A Volatile Ride With Watercolor

First Winter Chipping Sparrow in Pine. Watercolor by Ken Januski.

Somewhere there is a quote from Eugene Delacroix about the virtue and success of just pursuing your artwork, as though practice does indeed make perfect. I couldn't find it after a quick search though so this post will live without it. As I recall he was saying something like steady workmanship can be as important as high-flying inspiration. But don't quote me on that!

In any case that was my thought in pursuing more watercolors after the success of the Chipping Sparrow above. What makes it a success to me? The fact that it seems fresh, bright, unlabored. Those are the elements I think that make watercolor such a desirable medium to use. But I rarely get freshness, brightness and light.

I think that I always have far higher expectations for the watercolor than what I actually get so I immediately start reworking it, killing off all the freshness as I do so. The pursuit of perfection can be a dangerous thing. And yet art and life would be quite boring if you didn't keep striving. In any case that wasn't in my mind as I started the watercolor below. Instead I thought maybe I'd be able to continue in this fresh vein if I just kept at it.

Herring Gull Along Schuylkill River (The Day after Hurricane Sandy). Watercolor/Gouache by Ken Januski.

When I pull out white gouache to add to the watercolor you can bet that I haven't been successful in being fresh and light. Instead I've tried to whip the painting into shape, banging, hammering and kicking it until it does what I want. This is the way I always worked when I worked abstractly, particularly if I was using the very forgiving media of oil paint or acrylic.

I think you can learn a lot by struggling with a painting. Sometimes it will show in the painting. As Delacroix might say, the painting will have rigor. But it also might look constipated. I've done abstract paintings like that, ones that I struggled with forever ending in either defeat or a draw. So the finished product doesn't always look like much. Still I might have learned a lot.

In the case of the Herring Gull and roaring Schuylkill River the day after Hurricane Sandy came through I think the painting sort of works. But it is completely held together by white gouache. It does not use watercolor to its advantage but really is more like an oil or acrylic. The freshness and easiness I'd hoped to continue from the Chipping Sparrow is gone.

Hermit Thrush Bathing in Wissahickon. Watercolor/Gouache by Ken Januski.

With the mixed results of the Herring Gull it might have been wise to halt my watercolor explorations for a while. I didn't. In this case it really was more the local birds that forced me to it than anything else. On a fairly cold and gray day yesterday we were shocked to find one group after another of 2-3 Hermit Thrushes. Some were on the fences of horse stables, some were bathing in the Wissahickon, shaking off the water. others stood pot-bellied on logs along the Wissahickon, or at eye-level or below in small shrubs and trees and some just scuffled through the leaf litter. I've never seen so many Hermit Thrushes in one day. At a minimum there were 7 and more likely 10 or more. In any case I took a number of photos and decided I'd like to try to capture this one taking a bath.

There are very difficult technical challenges in capturing flying water in watercolor, unless you want to use masking, which I always think looks horribly hokey and contrived. So I knew this would be difficult.  Even just plain old flat water can be difficult in watercolor, especially it takes up a fair amount of the composition. Even anticipating all of these difficulties I still hoped I could make a successful watercolor.

To make a long story short I think this is the worst of this group of three watercolors.I had to use extensive white gouache. This is probably something that should not be attempted in watercolor. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Hopefully the pose itself does capture some sense of the lifted wings of the Hermit Thrush as he shakes the water off. That in itself is a worthy goal, and I hope I've accomplished it. All in all it has been a very volatile ride with watercolor. But it remains a medium that I'd like to master, in one way or another, in one style or another. So I keep at it.

One of these days it's back to prints.

Some Backgound, Or Not

Birds live in an environment, not in the idealized frame of a painting or drawing. So I've never been that fond of bodiless bird 'portraits' or bird 'vignettes', where they're centered on the page with a vague background that disappears into blank paper as it nears the edge of the frame. Consciously or not I think most artists who use birds as subjects, or even animals in general, make a decision about a background.

