Tag: Watercolor

Whatever Weds. This and That

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 45 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

We had #1 Grandson with us last week which was so nice. One of the things we did was visit an Animal Sanctuary in No. Reno called Animal Ark. My favorite were the Cheetahs. Here are two. One wanted to play but, the other wasn’t interested at all so, they’re just chillin.

Cheetahs

Here’s a rare look at #1 Grandson. We had fun measuring our arms comparing them to wingspans of No. American birds. Mine was the same as a Turkey Vulture.

#1 Grandson’s is as large as a Red-tailed Hawk

All too soon it was time to take him home.

The week before his visit I had gone birding locally and saw some good birds. One I was super excited about seeing was the Pinyon Jay. I’ve been waiting for their Spring arrival so I could try again getting a decent image of one. This bird was a lifer for me in 2019 but, they were flying by so fast then that I failed to get a decent shot of one. Finally, on this walk-about I got a few but, that tree on the right is in the way. I was afraid to get any closer and scare it off which I eventually did anyway. 😮 They travel and forage in large flocks- on this day I counted 17 in all.

Photograph

Spring is breaking out all over the west now. When we took #1 Grandson home I noticed Baby Girl’s Apple tree was blooming so I took a quick snap of a blossom.


Apple blossom

I’ve been doing some projects from the book by Wendy Tait- Watercolor Flowers. This is project #2 Roses.

Photograph

I’ve painted 3 of these now- 1 8×10 in. and 2 5X7in. I’m making progress getting my paint to water ratio right, and blending is definitely improving. There are 8 projects in the book with step by step directions and images. I like the book a lot. I’m moving on to project 3 hopefully I’ll continue to improve.

Tomorrow I’m meeting friends down in the Mono Basin to do some photography and camping. I’m hoping for good weather, and clear night skies. I hope you all are having a good week, and your week-end is fun!

Fuji X-T3| iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 23.2.2

more to come…

Whatever Weds. This and That

Posted in Moonrise, Pen & Wash Watercolor, Photography, Watercolor, Watercolor Painting, Wild MustangsTagged , , , , , , , 48 Comments

Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL Rights Reserved

How are you all doing? I’ve been out making pictures, seeing nature, my Baby Girl, grandboys, and our Big Baby Boy came up to visit. We hadn’t seen him in person since January 4th when we parted ways at the Reno airport for our transfers from our return trip from London. It was grand seeing him. We all missed him very much.

I’ve been making lots and lots of pictures, but I’m in a slump processing them. I’m not very motivated to do it lately which is why I’m posting less, painting more.

Here are two I have processed from recent photography outings, and some of you who follow me on Instagram know I’ve been taking two architecture sketching in ink and watercolor courses online. Well, I’ll show you the final project from one of those courses too.  Here we go!

July 4th’s almost Full Moonrise from my patio- rising over the Pinenut Mountains

July 4th's Moon 99.5%

Monday (this week) a girlfriend and I went out to the wilderness in separate cars to see the Wild Mustangs and there are lots and lots of new foals, fillies, and ponies!  Here is one of the cuties I saw.

I never did determine if it was male or female, but here it was resting under the protection of its mother’s chest and head whom you don’t see. It’s so cute!

Wild Mustang Foal

What’s blooming in my yard?  Not a whole lot, but there are Day Lilys! I don’t have any idea about its name. John Hric  do you? They were planted and doing well when we bought the house so left them. I love them.

Yellow Orange Day Lily

…and my Final Project of one of the watercolor courses. This took me all day and 3 times totally erasing it all and starting over. Drawing is so hard for me! I did learn more about how to “see” and draw perspective though. I hope one day it really clicks and I can actually draw without having to start over so many times. Like sewing, I think it requires an engineering brain. That’s not me. At. All!

We had a choice to paint the same building the instructor painted or choose a building from your own town.  I chose a building from one of my images from the capital of my new home state of Nevada. This is the St. Charles Hotel and Fox Brewery Pub in downtown Carson City, not my town, but it’s not too far away. It’s a Historic Landmark which some of you who have been following me a while might remember when I posted about it here in August 2019 for Thursday Doors.  My lampposts and buildings are wonky. I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.  I really wish all the teachers and instructors wouldn’t take away my ruler! St Charles Hotel and Fox Brew Pub Watercolor

…and here’s my image of the St Charles Hotel/Fox Brew Pub from 2019.

You can see I took artistic license and simplified the scene.

