Tiger Swallowtail in acrylics

So here is the butterfly.  I really enjoyed painting this one  - the wings took a lot longer to paint than I thought it would as it took a while to get the wings right.  Really pleased with the final painting.  I am thinking about  painting  a few more butterflies so will see how I go with finding same suitable reference photos.

Tiger Swallowtail measures are 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

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Many thanks to K Brooks for the reference photo.

Scarlet Robin in Acrylics

I did finish the butterfly painting - actually only finished it on Friday - took longer to paint than I thought it would.  Just waiting for the paint to cure before varnishing it so will post it in the next few days. 

This is the other one I had lined up to paint. I am rather pleased how it turned out.  Scarlet Robins can be found across Australia and can be confused with the Flame Robin.  The Scarlet Robin has a larger white patch above its bill compared to the Flame Robin.

Scarlet Robin measures 6 x 4 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Rainbow Bee-eater in acrylics

I first printed this one out to paint as a 6 x 4 inch but the bird seemed to be lost in the background. So I then tried a 7 x 5 inch but still wasn't happy with the size  so finally settled on a  9 x 7 inch. It needed a larger size to do justice to this beautiful bird.    I loved painting this one - just love its colouring and I am rather pleased how it turned out.  These birds can be found around Australia except in Tasmania. They are a medium size bird ranging from 21 - 28 cm in length and weigh around 27 grams.

Rainbow Bee-eater measures 9 x 7 inches and is painted on canvas board / panel.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Autumn Woods ACEO in acrylics

My two favourite season's to paint are Autumn and Spring - love the autumn colours and colourful flowers of spring.  I have another Autumn scene lined up to paint but it will be 6 x 4 inches on canvas board.   I actually have three paintings all ready to go - the 6 x 4 Autumn scene,  a 6 x 6 butterfly and  6 x 4 Scarlet Robin. I am planning on working on the butterfly this afternoon - hopefully I will be able to finish it in one sitting.

Autumn Woods measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth watercolour paper.

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Many thanks to Glennis Weston for the reference photo.

Red Backed Fairy Wren ACEO

This little fellow lives down the road from me - down by the lake.  (The residential estate I live in, has a lot of manmade lakes with nature corridors which are  link with  walking / cycling paths.)  I have being trying for ages to take a good reference photo and eventually I  used a photo that is not the best but it gave me a reference point to do a painting from.   I am rather pleased how it turned out.    I love watching them - they just don't sit still for very long. They are tiny birds  measuring around 11.5 cm and that includes the 6cm tail and on average weigh 8 grams.

Red Backed Fairy Wren measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300 gsm smooth watercolour paper.

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Red Browed Finch in acrylics

I decided to paint another Red Browed Finch but in a larger format.  I thought I was finished but when I came to scan it, I decided I needed to do a bit more work of the back feathers. So after a bit of tweaking I am rather pleased with the final piece.  In interesting fact about them is that they are highly sociable birds and are often seen in small flocks of 10 to 20 birds. 

Red Browed Finch measures 6 x 4 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Silvereye ACEO in Acrylics

I often see these little bird around.  They belong to a group of birds known as white-eyes. It interesting that they have slightly different plumage depending which part of the country they live in and are found across Australia expect in the Northern Territories.

Silvereye measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Red Capped Robin ACEO in acrylics

I decided to paint another red capped robin. I love the position this bird is sitting on the branch.    An interesting fact about these birds is that red plumage is from two red keto-carotenoid pigments and since they are unable to synthesize the compounds themselves, they have to obtain it from their food.

Red Capped Robin measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Letter to Santa ACEO in acrylics

I have been thinking about painting this little scene for a while after coming across the reference photo of the mail box. I just had to find the right mouse, landscape  and raccoon reference photo to complete the picture.  Ended up using 4 reference photos in the end and I am rather please with the result.

Letter to Santa measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painting on 300gsm smooth Archers watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Joseph Honings, Yvonne L Ham, Dave Webb and Orphie Barella for the reference photos.

Santa ACEO in acrylics

I have wanted to paint a Christmas scene for a long time and especially after seeing snow in Tasmania. I would love to experience a white Christmas. When I saw the winter landscape scene and the Santa photo, it just all come together and I just had to paint my little Santa scene. It was interesting painting the Santa so small and painting the teddy bear was a bit of a challenge - strangely enough I used my no 3 round brush for most the painting as it comes to a nice fine point which is all I needed.  I am really pleased with the result. 

Santa measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

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Many thanks to Maria Balcells and Donna Klarenbach for the reference photos.

Crested Shrike Tit in acrylics

I am also really pleased how this one turned.  I love the crest of this bird - very striking.  An interesting fact about them is that they can be heard tearing the bark of trees look for insects. 

Crested Shrike Tit measures 4 x 6 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Eastern Yellow Robin in Acrylics

I love it when I painting just comes together.  This was on of them.  Everything just seemed to work and I am really pleased how it turned out. Eastern Yellow Robins are about 15 - 16 cm in length so they are one of our larger robins.

Eastern Yellow Robin measures 4 x 6 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Zebra Finch ACEO in Acrylics

I managed to take a reference photo of this bird when on holiday in Tasmania. . It was in a bird aviary with other finches when I visited a zoo in Richmond.   I love it's markings. They are not actually found in Tasmania - they are only found on  mainland Australia.  They are also found in Indonesia and East Timor and have been introduced to Puerto Rico, Portugal, Brazil and United States.  .

Zebra Finch measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches Watercolour paper.

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Olive Backed Sunbird ACEO in Acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one - love its colouring. The Olive Backed Sunbird is also known as the Yellow Bellied Sunbird.  They are a small honeyeater like bird and are about 12 cm long. They are found in much of coastal Queensland and are also found in Coastal New Guinea and parts of South East Asia

Olive Backed Sunbird measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to James Niland for the reference photo.

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Northern Parula ACEO in acrylics

These birds are one of the smaller Northern migratory warblers.   They breed in Eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida and  vary in length between 10.8 - 12.4 cm and weight between 5 - 11 grams.

Northern Parula measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren for the reference photo.

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Superb Fairy Wren in watercolours

Photographed this little fellow at Liffey Falls.  He was also fascinated by his reflection in the car mirrors.  I was undecided on which medium to use but finally settled on watercolour as I have painted a few wren's now in both  oils and acrylics so thought watercolours made for a nice change.  It is a bit different painting in watercolours -  had to preserve the white of the paper for highlights and can't paint as detailed as I normally do.  Rather pleased with the result though.

Superb Fairy Wren measures 7 x 5 inches and is painted on 300gsm rough Arches watercolour paper.

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