I am always struck by the variety of green that makes up the woodlands. Looking closely anyone will soon discover hues ranging from moss to fern to pine green and everything in between. Wandering further afield one will soon stumble upon lime, pear, mint and basil, not to mention olive or sage. All so different, but still a green occurring in our natural world. And let us not forget about the wonderful green colors appearing on the plumage of birds (parakeet, for example) or even the skin of the ever-mysterious crocodile. The possibilities are endless.

It seems to me that the natural occurring greens are never harsh. Some are bold or bright, to be sure. Some are grayed almost to the point of not being recognized as a green at all. Some appear more yellow or blue than green at first blush, but when studied more closely their true alliance is revealed. There are so many subtleties and nuances to consider before selecting the perfect shades for your painting. You should never use just one (why would you when there is such an abundance around you?) but select a few for your palette that work well together. Harmonizing them will make your painting “sing” and be more pleasing to both you and your viewer.

Although many shades of green are available to use straight from the tube, I always suggest mixing your own. You then have control to “tweak” the color allowing it to work best with the rest of your palette. (Please note, I don’t recommend using any paints straight from the tube. Mixing them always seems more natural to me no matter what the color.) For help with this a color wheel is an inexpensive must-have tool for any artist. Color mixing is great training and great fun!

So, you see, I really don’t have an aversion to green I just want it to feel real. I don’t avoid it or put aside an idea just because it involves a palette rich with greens. I do spend time studying nature and the setting I will be painting. I do spend time mixing what I think translates to an authentic color scheme that works for my subject. I do try to address the transitions within the landscape that supports my main subject. And I do have a tremendous admiration for those who paint beautiful lush “green” landscape pieces.

In the end, Kermit the Frog sings, “… I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful!” and with some artistic license taken I add, “Green is beautiful and it’s what I want to paint.”

I am writing today about the development of my acrylic painting, “Prickly Perch,” from the original inception to completed painting.

I had the idea of combining a common bird with some of the beautiful cacti found in the Southwest in a painting. After going through many, many reference photos I eventually found a beautiful one of a prickly pear cactus. The light was striking and the blooms were stunning. Although the original photo was horizontal, I cropped out the part I wanted to focus on into the vertical format that I had in mind. Now all I needed was the bird.

After a bit more searching, I settled on another photo I had in my files of a sparrow perched on another cactus. Using that image I decided where to place the bird in my painting and “perched” him there.

Next I started blocking in the colors of the cactus. Initially I did an underpainting of the complimentary color of green (red) under all the cactus parts, leaving the umber toned panel showing beneath the bird and blooms. When painting with acrylics I apply multiple layers and washes to ultimately achieve the effect I desire.  It is also important to note that I never use colors straight out of the tube, but prefer to mix my colors on the palette or canvas/panel as I paint. Even though it was still early in the process I started to block in some of the blooms and certain areas of detail at this point, as well.

More layers are added, as well as the details of spines and beginning areas of light on cactus pads and blooms. Dry brush technique is effective here for the surface look and texture of the cactus pads. I also start to underpaint my sparrow now.

I continued to add details throughout the painting at this point, bringing it along together. I finished the bird using many overlapping layers to achieve the softness of feathers and kept working to push the feeling of light hitting certain areas of the cactus and not others. Something still bothered me, though, so I walked away and let the painting sit overnight.

Coming back to my studio the next day I was immediately struck by the fact that there was not enough definition between the pad where the bird is perched and the one adjacent to it (middle bottom.) I decided to add subtle highlights along that front edge coming forward to better define that particular part of the cactus. I think it was just what the painting needed to make it a stronger piece.

At the TOP of this blog you see the completed painting, “Prickly Perch” – 18”h x 14”w