 

Historic Mt Charles Hotel and The Fox BrewPub

Current news: Three fires started simultaneously Monday evening just about 25 miles south of us just outside Gardnerville, NV so, we’re keeping a close eye on those.  We’re hoping they all stay out in the uninhabited BLM land. At the time of this writing, it’s now spread to 10,000 acres, destroyed one house, and 10 outbuildings and has 0 containment. Winds are still pretty good from the west which isn’t good.  We’ve been under a Red Flag high wind advisory conditions since Monday afternoon.  The firefighters have been concentrating on saving the 350+ homes out there.  I could see the flames from my patio Monday evening and from along Hwy 395 tonight.  It’s awful. My neighbor who is a retired firefighter says 3 fires don’t start at the same time naturally and suspects it’s arson. They’ve named it the #numbersfire. Right now they’re so busy trying to knock them down that they’re saying the cause is unknown. We had a wildfire in this same area the week before last that burned up a whole lot a of acres! Our thoughts are with those who have been evacuated, and those who are out in the thick of it fighting the fires.

We had dinner tonight with #1 Grandson’s other Grandparents at their house who also live in this town. OH MY GOSH! It was so great to see them and catch up in person! It’s been months and months since we’ve seen them. We figured we’re all still healthy, and we’re all keeping our circle of who we actually get close too really tight so let’s do it. It was so good to be normal! We’re going to see them again only we’re hosting next time. 😀

So, that just about catches you up with me. What’s been happening with you?

Fuji X-T3 & Nikon D810| PS CC 21.2| DaVinci Watercolor paint in the Scratchmadejournal curated palette| Canson 140lb cold press watercolor paper|DaVinci Artissmo and Pentel water brushes

more to come…

 

 

Not a Wordless Wednesday- Birds

Posted in Birds, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 65 Comments

Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I have been struggling with the weight of the Nikkor 200-500mm plus my tripod for sometime-well since moving here actually. Birding here requires more walking or it seems that way to me, so I decided to go to a lighter system for birding and wildlife.

I switched from my long-loved system too. I bought a Fuji X-T3 and their 100-400mm lens. I’m gaining some on the wide end, but losing some distance which I hope I don’t feel too much since the Fuji is an APS-C cropped sensor camera.

A simplified definition of Full-Frame and cropped sensor cameras-  A Full-frame sensor has the same size dimensions of a 35mm film format. That’s long been the standard in film size. A cropped sensor is a cropped or smaller sensor size than 35mm film format.

Where you see the difference in an image is on a Full-Frame camera the area of view is wider than a cropped sensor, and the cropped sensor camera’s area of view is cropped in for a tighter view.  So, and 50mm lens on a full-frame camera’s area of view is 50mm, but on a cropped sensor camera with a 1.5x crop the area of view is about 75mm.  Wildlife and birders love APS-C or crop sensor cameras because of that added reach from the multiplier gain.  It’s from that gain I’m hoping I don’t miss the 500mm end of my heavy 200-500mm lens.  Clear as mud?  It makes my head spin sometimes!

On the weight side. I’ve shed half the weight of what I was carrying.  Nikon kit w/tripod = 11.01 pounds. Fuji kit= 4.22 pounds! Now, instead of needing the tripod to make the shot and improve my keeper rate and that added 4 pounds of weight I can leave it behind and shoot hand-held with the new kit, and be a lot quicker. That’s the plan anyway. 😀

It’s a whole new system that is going to take a while to get comfortable with after 12 years of shooting Nikon, but I am not ditching Nikon completely. I’m keeping my Full-frame cameras and several lenses as they have a place in my bag and photography needs.

I’ll stop talking, and show you an image I made with the new camera and one with my Panasonic Lumix FZ200 from a few weeks ago. FYI- When #1 Grandson heard I bought a new camera he asked for my Lumix FZ200. How cool is that! 😍

Fuji X-T3 w/Fujinon XF 100-400mm

House Finch

Panasonic Lumix FZ200 Mom and Dad American Bald Eagles.

American Bald Eagle Pair

Plus one more! iPhone 7 Plus- We’ve been painting birds for several weeks in my Watercolor class. Here’s the last one I finished.  M. Graham watercolor on Canson 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Rooster_198CC240-54E4-4CD1-9795-776A44B43BBA

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and the load you carry this week isn’t a heavy one!

more to come…

 

Draw-a-Bird Day February

Posted in Chinese New Year, Draw a Bird Day, iPhone 7 Plus, Photography, Watercolor, Watercolor PaintingTagged , , , , , , 46 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’ve been painting Roosters to celebrate in my own way the Chinese New Year.

I was born under the Fire Rooster sign and I am hoping that this is going to be a good year for me.

The first rooster I painted was in my Stillman & Birn watercolor journal with my new M.Graham watercolor paints. I bought Steve Mitchell’s favorite 8 colors since this paint is one I’ve been longing to try. I love the paint. I think this is going to be my go to paint.

I don’t like the way the waddle came out, or my text on the page. I really want to take a calligraphy class. Perhaps this is the year I finally do that.

2017 Year of the Rooster

So, take II- Instead of drawing the Rooster freehand like I did for the painting above  I set up the light table He-Man gave me for Christmas and traced the image of the rooster from an image I made in 2016 while on a doorscurion in Maxwell, CA.

