Rooster Painting Watercolor on Yupo Paper

It's the first day of Spring for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Spring is the season when I think of Mother Hens with new broods of little baby chicks and a rooster watching over them vigilantly. I love the sight of a colorful roo strutting about a barnyard. I don't have a rooster for my hens (yet), but a neighboring farm always has some.

Since it's a lovely time of year to paint a colorful roo, I decided to do just that and try the painting in watercolor on my new favorite - Yupo paper. Yupo is a synthetic paper that is smooth as glass. The watercolors never sink in as they do on cotton paper, but slide all around on its surface forming puddles here and there until dry. Which means lots of fun waiting to see how things will look.

Keep reading to see how the painting was created...

Bermuda Longtails, Beach and Seascape Painting Commissioned Watercolor

A few months ago, a lovely lady contacted me about my Bermuda Collection. She and her husband wished to give his mother a special painting for Christmas to remember a vacation the three took in Bermuda.

Bermuda Longtails 5x7 watercolor

Her mother-in-law loved watching the Bermuda Longtails as they flew between the coral cliffs and turquoise water. The painting on the left was the perfect choice, but it was sold. So I agreed to paint a new one for her at a larger size. I was happy to visit Bermuda again at the easel!

I'll share the process of painting the 12x16 version with you, so if you'd like to see, keep on reading.

Peach-faced Lovebirds Watercolor Painting

After a busy holiday season, here it is February and I've only now emerged from being buried in custom painting orders! Which is a good thing for sure, but now I can finally share them with you.

One of the orders was so cute. A young shopper saw my lovebirds print and wanted to know if it comes in different colors. She sent me a picture of her lovebird that has a pale peach face. Well, I don't usually do a painting just to make a print, but I agreed because he's adorable:

Peach-faced Love Birds

Sweet, yes? They make me think of Valentine's Day - all lovey and cuddly.

Since the customer only wanted a print, I used the original watercolor to make a wedding card for a couple who are near and dear to my heart. Which means the original is not for sale.
However, the print is available and would make a perfect gift for a loving couple. You can get it in my Print Shop here: Peach-faced Lovebirds Fine Art Print.

Thank you for stopping by. I'll share more of my custom paintings in the weeks (or months!) to come.

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I'm happy to take custom orders. Contact me for a custom painting of your pet, home, garden, grandkids, favorite vacation spot or whatever your heart desires.
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Northern Cardinal in the Snow Winter Watercolor Original Painting

It's a winter wonderland here (again!).  There is almost 4 feet of snow accumulation with more on the way.

In between shoveling snow all of February and working on custom paintings, I took some time to do a watercolor painting of a female cardinal in one of the spruce trees outside my studio window.

Some birds such as cardinals remain here throughout the winter dining on whatever seeds they can find. The male cardinals are bright red all over, but I like the females too with their more subtle olive-brown color and just a touch of red on their crests, wings and tails.

Here she is fluffed up to stay warm in the cold winter weather:

Eastern Phoebe and Purple Clematis Flowers Watercolor

'Phoebe & Clematis'  7x5 inch watercolor

Eastern Phoebes are delightful birds! This little bird has been around my studio all summer. We noticed her nest on the downspout right under the roof overhang -  a favorite place for Phoebe nests.

Every morning, she or her mate starts at the crack of dawn with their 'Fee-bree' call. And then it continues all day sometimes.

Hummingbird and Red Bee Balm Oil Painting

It's always fun to try a painting in a different medium. When someone would like a watercolor I've painted to be done in oil or vice versa, I enjoy the experience.

The painting to the left is a 7x5 inch watercolor that I did some time ago.

A client asked if I could do the same painting for her but in oils instead of watercolor.  So this is a good opportunity to try it in my other favorite medium.

The oil painting will also be 7x5. I found that  I have a small canvas at that size - perfect!

Red Bird in a Summer Garden Oil Painting

The inspiration for this scene comes from a beautiful estate in upstate New York where my son worked as a gardener for a few summers. He took many photos and this is one scene that I particularly like. I decided to try it in oils adding a bird at the bird bath and making some changes to the composition.

So I got out a 5x7 Ampersand panel and my oil paints. I'll show you how I painted it below. The finished painting is available for sale in my Original Art shop: Red Bird in a Summer Garden oil painting

Snowy Owl Original Watercolor Painting

"Snowy Owl" - for sale in my shop!

