"Jack" Rabbit (Oil on 300# paper)

Every garden attracts hungry little creatures. This painting was fun to do. I was in the mood to paint hummingbirds and furry creatures. It was just one of those notions at the time. I loved to paint  it because it was fun with its multi-colors.

"Jack" Rabbit

 Petal Tips: Again, this painting was on old 300# watercolor paper. Like I've said before, I use the best paper. It is heavy and if a watercolor doesn't work, I use it for other medias. As long as you have your values right, you can use any color you want.  That was one of the hardest lessons for me. To translate colors into values. What do I mean by that?

Values range from one to ten.  One being white and ten being black. A soft pink might be on the scale of two. That color can show anywhere you want a highlight. In the shadow, you can use any color as long as the value is dark.

For you who play the piano and read music, yellow ochre is the middle C of paint. Anything lighter than yellow ochre is considered on the light side, anything darker is considered on the dark side.

Once I understood that rule, indulging in all colors of paint didn't scare me. I'll paint faces in multi-colors and they work because I understand the rule.

Meanderings~~~~~ I have always been hungry to learn.  I have eaten of many gardens, taking what I could get. Then I made it my own. I too have been prolific. Just like the jack rabbit. I think it was my hunger to learn that has created in me so many styles and interest in painting everything.

I don't think of having a style any more and I might be criticized by that.  Once I tried to figure out what my style was, now I just paint. There is a certain feeling in my work that says it is mine. I think the freedom comes when we forget whose garden we are eating from and we just consume our talent. I switch so much from oils to watercolors to acrylics and they all work so differently with whatever I paint. 

Oh to be free like the rabbit.