Return of the eagles.

The eagles are back!

I live in an area where bald eagles flock to breed. They come back every year in the hundreds.

I haven’t been taking too many photos as my camera’s shutter seems to be wearing out but I did take these while I was walking Sampson. This one seemed very interested in Sampson.

This one did too. His claws are in such sharp focus.

I was playing with some white ink on black paper. The paper seemed a bit soft, it wanted to absorb and absorb which ended up working in my favor, I was able to put many layers. Now in my first eagle here which is about 5×7, I went a little too crazy with my top layer and lost some of the shading.

This one is better. I would have continued down the shoulders but it ended up in a card frame for a friend who likes eagles. The one thing I love about ink, is that it tends to look complicated but it’s all just little dots and lines. Pretty relaxing to do.

I used a dip pen with a G nib on it. I buy the ones that are marketed towards anime online. They flow well and you can make thick or thin lines depending on how much pressure you use.

Since I mentioned Sampson, here’s a quick one of him in white ink on card stock.

I also did a squirrel in the white and grey ink who looks a bit of a know it all.

I did a polar bear too but had to weigh down the paper afterwards as it buckled. He looks like he’s fretting, given that the icecaps are melting fast, I can’t say I blame him.

If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2020

Fancy Flamingos

A flamingo in watercolor, 4×6.

flamingo-watercolor-miniature.

And the same flamingo in pastels, 4×6

I haven’t used pastels in years, made a thorough mess of myself!

flamingo-pastel-miniature.

Thanks to the person who added the photo to the WetCanvas Reference Image Library. This was part of the miniature forum’s monthly challenge.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2017

Happy Summer!

It is sweltering and hot and muggy and it’s summer!!

Yayyyy! Let’s go outside

And hang with the hummingbirds.

blog hummingbirds fly dance.

Or dally in the daisies

goose daisies bird.

Or bounce with the bunny..

bunny furry cute.

Or go to the lake!

Acrylic, 12×9, with a palette knife.

the lake knife painting.

Whatever you are doing, enjoy the day!

Happy Summer!

Woohoo!

🙂

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2016

 

Keep Clam!

Zeus is itchy.

It’s his yearly Autumn Itch.

So I bought him some itch relief stuff.

Let’s read the bottle..let me see..we have

Deep skin cleansing….splendid, that’s much better than shallow skin cleansing.

Complete body cleanser..even better, not much point only cleaning part of it.

Soothes ….great stuff, nothing better than a soothing soothe.

Clams.. sure a good clam is..What?…I mean..Pardon?

Hmmm..Yup that’s what it says..

Soothes and clams…

clams.

I’ve never had my dog clammed before.

Shellfish of me I know.

I wonder if it’s good for his mussels?

zeus exasperated

Sorry  I’ll scale back.

zeus lab dog sillyI know it’s getting ruff.

sammy drinking dog

It’s  load of carp really.

carp fish koi

Llama get back to the point.

llama blue eyes heterochromia

It’s not like this happens aviary day.

vulture It’s dragon on…

dragon lizard reptileNo use hanging around.

snake green hangingOr lion..

lioness sleeping lions cat feline

I’m just kitten..

lynx box cat feline

Sea ya!

dog lake water chase

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing Red

Last week while we were still in the deep freeze I heard a knock at my window.

As I was on the second floor, I was a bit startled.

I looked around and there on the ground was a very woozy cardinal.

cardinal_red_tree (3).

Now I know, it’s not a good idea to mess with nature even if you mean well and normally a bird after hitting a window will be okay after a rest but it was so cold the cardinal was starting to stick to the ground so I had to intervene. (Now there’s a good example of a run on sentence. I haven’t written one in awhile, I’m so glad I haven’t lost my touch!)

He really didn’t seem to mind the open box with a hot water bottle in it.

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cardinal_red_tree (4).

He stayed there for quite a while, I was starting to get worried.

Fortunately, he was just really comfy.

cardinal_red_tree (5).