Owls are amazing creatures. Their haunting hoots echo mysteriously through the dark glades of the forest. They fly on soundless wings without a rustle and if you don't happen to look up, you will never know one passed by.

I had always thought they are only nocturnal birds - and they do indeed wake me up when the windows are open on many a spring and summer night. But on my many walks, I often pass by a deep dark patch of evergreen forest and whether it is morning, afternoon or evening, the owls are often hooting from the depths of it.

It's always a pleasure to see an owl in the wild because it happens unexpectedly. I have seen and heard Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls, Screech Owls, barn owls and little saw whet owls.

Hummingbird and Hibiscus Blossoms - an almost custom painting

OK, so why is this an ALMOST custom painting? The subject is one that a customer ordered at a specific size. No problem, she wanted an 11 x 14 inch painting of a ruby-throated hummingbird visiting some hibiscus flowers. I am happy with how it turned out. So what happened?

The problem started when we lost power here about 12 days ago due to a freak snowstorm in late October. Snowstorms don't normally cause long power outages in New England, but this one was heavy and deep and most of the oak trees had not yet lost their leaves. So the trees broke from the weight of the snow on their leaves. Those big old oaks fell helter skelter all over the power lines all over the state. A huge mess. We were without power for 10 days.

During this time, I worked on some custom paintings and this was one of them. With no way to access my emails for a while, I did not get the message that the painting was 14 inches tall by 11 inches wide. So I painted it 11 inches tall by 14 inches wide. Won't work.

At any rate, I'm now re-doing the painting again at the correct orientation, but meanwhile, here are some pics of my efforts on this one:

I only took 2 pictures while working on it. This first one shows the pencil drawing. I did not work out the composition on a separate paper for this but just drew right on the watercolor paper.

I felt very confident of what I wanted to do so there was not the problem of erasures messing up the paper surface.

You can click the images to see them larger.

I wet the background and washed in some pale colors. What is interesting is the speckled aspect of the background. Could it be because I'd soaked the paper in water from our brook (since well water was scarce during the outage)?  At any rate, I like the effect!

Next, I started on the hibiscus flowers. I love painting white flowers - there are so many colors that can be used in the shadows. If you look closely, you'll see blues, reds, yellows, violets, turquoise.

The deep magenta centers of these flowers really make them pop! Last I painted the leaves and the hummingbird.

Update: the painting is now sold! Please contact me if you'd like a print or custom painting done.

Chrysanthemums, Pumpkins and Birds - Watercolor Painting Demonstration

Pumpkins, Birds and Mums
Recently, my watercolor students have been painting Autumn scenes. This means pumpkins and chrysanthemums are included.

They particularly wanted to know how to paint mums which can seem difficult at first because they are a mound of color broken up into individual flowers. You may be wondering the same thing.

So, let's take a look at how I painted the mums in this scene.

Carolina Wren in a Birch Tree Watercolor Painting Demonstration

One of my collectors loves wrens. I don't blame her, they are sweet little birds and one of my favorites too. She has commissioned paintings of wrens for each of the four seasons. This one is the final one of that collection - she likes birches and asked for a wren in a birch tree.

Let's see how I did this 8x10 inch watercolor painting:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Hibiscus Flower Watercolor Painting

A little female Ruby-throated hummingbird visits one of the blossoms on my Rose of Sharon hibiscus bush. Every day in August I see them buzzing about and enjoy watching them from my front porch. So of course, I had to paint one! I've done many paintings of hummingbirds usually the male with its bright red throat, but the female is pretty too and I thought I'd give her some equal time.

The original painting has been sold, but  you can contact me if you'd like a print or a painting made just for you.

Brazilian Red Crested Cardinal Tropicals # 32

Much as I love the Northern Cardinal with its bright red coat of feathers, I could not help but be impressed by its tropical cousin. I had not known about Brazilian Cardinals, or Red Crested Cardinals, before going to Hawaii, much less seen one. But these birds, brought to Hawaii from South America in the 1930s, are now common on the island of Oahu.

• See more of my bird paintings in Zeh Original Art Etsy shop
• You can find my Bird prints in my Fine Art Print Shop 

Carolina Wren Nesting Watercolor Painting Demonstration

Though it's just about August and I've already begun painting some fall scenes, here is a May painting just completed. A lovely lady from Canada requested a painting of a wren in Springtime to add to her wren collection. I'm happy to oblige!