Should I use one? Should it be so detailed as to almost conflict with the primary subject but nonetheless be true to how the bird actually exists? Should it be something that's generalized from something real? Should instead the pattern of marks, patterns, colors, values in the painting become as important as the subject itself? Many questions and many individual answers.

Recently I've been trying harder to include a background that is representative of the one that my bird subjects live in. That was true in the Blue-winged Teals of my last post. But today, after I'd finished painting this American Oystercatcher, I just couldn't see how a background would do anything but detract from this. Sometimes you do a simple work, that seems to get the essence of what you're trying to portray. Then any addition seems extraneous and distracting. That was the case here.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron et al.

I'm doing something unusual with the blog today, using it as documentation for a bird sighting. As regular readers know I rarely post photos here. If I do when I actually look at them they always disappoint me. I just prefer art. But in this case it seems that it's somewhat unusual to see Yellow-crowned Night Herons in Philadelphia so I'm posting some photos for anyone who reads the Pennsylvania Rare Birds List and wonders about the bird.

And of course I'm showing field sketches. The last few days have been great for seeing Great Blue Herons, Green Herons and the immature Yellow-crowned. I'm not that familiar with Night-Herons and when I saw this one, less than 15 feet from me I immediately thought Black-crowned. That's the species I see much more often. But I double-checked with the field guide when I got home and Yellow-crowned seemed more likely.

Why? Well a lot of that is thanks to my sketches and field notes. I was struck by the short, stout bill, the blue-gray color of bill and they yellow eye. Also there were fine markings which I tried to get down on paper. All of those point to Yellow-crowned based on my Sibley. Also the head was grey blue on outside and tan in center. No field guide mentions this but it seems more similar to the adult yellow-crowned.

One lesson I relearned with this is that you see more with your eye than with a camera. I wrote notes about the bill being blue-gray. In some photos it looks like this but in others it looks yellow. That's what I don't like about photos. They seem so clear when you take them, then not so when you get home. For this I'd rather trust my eye. And when you have to get it down on paper, you really do have to look more closely. That's how I noticed the fine streaking under chin on neck, and the one darker streak down center of chest.

Perhaps someone will convince me that this is not a Yellow-crowned, and I'm certainly willing to listen to good arguments for something else. But I think it is a Yellow-crowned and I'm really happy that I spent so much time trying to draw it. Sadly I did exaggerate the bill size but not shape in one of the drawings.

Below are works based on the other herons I saw over last two days. At top is a watercolor of a Great Blue Heron, based on sketches and photos from Morris Arboretum.




This is followed by two pages of the sketches from that day as well as two sketches of Northern Rough-Winged Swallows.






And finally a young Green Heron, one of three Green Herons, also seen at Manayunk Canal. Unfortunately he just didn't stay long enough for me to get much of a drawing or show the tufts of feathers on his head. I assume they were those of a very young heron. This the drawing at bottom right. Also included on this page a Great Blue with his bill open, a Song Sparrow, and a bad sketch of a very bold Catbird.

Glossy Ibis

Though Glossy Ibis are fascinating to see as silhouettes in the sky, and I wish I'd been successful in my field sketches of this so I could show you, they're even more fascinating up close. But this year at Cape May, NJ was the first time we had the opportunity to see them up close, not just in one place but in many. I'm not sure if we just got there as they were returning from migration, or if they were just passing through in migration.

The above watercolor is 11x14 inches, somewhat large for me, though not really large for a watercolor. But many of the watercolors I post are quick watercolors on smaller paper of lesser quality. They're more sketches than finished work. But this is a finished work.

And as with many of my finished works it has lost some of the spontaneity and freshness of the quicker studies. I don't like this but I've accepted it. At least for awhile the price of doing a more developed work on good paper is that I might overwork it in the process. I'm not unhappy with this as a painting but I am unhappy with it as a watercolor since it doesn't take advantage of the brilliant light effects that watercolor's transparency offers. Still the first step in solving a problem is acknowledging it. I'm at step one and eager to move on to step two.

