Friday, January 6, 2012

Painting #6 Jailbird Feather ( in umber)

Okay,,, you are probably wondering where in the heck I got that title.  Funny story! For those of you who know my husband, Claude, you know he is pretty quiet and not much on the "sense of humor".

Recently we were on vacation out west and had stopped on our way back from Tortilla Flats to explore this little ghost town. Upon exploring the old jail cell, there on the floor lay this black bird feather. I collected the feather to put in my newly adorned cowgirl hat. As we headed for Cave Creek I said to my husband, "I wonder what kind of bird this came from", not  expecting an answer from him but I got no response at all...then he turned to me and very seriously replied...."It must be a jail-bird feather!".
I cracked up!!!! One of the best one-liners he has ever come up with. Now, I can never part with that feather.

Jailbird Feather    5 x 7" oil on panel 

Today I also went a step further with my viewfinder.. I decided to cut a piece of cardboard with an opening to match the size I was painting on; 5 x 7".  Then I fastened it to my Stanright easel and moved it around until it had the composition I wanted. This really helped as I could move much further away so I didn't get caught up in details right away.

I also decided to try gridding it off with string to match how I grid my canvas. I love it! I usually do that with photos, so I love being able to solve the issue when painting from life.


Here is a distant view also....




Until tomorrow....... 

2 comments:

Gloria E. Moses said...

It is like a giant viewfinder, again another great idea! This is a beauty today, you can tell you enjoyed the subject. What a cute story.

silentwitness said...

Lovely painting, Ruth Ann, and what a nifty viewfinder! thanks for sharing!