Take II

I don’t like the tail so I covered up the worst bits with the mat board. The text is boring as well. I really am making a case for a calligraphy class aren’t I? “)

Year of the Rooster

Take III

I let loose a bit, and used my white gel pen, and black micron pen to add some details.  Again  wasn’t really happy with the tail feather ends, but love the way its head and breast came out.

Fire Rooster 2017

Some traits of the Fire Rooster for those with inquiring minds:

2017 The Year of the Rooster-

1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029

“I am alert

Ready to take action

The first on the scene

The last to leave

I take chances

But I am precise

I know where things belong

I am orderly and fastidious

Nothing escapes me

I am always prepared

I never give up or in

I AM THE ROOSTER”

I can’t say I meet all these traits, but some fit. 🙂

I’m not sure there will be a Take IV (oh man, I had to look up the table to make sure I recalled the correct letters for roman numeral 4) SAD! I did but still! It’s so true what they say about losing it if you don’t use it!

A note regarding the 8 paints and paper I used:

The 8 colors of paint I purchased are: Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, Paynes Gray, Sepia, Azo Green, Indian Yellow, Quinacridone Red, Red Iron Oxide.

I really like how vibrant, and transparent they are. They mix well, and don’t make a muddy mess.  I’m looking for a little palette to put some whole and half pans in to be able to carry it out and about.

I used Arches 9″X12″ 140lb Coldpress paper for the 2nd, and 3rd paintings.

I wish you all Gung hay fat choi!

iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 2017

More to come…

 

 

Draw-a-Bird Day Nov.2016

Posted in Birds, Draw a Bird Day, Photography, WatercolorTagged , , , , , , , , 33 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I actually painted this in late October and thought if it came out alright I’d post it for this month’s Draw-a-Bird day.

I’ve never seen a Barred Owl in the wild but, would love to!

Barred Owl in Watercolor

Reference/inspiration Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

Painted on Canson 140lb coldpress watercolor paper

Paint: Turner Artist Watercolors; sap green, maya yellow, burnt umber, permanent yellow, ultramarine blue

Ink: Carbon Platinum Pen and ink

Brushes: Escoda #6, rd #2 rd , Mimik Kolinsky #12

More to come…

Lazuli Bunting Watercolor

Posted in #WaterColorMonth, Art, Birds, Birds of North America, Draw a Bird Day, Nature, Photography, Watercolor, Watercolor PaintingTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 26 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Here we are already on July 8th! Which means it’s Draw-a-Bird Day over on CreateArtEveryday, and it’s also #WorldWatercolorMonth created by Charlie O’Shields over at doodlewash.com. 

Yesterday afternoon I felt inspired to paint a Lazuli Bunting I photographed back in May 2014. I used a Pentel Graphic Gear 0.7 to lightly sketch the beak, and snag it’s perched on, but kept the rest the painting loose.  I’m pleasantly surprised how well it came out for not trying to sketch the whole bird.

The Lazuli Bunting is a Spring/Breeding visitor in my region of Northern California.  I was very excited to see it him and add him to my “life list” back in the Spring of 2014.

Lazuli Bunting in Watercolor

The image I used as my reference is here.P52 18 of 52 Lazuli Bunting-1st yr Male

Paint, Paper, Brush:

Sennelier L’Aquarelle in Cinereous Blue, French Vermillion, Bright Red, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, Naples Yellow Deep, Warm Sepia, Hooker’s green, Phthalo Green Light.

I painted this in my Strathmore Watercolor Art Journal 400 Series 8.5″ X 5.5″ 140lb paper.

Brush:  Di Vinci Artissimo Rd #1

I’m posting this on both Creatarteveryday’s Draw a Bird Day, and #WorldWatercolormonth.  If you have a moment please head over and check out the amazing work being done by artists all over the world.

More to come…

 

What’s blooming?

Posted in Art, Flowers, Photography, Watercolor, Watercolor PaintingTagged , , , , , , , , , , 29 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Copyright © 2016 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

My Agapanthus are blooming right now, and this sweet bud just opening inspired me to try to paint it.

Painted on Arches Hot Press 140lb watercolor paper, with Sennelier paints.
I used, Naples Yellow, Indian Yellow, Cobalt Violet Deep, Ultramarine Deep, Forest Green, Emerald Green, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, and Ivory Black.

I received a gift card to Amazon for my birthday last month so, I splurged on a Di Vinci Artissmo brush #1 rd. I used it, along with an Escoda Reserva #2, and a Robert Simmons Sapphire 10/0 brushes.
WOW, does  the Artissmo brush hold water! I’m having to learn to paint all over again with this brush.

 

watercolor

I’m really happy with how this little bud came out. I’m feeling brave enough to try the whole pom pom blossom. To be continued. 🙂

Charlie O’ Shield’s over at doodlewash  has invited artist, and dabblers in paint to tag their  nature paintings, or watercolor  work in the month of June to share our work using the tag

#naturedoodlewash. He’ll compile a list of all those who participated at the end of the month.

Image made with Lumix FZ200| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…