Another Oriole

It's very hard to stay inside in May with bird migration in full swing. So I spent 4 hours outside today even though the temperature probably never broke 60. Again the Baltimore Orioles were singing away, this time at the Wissahickon. Wood Thrushes and Veeries were also plentiful and I include a sketch of them. For some reason I just couldn't get the very round shape of the Veery down correctly. I also came upon some Canada Geese and their goslings and settled down on a park bench to sketch them. I knew they'd be nervous because of the young. But I was proceeding along fine, just feet from them, when someone came up and took photos. That moved them all from their original positions and made the sketch a bit more difficult.

The air was alive with Northern Rough-winged Swallows so I finally took the opportunity to sketch one of them. As I left I couldn't resist trying the horse in the corral next to where my car was parked - I realize this is an unusual statement coming from a city as large as Philadelphia. But it's true I parked next to a corral with two horses to do my birding about a mile from our house.

And finally back to that beautiful Baltimore Oriole. This is based on the same photo as yesterday's failed attempt. I like this somewhat better. But the background is a mess. But I don't think I'm going to get a good Baltimore Oriole without numerous failed attempts. This is number two. They are such beautiful birds, both in song and appearance, that you just can't help but want to get them right.

Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese

Thanks to all the artists at the 'Wildlife Art' section of birdforum.net for their advice on how to finish this. Most of the advice was 'don't fiddle' and make any changes in a new painting. That was very good advice. I've made a number of small changes that I think have improved this. But I've kept them small and I think that was a good idea. Especially with watercolor it's easy to overwork the painting and kill it. Better to save any changes for a new painting.

My guess is that learning this is one of the steps on the way to becoming a mature artist. At least for me there is a tendency to rush into the painting and make changes without thinking of the consequences. And of course I'm not alone. Famous artists of the past were known for going into an exhibiition and changing the painting hanging on the wall. I believe that Delacroix was famous for this though I could be wrong.

This is my first developed work on good watercolor paper in months. I hope to continue doing more. As I said in last post these beautiful cranes were seen at Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin last fall. What a treat to be able to see them!

A Watercolor in Progress

It's been awhile since I've done a developed watercolor on good watercolor paper. It's also been a good while since I've shown various stages of a watercolor in progress.

So here's a series from my new watercolor of some Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese at Horicon Marsh. I saw them last fall. I've really enjoyed the quick watercolors I've been doing for months now. But I felt like it was time to try something more ambitious. I'm sure that aome of the painterly freedom I picked up from the quick watercolors shows up here.

I've spent about 6 hours on it now and it's time for a break. My guess is that it needs at least some more work. But I've been known to ruin a work by overwork, often when I've worked on it too long already. So for now I need to take a break from this and come back to it with fresh eyes.

Punky Young Heron of Homer

You never know where you'll find inspiration, or interesting birds. We try to visit my sister and my brother in law every year in central Illinois. Since they know we have an interest in birds they will often try to find a day trip that they think we might enjoy. Last fall we went to Homer Lake State Park. We really didn't find much.

But there was a fairly new wetland that was just being developed. I think we saw one bird and a few, large frogs. But the one bird was a Green Heron whose head took on the most spiky, punky look I've ever seen on a Green Heron. I took a number of photos and did drawings based on them a few months ago.

The appeal is still there. As I browsed old photos today looking for the subject for another quick watercolor those photos jumped out. I got a little carried away in trying to work quickly and ended up getting rid of some white areas that I wanted to keep. But I've also gotten a little more comfortable with sneaking in a little white gouache to get it back. Those were the last steps here.

As I said we aaw a number of large frogs here as well. In the back of my mind I'm wondering about the possibility of combining the two in one more developed painting. We shall see. Either way that unpromising little wetland has proven very fertile for me.

The Joy of Outdoors

A couple things helped me to decide the title for this post: receiving a late Christmas present of 'Up River' by the artist Darren Woodhead, and spending five hours outside yesterday in 30 degree sunny weather counting birds for the Schuylkill Center Education Center Christmas Bird Count and the Philadelphia Mid-winter Bird Census.