After a couple hours, all was well!

cardinal_red_tree (1).

He’s still hanging around. I think he’s waiting for me to put the hot water bottle back out again. Maybe I should add a little bird spa to the front porch. I could call it “Chic Chicks” or “Pique Your Beak” or “Fly and Dry”. On the other had we already have many “Seed and Feed” franchises around the yard. No body ever pays but we like the company.

Here’s an ink drawing of a church in the woods. (thank you to the person who put the reference photo into WetCanvas, Reference Image Library). This is 3×5.

ink_church_pen_drawing.

These are all ATC”s (artist trading cards). They are 2.5 by 3.5 inches, the size of a playing card.

A blue heron in acrylic.

blueheronatc.

A ibis in ink.

whiteibisatc.

A helmeted guinea fowl in ink and colored marker.

helmetedguineafowlatc.

A Somalian wild ass in acrylic.

(This is a terrible scan, it looks way better in real life)

donkeyatc.

And a laughing zebra in acrylic.

zebrasmileatc.

I hope you enjoyed your Friday the 13th and today’s Pi Day.

Have a happy Ides of March tomorrow!

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2015

Please follow this link for available prints.

Thank you!

Ode to a Turkey

There is a turkey in my yard
I don’t know what he wants

tom_wild_turkey.
He struts to and fro
And yells oh such nasty taunts

turkeyface

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He waggles his wattles
And snoozles his snood

young_male_turkey
.

And he blocked the driveway
Cause he’s in a fowl mood

turkeysitting.
But I will not let him
Get to me

Large_male_dominant_turkey.

For instead I have painted
A watercolor tree.

watercolor tree blog art.

The End

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2015

 

From Heron in…

I surely will know

That sometimes herons stay

Even where there is snow!

A blue heron fishing in an icehole..

A blue heron fishing..

A blue heron fishing..

heron_fish_fishing.

A blue heron fishing in icy waters..

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Strange but cool.

Please excuse the fuzziness, I was hiding, albeit badly, behind some reeds.

Judging by the look on his face in the last photo, he found me.

What a glare!

So I guess I’m “It”.

Hide!

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First hummingbird!

There he is!

I’m serious there is a hummingbird in that apple tree.
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appletree©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014

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Can’t see it? That’s okay.

Sometimes things are hiding in plain sight.

sammybubble©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014.

Can you see it?

hummertree©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

Come a little closer…

Too close!! Too close!!

sammylaugh©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014.

Phew. There he is.

hummer1©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

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Mmmm, that apple tree smelled delicious.

This painting was for a friend. It’s 11 x 14 inches, acrylic on canvas.

karem2©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014.

And this acrylic, 4×4 inches is of a friend’s dog.

He made this face right after he nipped at my husband.

He’s working on not nipping and this face made me laugh!

bulldog2©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014.

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Have a good one!

I’ll be back soon…I’m writing poetry again.

Mwah ha ha ha!! (that’s my evil laugh!)

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby, it’s cold outside..

Things to do when it’s cold.

You can watch the sunrise.

sunrise©Virginia Spencer, 2014.

Then run amok and do handstands.

ZeusSammy©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

You could play Charades!!

(Here Sampson is acting out a scene from the movie “Tremors”.
He’s a huge Kevin Bacon fan.
Mostly because his name is Bacon.)
Sammy4©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

Or dance the Tarantella.

turkey4©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

Do a little miming.

(See he’s walking in the wind…)

nuthatch©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013.

Or challenge a friend to a staring contest.

(But trust me, you’re going to lose this one.)

eagleclose©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

Sing!

Singing©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014.

Or meditate

meditate©Virginia Spencer, 2014.

Or catch that red dot!

Zeus1©Virginia Spencer, 2014

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Invite some friends over for dinner.

Share a drink.

wchumm©Virginia Spencer, 2014.

And watch the moon rise.

MoonJan©Virginia Spencer, 2014

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014

All Rights Reserved