Arabian Colt in acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one.  It took a few layers to get the depth right but I got there in the end.

Arabian Colt measures 6 x 8 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

Many thanks to Ainslie G for the reference photo.

Common Firecrest ACEO in acrylics

I really enjoyed painting this one - everything just come together.

The Common Firecrest, is found in Europe and North Western Africa.  They are part of the kinglet family.  They measure around 9cm in length and weigh between 4 - 7 grams.


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

Many thanks to Ron Knight for the reference photo.

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Rainbow Bee - Eater ACEO in acrylics

I love painting bee - eaters - love their colouring.  There are actually 26 species of bee - eaters so I still have quite a few different species that I can paint.

Rainbow Bee - Eater measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Jim Bendon for the reference photo.

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Red Breasted Nuthatch in acrylics

This is another bird that I love to paint -  love its colouring and the way they can cling to trees. 

They are a small song bird found across Canada, Alaska and North Eastern and western United States.  They measure around  11 cm in length and weigh on average 8 - 13 grams.

Red breasted Nuthatch measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Raymar Feather Lite Canvas Panel.

Many thanks to Michael Pazzani for the reference photo.

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Autumn Path ACEO in acrylics

I love the light at end of the path on this one and I am really happy with how it turned out.  Another one that everything just seemed to work.

My 6 x 6 inch Ampersand panels arrived today all in one piece which I am rather pleased about as I only had a few Raymar Panels left.  I still think I prefer the Ampersand panels -  mainly because they are smooth so it is easier to paint detail.  Not sure were the other half of my parcel has got to as I also ordered a few 5 x 7 inch panels that were coming in a separate parcel.  Both parcels were posted together, but that one is still showing that it is in Chicago so I might have to follow up next week - at least it is the smaller package.

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

Many thanks to Thomas Habermann for the reference photo.

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Cottage Garden ACEO in acrylics

I am really pleased with how this one turned out.  Everything just seemed to fall into place.

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

Many thanks to John Warren for the reference photo.

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Black Capped Chickadee ACEO in acrylics

I couldn't resist painting this cute little fellow. 

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

Many thanks to Rodney Campbell for the reference photo.

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Yellow Breasted Chat ACEO in acrylics

This one was fun to paint - everything just seemed to work.

Yellow Breasted Chats are a medium sized songbird found throughout North America.  They range in length from 17 - 19 cm and weigh between 23 - 31 grams.

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

Many thanks to  David B. Richman for the reference photo.

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Jamaican Tody ACEO in acrylics

My brushes from the UK arrived this week so I tested them out with the two little aceo paintings - bought a no 4 brush that has slightly longer point and it works rather well for the details. 

These birds are only found in Jamaica.

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

Many thanks to Ron Knight for the reference photo.

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Bee in acrylics

I have had this one printed out for ages to paint.  Just wasn't sure on the size - original had it printed out as a 6 x 6 but that cut off the edge of the flower. So  I eventually settled on 7 x 5 size which suited it perfectly.  It was a fun one to paint.

Bee measures 7 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord Panel.

Many thanks to Gary Jones for the reference photo.



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Bluebell Path in watercolours

I haven't painted a bluebell scene for a while.  I changed this one quite a bit from the reference photo - I opened up the path and added in the trees. It was rather a fun one to paint.

As I type this, I can hear thunder so looks like we will have a storm this afternoon - temperature also has dropped a bit which makes for a nice change.

Bluebell Path measures 8 x 6 inches and is painted on 300gsm rough Arches watercolour paper.

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Doorway ACEO - Mixed Media Painting

So for next painted this little scene. It was going to be just a watercolour painting, but I couldn't get the depth I wanted so I ended up using some Gouache paint too which then brought the whole painting together. Really pleased with how it final turned out.

Doorway measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm watercolour paper.

Many thanks to John Warren for the reference photo.

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Colourful Pots ACEO in watercolours

I felt like doing a few watercolour paintings so this is the first one.

Colourful Pots measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Ruth Archer for the reference photo.

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Baltimore Oriole ACEO in acrylics

Baltimore Orioles are found in Eastern North America. They measure 17–19 cm in length and weigh between 30 - 40 grams.

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

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

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Chestnut Headed Bee - Eater ACEO in acrylics

Chestnut Headed Bee Eaters are found in India east to South East Asia including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.  They measure 18 - 20 cm in length.

Chestnut Headed Bee - Eater measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Ron Knight for the reference photo.

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Strawberry in acrylics

I haven't painted a  still life for ages but I bought a punnet of strawberries for a Christmas Eve dessert and they inspired to want to paint one.  Rather enjoyed painting a still life again so will have to do a few more this year. 

It was my last 6 x 6 inch Ampersand Panel so I have order same more which will hopefully arrive next week.  Using a different company this time as the company I used before, half of the panels I ordered arrived damaged so fingers cross this batch will all arrive in one piece. 

Strawberry measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord Panel.

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Eastern Bluebird in acrylics

I have painted a few of these birds - just love their colouring.

The Eastern Bluebird is the state bird of  Missouri and New York.  They are measure 16 - 21 cm in length and weigh between 27 - 34 grams.

Eastern Bluebird measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Raymar Feather Lite Canvas panel.

Many thanks to Rodney Campbell for the reference photo.

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Blue Grey Gnatcatcher ACEO in acrylics

So for my next aceo, I painted this little bird.  I had to use the Script brush again for this one and also for the warbler - I have placed my order for some more brushes so just have to wait for them to arrive from the UK. 

Blue Grey Gnatcatchers are a very small songbird that breeds in southern Ontario, Eastern and South Western US and Mexico.  They measure between 10 - 11 cm in length and weigh between 5 - 7 grams.

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

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

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Icterine Warbler ACEO in acrylics

I just love how the bird stands out from the background. To get the effect for the background, I painted it a little bit differently to normal  - I  started off really dark and then blended in the lighter colours to get the highlight effect. Worked rather well. Also, I have using  a different brand of white acrylic paint for my backgrounds - another Australian Professional Brand Derivan Matisse Flow Acrylics . I love my Atelier Interactive acrylic paints but as the paint can be reactivated, I was finding that my background colours were lifting.   Matisse  is also a bit more free flowing than the Atelier brand so the white dilutes my Atelier paints without me having to add water.  It seems to be good combination that is working really well.

Icterine Warblers are found in  mainland Europe and winter in Sub Saharan Africa.  The measure 12- 13.5 cm in length.  "Icterine" term refers to its yellowish colouring.

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

Many thanks to Ron Knight for the reference photo.

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Bald Ealge in acrylics

A few weeks ago I painted a smaller version of this bird and I just love the intensity of its gaze so I decided to paint a larger version.  I always worry that I won't get the depth when painting a white object but the trick is to add other colours.  I am really happy with how the final painting turned out.

Bald Eagle 2 measures 8 x 6 inches and is painted on Raymar feather lite canvas panel.

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