Darren Woodhead's wonderful watercolors of the natural world are all done on site, outside. Some are done as the snow falls. But all show the joy of being outside. Additionally the five hours spent outside yesterday were terrific. It was in the 20s when we started and I had to get up about two hours earlier than normal, something I really hate to do! Still there is something I find completely enjoyable about being outside in winter, even more so when I'm counting birds for a useful purpose, such as the CBC and the mid-winter bird census.

It reminds me of what Ellen Snyder said recently in her Spicebush Blog: "Getting outdoors, bundled against the wind, is the only way to enjoy winter. "

Perhaps it's the fact that we tend to get outside less frequently in the cold of winter that makes it so enjoyable. Regardless of the cause it's an enjoyable experience. I think that Darren Woodhead's watercolors crystallize this. Nothing can match the experience of being outside and creating art outside. Now I say this as someone who doesn't do so all that often. You didn't see me doing watercolors in sub-freezing weather yesterday. But it's good to have some artists who do. The liveliness and vibrancy of their work reminds me of how much art can do and how much art has to offer.

The two create an experience of the natural world that I think is unmatched by anything else. As the natural world faces greater and greater threats, not to mention callous indifference, it's nice to see something that so brilliantly celebrates it. Europe lost much of its wilderness years ago. I can only hope that America will do better, especially as more and more reasons are constructed for its 'wise use', i.e. its destruction.

One of the small pleasures of yesterday and of most winters is rediscovering the beauty of the fairly commmon White-throated Sparrow. It's brilliantly white throat is a pleasure to see each winter, along with all it's other striking coloration. It's one of life's small pleasures.

The quick watercolor above is based on a photo I took yesterday. Perhaps one day later this winter I'll work up the nerve to try it live.

Finishing off the Pintails

Who would have thought that the photos I took of Northern Pintails at Brigantine NWR at the end of October would be the source of so many sketches and watercolors? I suppose it was a combination of numerous good photos and the previous time I'd spent on other ducks, especially doing sketches of them. By the time I got to the Pintails I was ready to break loose from the detailed work I'd been doing into something more painterly.

I've had two main purposes in my recent duck work: one, do enough detailed pencil sketches so that I feel like I'm actually getting to understand ducks, and two, do enough short watercolor sketches that I become looser with it, but still don't become so loose as to abandon everything I've learned about detail.

I'm happy with the results, at least in terms of what I've learned. All of the works I've done are on lower quality paper. That allowed me not to get too precious about them. Nothing can kill good art quicker than preciousness. I'm particularly happy with a couple of the watercolors of Pintails. The one at top is very overworked. The Aquabee Super Deluxe sketchbook that I've been using for the watercolors is very versatile and amazingly sturdy for a sketchbook paper. Still it couldn't hold up very well to all I did on the first painting. But that is not the fault of the paper. It's mine. I just wanted to keep working until I got what I wanted.

And to a large extent I got what I wanted: a complete painting. I think more than anything else I've wanted to be able to do both bird art and watercolor in the same way I used to do abstraction and oil, as a vehicle for something ambitious, or at least something that seems full, not just a sketch.

Both birds and watercolor lend themselves to sketches and I love this aspect of bird art and watercolor. There can be a quick sketchiness that seems like life itself. But there are other times where I'd like to do something fuller and richer. The painting at top makes me think that this might eventually be possible. I'm starting to feel like a craftsman who's started to get familiar with his tools and can now start practicing his craft.

Multi-pronged Attack

Since last weekend's attempt to meld detailed drawings and quick watercolors I've concentrated on quick watercolors. I like them. They're fun to do and because they are quick my standards aren't as high. But I often want to take what I've learned from them and use it on a more developed watercolor.

Today I decided to first do a fairly quick watercolor of a Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper seen at Crane Creek in Ohio. I intended to then do a more developed watercolor like last week.

Something went wrong. I ended up spending an hour or more doing a watercolor on paper that could never handle that much working. I'm not sure how it went so wrong but I decided it might be best to do a detailed drawing before proceeding to a more developed watercolor.

