More Little Blue Birds

I finally did a bigger painting and it feels really good after months of doing little, tiny ones. This is the first painting I have ever done using masking tape instead of staples. I like it because it crates a white border around the painting. I only did a 1/4 inch border this time. I think I will make it wider next time because I really like the look.

Here is the reference photo (found on pinterest, of course). I had to squish the drawing to get them all in:

And here is the progression:

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(16x20)

This paper was different than what I have been using. I couldn't get my darks to be as dark as I wanted them to be and the paint doesn't lift as well as I am used to. Overall though, I do like this paper. The paint sits on top of the paper longer so I have more time to spread it around. It also makes blending colors easier.

The birds are darker than the reference photo; I should go back and lighten them. That will probably make my darks stand out more. I think my printer is partly to blame, once again, because the picture I used to paint from was darker than the one above. I'm noticing that I tend to paint things darker than they actually are, though-- something to work on.

***Update***
So, I did go back and lift some of the color off of the birds. I can't decide whether it helped or hurt. I kind of liked them darker. Oh well!:

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Finally Finished Poppies

The poppies are finally finished. I am pretty happy with the way they turned out but as usual there are a few things that I wish I could have done better. I may tweak it here and there in a while, when I can look at it with fresh eyes. It's hard to tell what it needs when I have been staring at it for a long time. Two things I learned while painting the poppies: 1: Orange is easy to work with. It lifts quite well. 2: I need to work on my shadows. Hopefully I'll get some more practice with another poppy painting. Here is the finished painting:

I Did It!

This post has nothing to do with painting of any kind, but something much more important, to me at least. It is my biggest accomplishment thus far and I wanted to write down my thoughts and feelings, while I still have them. I graduated from college yesterday. I spent the last five years attending Westminster College and yesterday was a day that I wasn't sure would ever come. I majored in Aviation: Flight Operations and spent much of my time at the airport, flying airplanes. I haven't flown in a while but I think I ended up with about 350 hours. I earned my private, instrument, commercial, and multi-engine ratings. Toward the end of my education, I decided that flying probably isn't for me. This change of heart was a result of many things, but most of all because my eyes were opened to all the other opportunities in the aviation industry. There is a place for me out there, somewhere. I just need to find it. I was originally pursuing an art minor, which is why it took me...

County Fair Entries

The Salt Lake County Fair is next week and I entered two paintings in the fine arts competition. I entered: the lilies and... the poppies. I put them in a white frame and I quite like it. No surprise there! One of the requirements to enter is that the painting was completed in the last three years. These are the only two watercolor paintings I have finished the the past three years. Wow. That makes me sad! I need to get my butt in gear! Entering a painting in a competition and sharing my work has always been nerve-wracking for me. But I'm making myself do it because I figure what good is a painting if it is just going to sit in a portfolio in my room? It would be a waste of time and effort to pour so much hard work into a painting and never share it with anyone, especially when I love watercolor so much. And that's a big part of the reason I started my blog, too. The Utah State Fair is next month and I would like to enter a painting but I am more hesitant about that com...

Emilee Williams Art

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