First Dip into Digital Art

I just had to share my recent creative escapade using Gimp and a Deco Mini7 XP-Pen tablet. I wanted to dip my toes into digital art.

I foraged through my photos and found one of some goslings that could use some fixing up.

I used the pen tablet as my digital canvas and played around with the Gimp layers. The sensitivity of the tablet allowed me to control the brush strokes with finesse, resulting in an almost hand-drawn feel.

Gimp offered a plethora of tools to play around with. I tweaked colors, textures, and lighting to infuse the artwork with a certain mood. The brush options were good, but I think I might want to try Corel Draw. They offer a better variety of painter-like brushes.

I also have a program called Clip Studio Paint that is more designed for Manga but might be useful for drawing. I haven't gotten a hang of that one, yet. When I become an expert with the pen, I may try Corel Draw's light version. But, I don't want to invest too much at this time.

Several new drawings

It's been a while since I've posted, so I have a few new things to post. One is of a colored pencil drawing I did of the Borrego Springs Area:

The other two were of my first forays into pen and marker drawings. I decided I wanted a change and do something that is more like illustration rather than fine art. I've seen a lot of nice work done with pen and ink, so I thought I would try it. Of course, it take practice to get good at it just like any other medium. I currently have several Sharpie pens and a set of markers in secondary colors. I may buy more markers if I decide I want to continue with this medium.

Here is my first attempt. It's of Oreo the duck:

This one I did last night. It's of George the killdeer. I also used a little colored pencil on it, too. In this version, I cut out the area around the drawing and put it on a clean white sheet using Photoshop. I had made a lot of smudges and marks on the original sheet of paper.

I have some items up in my Cafepress store with the killdeer design on it. Check it out:

http://www.cafepress.com/luckinsartwork/12256338

Eskimo curlew at the familiar s-curve

I did this colored pencil drawing of an Eskimo curlew and named the drawing after a description of its home in Last of the Curlews.  The whole setting is imagined.  I know there's not a lot of depth and contrast as the lighting is coming directly from the front.  Originally, I just planned to do the head, but decided to put a background in instead.

The drawing is small, about 8.5 x 5.5.  I'm not sure if I will sell anything based on this artwork.

2 Duckling Souls

This is an acrylic on loose canvas from a photo I took.  The two mallard ducklings didn't survive, but are alive forever in this painting.  They were about three days old at the time.

This art is available as a print on Fine Art America.  I haven't decided to put it anywhere else yet except in offline shows.

Del Mar Stilt

This is an acrylic painting on unstretched canvas 9 x 12.  It is one of my favorites this year.  If you would like to purchase a print, let me know.  It's also available on Fine Art America.  See blow for a link to my page.

I used a blurry photo I took of a black-necked stilt in Del Mar and made it to a painting.  I use a very limited palette with only a few different tubes of paint.  Mostly two types of blue, one type of red, yellow, two types of brown and white. 

Fine Art America:

This widget is a slideshow of some of my work available for purchase on Fine Art America.

Pepper scratch

Here is an acrylic painting of Pepper the duckling having a scratched.  Based on a photo I took a few years back.

Jill in Progress #2

Not much further along as I'm mostly doing detailed work and am struggling with various facets of this acrylic painting such as lighting and the water.

Green woodpecker in progress

I did this colored pencil drawing of a green woodpecker as part of Wetcanvas's Weekend Drawing Event.  I'm not sure if I am going to do much more to it other than finish that left side a bit.  The photo was provided by Robert Rongier.  I only could see one leg in the reference photo.

Skimmer

This originally started out as something for commercial art, but I did more work on it than I usually do for my commercial art projects.  I may figure out a way to use this commercially.

It's acrylic on loose canvas, 11 x 14 and the bird is a black skimmer:

Another killdeer chick drawing

Here's another killdeer chick drawing I did in colored pencil.

By the way, the drawing I did a couple of days ago is on sale on some items on CafePress.  An example of an item can be seen here.  I will be adding more items as times goes on.  This little chick and the one I did yesterday also will be on some items.

The last curlew calls. . .

Here is a painting I am still in the process of doing.  It's an acrylic painting of an Eskimo curlew which is either extinct or very close to it.  If I finish it, the full title is going to be  "The last curlew calls to its ancestors because that is all he has left."  I just started painting the bird.

Japanese Brush Painting Class

Today, I went and took a Japanese brush painting class at the Tijuana River Esturarine National Research Reserve.  It was International Migratory Bird Day today.   I've never done this type of painting before.  The paper was all crinkly from shrinking due to the water and wet paint.

Above is my bird on a branch, below are my practice birds.  I had to learn how to do the brush strokes as handling a brush is much different in this type of painting than it is in my traditional type of painting:

Don't laugh at this next one.  This was a long-billed curlew done in a different style.  Unlike realistic western art, this type of art depends more on brush work than on realism.  I know this isn't the best Japanese brush painting of a curlew, but it is my very first one.

Crow

I just finished this 11 x 14 drawing of a crow that I started at the San Diego Audubon Bird Festival a few weeks ago.  We were told to draw the crow and not do any erasing.  I took a picture of the model to finish it up at home.  It's done in Prismacolor pencil.

San Diego Bird Festival Art Class

There was a big San Diego Bird Festival today and they had a beginning bird art workshop.  I went and they had me draw using a model of a crow.  I brought my own colored pencils.  I didn't get to finish it.  I know this isn't the best scan, but I'll try to get a better one when I finish it.  It's 9 x 12'

Killdeer painting still in progress

I'm still working on this. It's been a struggle, but here's an update. Still not done yet. It's acrylic on canvas.

"Fish Food Ducklings"

I've been having a ball watching all the little babies around Lake Murray. I call these ducklings the "fish food ducklings" because, when they first hatched, they were living in an area with a lot of large fish that could eat them. There are three, total, but I think there was four originally. One kept going off on his own and I think that's why he went missing.

Anyway, here's the two girls on the shore of the lake.

Update on Killdeer Painting

Another week has gone by and here is an update on my acrylic killdeer painting. Still plugging along.

Killdeer painting in progress

Here is a photomerge that I did on the current killdeer painting in progress. It will be an 18 x 24 acrylic painting. It's very challenging for me because I don't usually do water and I am trying to put a lake in the scene. Also, I've never done killdeer before, except the chick in colored pencil.

Egret Fishing

Here is a photo I took at the Chula Vista Nature Center of an Egret Fishing. I have more photos of this guy that I might put up later.

Baby Hummingbirds

These little ones have just fledged and should be leaving the nest, soon.