Plumper Rooster 1

© Ellen Blonder

A magnificent and curious-looking rooster showed up on the lawn our last week in Kauai, and begged to be painted. I want to set him in a more lush environment with plants from elsewhere, although the pink ginger in the lower right corner is from the property. 

Covered with feathers that looked more like fur, this guy differs from any other rooster we've seen wandering about. My husband Nick named him fancifully as a Northumberland Plumper, and I've thought of him as such ever since.

Mynah - Final

© Ellen Blonder

I have finally found some time to just about finish this mynah painting. I may play with the bird's feather texture a bit more, but I'll live with it a while first.

Mynah - More Progress

© Ellen Blonder

I'm slowly filling in background, adding details to the plants, still needing to add detail to the stem of yellow orchids.

Mynah - Progress

 © Ellen Blonder

I know I want a spidery yellow orchid to run diagonally across the upper part of the painting, but I'm still looking for plants to fill in elsewhere. 

 © Ellen Blonder

I've been walking, finding ground covers and a bromeliad I can try out.

© Ellen Blonder

I like the subtle reddish plants, but want to avoid bright flowers that would compete for attention with the mynah's extraordinary eye mask.

Mynah -First Steps

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

I've been wanting to paint a mynah in Kauai for a long time. They're very camera-shy, and  always fly away before you can come close. I had to wait until I had a better camera with a telephoto lens, to get reference shots close enough to see details in the beak and the yellow superhero mask. This canvas is 12 inches by 16 inches, and I'm working in acrylics.

Ivory Dahlia

© Ellen Blonder

Last watercolor of the year. This is an ivory-colored dahlia from an Oregon friend's garden. I loved the flower's frilliness and graceful curled petals. 

More Monkeys

 © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

Here's a shot of the room I'm working in, filled with Steve Coleman's amazing art. The monkeys I'm painting are in the blue spaces at the top of the columns.

  © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

This is a close-up of the top of the column in the room shot.

  © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

Here's a better photo of the second guy.

 © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

And this is today's work.

Monkeys in Progress

 © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

I'm enjoying a collaborative treat, working with artist Steve Coleman on his anteroom interior at 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California. He's working on covering every square inch of the theater in his over-the-top style. My small contribution is three monkey scenes on blue faux-insets. Above is my tissue sketch taped in place, ready to transfer to the board underneath.

  © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

Here is the finished first painting in place at the top of the wall.

 © Ellen Blonder, © Steve Coleman

The second painting is nearly done, but the light was fading and I was losing my edge. I'll add final touches tomorrow when I can look at this with fresh eyes.

Red Dahlia

© Ellen Blonder

I've been painting mostly pastel-tinted dahlias, but they come in bright red, too. Here's another flower from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden. I'm painting it the week before Christmas, so it looks like a summer flower dressed in winter colors.

English Bulldog Skull

© Ellen Blonder

The skull exhibit has closed at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, but I photographed many of them for drawing reference. This was one of the most extreme of the dog skulls. The English Bulldog has a startling underbite and smashed in nasal cavity. I wondered how it eats, and it's easy to see why it must have trouble breathing.

Satsumas Are Here

© Ellen Blonder

Satsumas are plentiful at the farmers' market, and they're sweet and wonderful. I had to do a quick watercolor of these, so pretty with all those leaves attached. 

White Dahlia

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

When I think of dahlias, I usually visualize bright colors. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to paint one that was all white, where I couldn't rely on color gradations to define the layers of petals. My reference was another flower from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden. 

Turkey - Final

© Ellen Blonder

The drawing's done, and I don't think I'll ever look at turkeys the same. 

Turkey - Progressive Drawings

 © Ellen Blonder

In early October, I visited Johnston's Cranberry Marsh in Barrie, Ontario. Besides the cranberries, there was a pen of extraordinary-looking turkeys. I had hoped to get a drawing of one of them done before Thanksgiving was over today.

 © Ellen Blonder

I've been working on the drawing for a week, daunted by how complicated their heads and necks are. For how important turkeys are on this holiday, few people (including me) have probably ever truly looked at what strange beauty and dignity they have.

© Ellen Blonder

I underestimated how long it will take to finish the back of the turkey's neck, but here's today's progress. I'll have to finish it later, but now it's time to cook vegetarian Thanksgiving. After looking this guy in the eye all week, I'm glad I don't have his cousin in the oven.

Another Pink Dahlia

 © Ellen Blonder

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

Here's another dahlia from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden. The variations are endless. I liked the way the petals curved in all directions in this one. Like the other dahlia paintings, this is a watercolor, built up darker and darker over a week's time, catch as catch can.

Frilly Dahlia

 © Ellen Blonder

This dahlia was so complicated I hesitated to try to capture it. I had photographed it at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden last summer, and loved its frilly petals.

 © Ellen Blonder

I always seem to start too light, but going straight to darker tones feels wrong.

© Ellen Blonder

Here it is finished, after several days' work. I decided it was complex enough without adding leaves.