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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