November Sparrow

5.5x8.5 watercolors using Gansai Tambi graphite paints on 80 lb sketchbook paper done last week before Thanksgiving. No reference photo. Also I used white wax crayon and multicolored colored pencils in this nature with bird painting. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Patterned Owl

12.5x9 mixed media on handmade cotton paper from India made by Leather Village. Owl outline done with technical ink pen STA 0.5 and multi-lead colored pencils, Montana markers, acrylic ink markers, watercolor, and acrylics used in the bird. I used a paper doily as a stencil and black fluid acrylic for the breast markings. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Owl Mystic

6x6 watercolor and colored pencil using Magic pencils by Koh-i-Noor in Master's Touch sketchbook, 80 lb paper. First I put the paper face down in palette multicolored watercolors to wet it for an abstract background, then sketched the owl when dry. Lastly, ink used with STA Lictin 0.5 pen to make tiny feather shape patterns. Ref was part of a WetCanvas Weekend Drawing Event. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Snowy Finch

9x12 ink on old ledger paper done today for a WetCanvas challenge in the Pen & Ink forum.  I used Sakura Micron 01/03 pens and left the background line work only, so as to focus on the snowy finch.  Look closely to see snow on his head and back.  Ref courtesy WC reference image library/AvengingManatee.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith

Florida Egrets

24x18 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, a recent bird painting of a group of white egrets lined up watching along the waterfront.  I so enjoyed living in Florida and go back there periodically to visit and see the wildlife activity.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

#InkTober day 26 ~ Raptor Brown Hawk

9x5.75 ink, watercolor, acrylic on 140 lb cold press Canson wc paper for this 26th day of #InkTober.  Only 5 days left of this annual fun challenge of doing one work per day using ink in some form or totally ink.  This work has 3 mediums in it and was sketched on a backing sheet I use to put behind smaller pieces to catch drips and edges; it makes for an unusual background for the brown hawk.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Owl Flying ~ day 21 of 30 in 30 challenge

5.5x8.5 watercolor and watercolor pencils on Bienfang mixed media sketchbook that is today's work.  In this wildlife nature scene I've cropped the bottom of his wings in order to showcase his face and trees behind.  A mix of Coastal Fog, burnt sienna, and ultramarine make the neutral sky color on an overcast day.  It is day 21 of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Cup and Saucer Bird

5.5x8.5 watercolor on paper done last week while in the mountains over a 2 day quick visit.  This bird, a jay, is eating from a china cup and saucer birdfeeder someone made and I thought was very sweet.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Duck Pond

22x15 watercolor on Saunders 300 lb cold press paper that is the reverse side of Cosmos Clouds posted yesterday.  It is an older simple view of a white duck and abstract foreground from one of my pond wildlife photos painted wet in wet.  So if someone purchases the duck they get the cosmos watercolor as a freebie.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Bold Bird

4x6 mixed media on paper done today, a quick ink sketch with Lamy Safari pen and grey Noodler's ink.  I had less than 30 minutes to do it so applied watercolor first followed by Montana acrylic marker on the background.  The bird is imaginary as are its bold colors.
I used a card insert from Lakeside Collection gift catalog.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Bluejay sketch

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink on paper.  Using a Staedtler 0.3 pigment liner I quickly sketched one of our backyard birds over multicolored wash background rather than coloring in the bird in the usual way.

Also since last Tuesday 9-1-15, I've posted daily works on Leslie Saeta's #30paintingsin30days challenge she hosts annually on her blog Slices of Life you can see HERE.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Regal Redwinged Blackbird

10x7 watercolor on Daler Rowney 140 lb cold press paper done this past week while in the mountains.  I go to an area by White Mountain schools that has a marsh and cattails in order to spot them in their natural habitat there and in nearby trees.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2015.

White Throated Sparrow

4.25x6 watercolor and ink (Pigma Micron 01 pen) on a magazine insert card done yesterday.  I like the touches of pink in the abstract background and orange/salmon elsewhere.  I used a card in latest issue of The Artist's Magazine.  These small ones are so fun to paint, and the common sparrow varieties seem endless.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Red Winged Blackbird

15x22 watercolor wildlife painting on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper.  I photographed this lovely bird year before last in a cattail marsh on Warrior road in Ruidoso, NM.  Blending in with the environment, they frequent roadside brushy areas and dwell within the reeds and cattails.  I've entered it in a major bird exhibit on the West Coast coming up.  So for now it is not for sale.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sparrow Secrets

11x15 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press paper drawn and painted yesterday.  A neutral background wash was applied after the bird was painted wet on dry.  Weeds and grasses were done when bg dried.  Lastly splattering in foreground with two oranges, one transparent pyrrol and the other Halloween orange, an opaque was put on as a finishing touch for this nature scene of a white crowned sparrow.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Owl Outlook

8.5x5 watercolor done today with pencil drawing on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media as I thought I might add colored pencils or ink, but didn't need them.  Be wise, as this short-eared owl is, and always be prepared to use other media to get your point across if needed.
COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Chickadee Cheer

10.25x9 watercolor and ink of a chickadee in a willow tree of which I've tried to do negative painting in parts.  Some branches and twigs were left natural while others are positively painted.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.