Category: challenges

Flamingo in Rippled Water watercolor painting

Published on by kmgunnart7 Comments

I did complete the seven day art challenge, even if I didn’t post everything here.  In all, I have six flamingo paintings and one beach sunrise painting, all in watercolor. This is the flamingo painting I like best of the six, although others have said they prefer another from the series … but that is probably why we are all individual people!

watercolor painting Flamingo in Rippled Water
Flamingo in Rippled Water. 9×12 inch watercolor on paper, original available

A pink flamingo feeds in rippled blue-green water along the shore, with its feathers and the water ripples catching the early morning sun light.  This is a twelve by nine inch watercolor painting on watercolor paper.

The (unframed) original painting is available, sealed with art wax and in a plastic sleeve to protect it, for $125 USD.  Prints are available at my Pixels store, and accessories and apparel at my RedBubble store.

Award-winning watercolor painting

Update: I entered this painting into two art contests. The first was the inaugural art competition in the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans’ Healthcare System Creative Arts Festival (say that one fast) and it took first place in the watercolor division, though it did not place at the national level. We veterans tend to be quite the talented bunch. The second time was in March 2022, when I entered in my local county fair. The judge bumped it up to the professional category, and awarded me a red ribbon (which had a prize of $2.00!). Considering the Best in Show went to someone in the youth category, and that will look great on a college application, I have no regrets.

I should probably note I am working on repainting this on a 16×20 inch stretched canvas. I have the layout done, and a thin layer of acrylic as the base because charcoal and graphite tend to rub off canvas. Watch for a further post on this piece, which will be a one-of-a-kind since my scanner can only fit 11×17 inches, so there will be no prints of it.

Let me read this to you

I am trying something fun: recording myself reading the blog post (with a little extra) as a podcast. Listen here.

Flapping Flamingo in watercolor

Published on by kmgunnart4 Comments

A new art challenge has begun!  This is a short seven days, with the theme of “liquid,” which to my mind cries out to be done all in watercolor for the medium.  I have my seven reference photos picked out, cropped, and gridded … and all seven involve one or more flamingoes, which are wading shore birds so it was merely a matter of making sure they aren’t on dry land.  I have been wanting to paint a flamingo for almost two years now, and have done sketches to get a feel for the bird’s lines.  Now, it is time to paint some.

page from sketchbook of several flamingoes in various poses
page of flamingo sketches from my trusty sketchbook

First up is a young bird, molting from the grey-purple chick down to the vibrant pink feathers of the adult flamingo.  The wings change over before the head and neck, just like chickens.  The brilliant rose pink is a perfect contrast to the blue-green I used for the water, with the distant shoreline a blurry combination of yellow ochre for sand, brown in the shadows, and three shades of green.

Flamingoes usually don’t come this far north, nor this far inland, in Florida, but down in the southern part of the peninsula they are believed to be starting to come back and be a part of the wildlife again. Personally, I love the thought of the American flamingo regaining its Florida native status.

Flapping Flamingo, watercolor painting
Flapping Flamingo, 12 x 9 inch watercolor on paper, original available $100 USD plus shipping

The original is twelve by nine inches, sealed with wax to protect against humidity, and available to purchase through Daily PaintWorks.  Prints – both smaller and larger – are available at my Pixels store.  Tee shirts and accessories are available at my RedBubble subdomain.