Day 6 - 30/30 Challenge - Two Swans A-Swimming

Two Swans A-Swimming

Watercolor, 6" x 6", $35

Available in my Etsy shop.

I didn't mean to reference any Christmasy sort of thing - not two days in a row. Really, I didn't. But technically, Jan 6 is the 12th Day of Christmas - the Epiphany - so it's appropriate. And I honestly didn't title the painting until I started typing. It's like realizing someone's made a pun and not being able to stop the inevitable response(s). I'll try not to do it again. :-)

I went for snow-shoeing hike today in the always lovely Shu Swamp Preserve in Mill Neck. The ducks and geese and swans, as well as the giant carp and huge snapping turtles pass through this little tunnel from the cozy little pond out into the bigger Beaver Dam Pond. In the summer, swallows nest in the banks, bitterns quietly stalk through the reeds and ospreys fly over head. There may be river otter somewhere nearby - I've heard rumors that they live further upstream.

This was challenging to do in watercolor. I had to edit out most of the branches. They were pale grey with small red buds. Too complicated for this challenge. The grey/green/brown of the embankment/side of the tunnel behind the tree trunks also confused the issue. I wanted to try to keep it as simple as possible - the swans, the tunnel creating the reflected circle and the pond-scape beyond  - as well as a sense of season.

Now back to working out a new mermaid - but more on that another time.

Day 5 - 30/30 Marketing Your Art Challenge

Today's challenge on Leslie Saeta's blog is to make a collage of some of your work.
I chose to pick some old and some new pieces, some sketches and cards, but you can use anything really - I'll probably do one with some of my graphic design work soon.
It's really easy when you use ipiccy. You can choose from any number of layouts, switch stuff around add frames and effects, and when you're done, you can save it.
Here's mine for today:

From the top left to right:

• Row 1: Four boats, colored pencil on canvas; Blue Truck, North Fork, watercolor; Casa Pelligro, watercolor; After The Blizzard, watercolor; Fire Island Lighthouse, Sunset, oil pastel
• Row 2: Bayville Marsh, Oyster bBay, watercolor; Winter Vineyard, pastel; Evening, Greenport Boatyard, watercolor; Rescue Dogs, watercolor & colored pencil. This was a piece done after 9/11 and was part of the show at Society of Illustrators, NYC.; Mermaid for 2013 Great South Bay Music Festival, watercolor and colored pencil. This is for a festival in Patchogue, NY. Every year I do a new version of the mermaid.
• Row 3: Self Portrait with Carrots, watercolor & colored pencil; Osprey, pastel; Abandoned Farmhouse, watercolor; Coffee Pot Lighthouse, Orient Point, Sunset, pastel; Cat Bowl, acrylic on wooden bowl
• Row 4: Blue Kettle Still Life, colored pencil on canvas; Froggy Holiday, watercolor & colored pencil. This is one of the first Christmas cards I painted and sold.; Hidden Door, watercolor sketch
• Row 5: Lopas Point, Maine, watercolor; Ballerina Dress, acrylic on canvas. Painted as a custom piece for a friend's baby's room. Available on Etsy as a commissioned piece.; Winter, Yellow Farmstand, Orient, watercolor; Red House, Bass Harbor, watercolor; Yellow Still Life, watercolor.

Many of these pieces are available on Fine Art America, or at Greeting Card Universe, or on Etsy.

A Walk At Shu Swamp
Yesterday I took a little walk at Shu Swamp. It's a lovely little place in Mill Neck on Long Island, NY.

The light in the late afternoon, illuminating the millions of tiny leaves, is magical.

The skunk cabbage (and irises, not blooming yet) along the little brooks 

that snake through the property.

Ferny Fiddleheads

Is that a fairy behind that fern? Could be.

One of the huge tulip trees that came down in Hurricane Sandy.

Counted the rings - it was well over 150 years old.

Some of the tallest tulip trees in New York. 

Love looking up - makes me a little dizzy though.

And that's a snapping turtle (one of two) - he/she's HUGE! 

Yes, he is stalking the swan.

Great Blue Heron sculpture by F. Edwin Church.

Thanks for walking with me!