Here's how I did this painting - you can click any of the images to see them larger:

Hummingbird, Red Bee Balm, Crabapple Tree - Painting Outdoors

It was such a gorgeous day yesterday, that I could not stay inside. All plans for whatever I was GOING to paint went out the window as I headed out the door with paintbrush, palette and watercolor paper to paint in the garden.

The first painting I did yesterday was of the red bee balm blooming by the side of the house. I did not see the hummingbird fly to the flowers, but I heard him buzz by my head. So he was most likely waiting for me to finish the painting and be gone. That's what I did.

The second painting I did was totally unexpected. I'd set up my stuff underneath the crabapple tree and meant to paint the hydrangea flowers blooming in front of me.

However, I had not brought out the umbrella, so there were dappled sunlight and shadows on my paper meaning it would be difficult to see what I was doing. Rather than fight it, I just went with it and painted the shadows on my paper. This is what resulted. Lots of fun, and what a great day!

African Spoonbill Wading Bird Watercolor Painting

The African Spoonbill is a wading bird found in many parts of Africa. This particular bird, though, I found at the Honolulu Zoo. I was impressed by its stately bearing. The bird and its reflection in the golden pool make a peaceful composition. Almost makes me want to meditate!

African Spoonbills nest in colonies in trees near water. Their long legs are perfect for wading in varying depths of shallow water to find food. With their spoon-like bill which they swing back and forth across the surface of the water, they scoop up small fish, crustaceans and other aquatic life including insects. When they fly, they keep their long necks outstretched.

You can currently find the original painting of African Spoonbill for sale in my Etsy shop, Zehland.Etsy.com.

Northern Cardinal

There is a cardinal nest right outside my kitchen door in the burning bush. Usually these birds don't nest so close to the house. They nest in the evergreens along the driveway.

But the overgrown field next door is being cleared for pasture and there is too much activity there, so I suppose the burning bush was the next best thing. It's also close to the crabapple tree where the male can keep a close eye on things. I snapped a photo of him this morning. 

The female is incubating the eggs and the male brings her food from time to time. He does not fly directly to the nest as that might attract too much attention with his bright red coat. Instead, he flies to a branch well below the nest and surreptitiously hops from one branch to the next until he is out of sight completely and at the nest which is hidden in the upper dense foliage.

He's so pretty, perhaps I'll do a painting of him, the female and the nest. Idea?

Goldfinch in a Crabapple Tree, Watercolor ACEO Painting

I am so looking forward to Spring since it's been such a snowy winter so far.

So, here is a Springtime painting for you. The crabapple blossoms are just beginning to open and the finch has put on his bright yellow coat after being a drab brownish color all winter.

This painting is sold, but contact me if you would like a print or a painting done just for you.

Thanks for stopping by today to share a breath of Spring!

Carolina Wren and Milkweed Pods

Milkweed pods make a perfect background for this Carolina Wren in winter.

I had plucked a stem of these dried pods on one of my walks where I found it growing by the side of the road and was looking for a way to incorporate them into a painting. Their colors work great with this little bird.

This painting is sold, but contact me if you would like a print or a painting done just for you.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a fabulous day!

Black-capped Chickadees Story - Original Watercolor Painting

The antics of these little birds are fun to watch. Black-capped chickadees seem so unafraid of humans that they almost seem tame. One can walk right up to the feeder and they will still fly back and forth to it as if you are their best friend.
I have come to believe that is because they are exceptionally smart creatures and realize that you ARE their best friend since you are feeding them!

One year, something happened that brought this home. It was a very busy time for me that winter. More than once, I let the feeders go empty without noticing. One day while at my easel, a chickadee came to the window and started tap-tapping on it. He'd fly away and then come back and tap again. I got up to see what was going on. Sure enough, the feeder was empty!
Now, these birds don't generally tap on the window, so I'm thinking he knew I was there and wanted some attention for the empty feeder situation. He somehow knew, even though I never go inside through the window, that he could tap there and I'd come out.
After filling the feeder, he did not come back to tap until the next time it was empty!

What do you think? Do wild birds communicate with us? Do you have a story?

You can also see my hummingbird story here

This painting has been sold. But you can get other of my bird paintings in my Etsy shop at JanetZeh.Etsy.com.