i tried my hand at painting birds and the male cardinal is i think the most logical subject for a beginner. also, my boss is in the hospital and his wife is recuperating from something so i wanted to cheer them up on the weekend. my boss was the one who encouraged me to try painting, you should take a course, he told me. he likes birds and plans to take up birding when he finally retires and in the country where they have the family cottage, different kinds of birds come a-plenty.
the snow on the top cardinal was an afterthought. i made quite a few mistakes that i had to paint snow to cover the feet, the top of the beak and the back. plus i could turn it into a Christmas card later on.
the bottom one is from katy's @grammyn post back in 2013. since it took me only 3 hours to paint the snowy cardinal, i thought the second time it would be easier. wrong! this took me longer than 3 hours and i'm still not happy.
but the boss and his wife were impressed with my efforts, and katy was happy. now i'm looking for a blue jay. but maybe i should try to paint my hawk from two weeks ago.
Look at you painting birds and being way too tough on yourself! I think they look great. But what do I know I'm just a Fine Arts major who graduated cum laude- I know nothing about art! hehe Anyhoo... don't be so hard on your pictures- do you know how many Annfoolery pictures are hiding glarring mistakes and horrible shots? Pretty much all of them!!!!!!!
https://365project.org/grammyn/365/2017-01-09
https://365project.org/grammyn/365/2013-03-25
Neither one very clear but You are welcome!