But this time I decided to use my watercolor pencils. Now they've always been very frustrating to me. I thought that wouldn't be the case today because I didn't intend to use water with them. But they were still frustrating. There's something about the physical quality of the pigment that makes it very recalcitrant about accepting additional layers of color, with or without water. So the results are at top. Basically the first color down is what you see, regardless of my intent for it to be otherwise.

So a beautiful day for sitting in the sun working on new drawings and paintings has gone awry. But progress in art is rarely straightforward.

Time to go do some garden work while we're still enjoying this abnormally warm November weather. Maybe these will look better when I come back. Ummmmmmmmmm then again maybe not.

Starting the Cranes

One of the greatest pleasures of our recent trip to the Midwest and particularly Wisconsin was all of the Sandhill Cranes we saw. I was only able to do one sketch, immediately above, but did manage a lot of photos. I've just begun the watercolor at top based on photos of Sandhill Cranes walking down Dike Road at Horicon Marsh. Most of the cranes we saw were in fields or in flight. But I was particularly struck by this pair and another casually strolling down the road.

Quick Will Willet Continued

I believe this small watercolor of an Eastern Willet seen at The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ this year is done. I'm satisfied with it, especially as it's my first painting of a willet. More than most artistic mediums though, watercolor doesn't do well with a lot of reworking. So even though there are some parts that bother me, I think it's best to leave this as it is, while it still has some freshness.

Though Eastern Willets are fairly common shorebirds we'd only seen them a few times before, the first time being when we took a Cape May Birding Observatory workshop on spring migration. They have never been all that close. On our trip to Cape May this April they were all over the place. This bird was only about 10 feet away. So it was nice to be able to get such good looks at them. They are a fairly nondescript bird for a shorebird, though their bluish bill and legs are noticeable. Their feather markings though are pretty much the same all over. There are no noticeable areas of contrasting color that stand out. At least not until the willet flies when you do see a huge white stripe on the wings.

Now that I'm starting to force myself to work from life I hope that my next paintings of Willets will include some work from life. Hopefully that will be soon!

Snowy Egret in Progress

I was so happy with my Laughing Gulls watercolor of last week that I've had it in my mind ever since then that I need to return to larger, looser watercolors. Outside of the small pen and ink insect drawings that I did about 10 years ago of insects viewed under a microscope I've always worked large. That changed when I took up birds as subject matter about three years ago as I explained in my post about the gulls. Because I'm so new to birds it seemed better to start small. But that can be inhibiting and after I finished the gull painting I found that there was a freedom in that painting that reminded me of my old abstract paintings.

I also enjoyed the process of doing a sketch and then testing colors before I began the real painting as I did with the Laughing Gulls. So today I looked through the many photographs I've taken of birds over the last year and decided to try a Snowy Egret seen at 'The Meadows' at Cape May this spring. I went from 7x10 paper to 11x14. The top two photos are of the preliminary sketch. The reflections in the water looked absolutely impossible but I was happy with the water in the gull painting so I wasn't intimidated by it.


Perhaps I ahould have been intimidated by the water and its reflections though, especially as I refused to use any masking medium to save the white paper where all the reeds were in front of the water. One day I'll probably need to take up the use of a masking medium. But today I decided to take my chances without it. You can probably see the problem. As I paint the water the brush goes into the foreground reeds and distorts them, or I shy away from them and end up with an odd white space surrounding them. But I decided to work this anyway. You never know what will happen until you try it.


I think I'm through with this for today. It's a bit duller than it looks online. And most of the reeds are disappointing. So most likely I'll see if there's anything I can do to rescue the reeds(I doubt it) and make the colors a bit more vibrant(more likely possible I think). I did what I wanted in this painting: work in a looser method. It hasn't been completely successful. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. I suspect that I will continue to work in this fashion. I should add that I also suspect that this method will never be popular in the world of 'wildlife art.' Photographic precision seems to be more the norm there. That is fine. But I find no enjoyment in working that way. So most likely this painting is a harbinger of thimgs to come.