Birds and Others in Pen and Ink

Wildlife Illustrations              

"Wolves"   Pen and Ink Drawing with Wash

                                                                                     For many years I did fine drawings with pen and ink, and later created drawings of wildlife on copper plates and produced fine prints as hand-pulled etchings.

My current interests about birds and other animals continues from working in previous years as an assistant to a research biologist in the back country in 3 different Western states. I observed, captured, and tagged ducks and cranes in their marsh habitats. I also raised several cranes for research

During those years I also did paintings and detailed illustrations of wildlife for the Research Center at the Univ. of Idaho, and for publications by the Fish and Wildlife Department in South Dakota.

"Dancing Cranes"

Some recent examples of my illustrations are these new sketches of Sandhill Cranes that I did for the book "TARSI - The Sandhill Crane" written by Liz Thach recently published and sold by Amazon. 

"Tarsi Baby"  graphite sketches

   

What's Up with MY Art these days??

RESOLUTION

I'm through taking my sabbatical with painting. I need to wallow in paint and accomplish amazing things. And I will, I'm just rebooting my brain to get back on track. Soon, Yes, soon. 

Like those who yearly make new pledges to lose weight or quit doing something,  I too have joined the crowd with firm resolve to do something - experiment more, become a loose woman with paint, and have fun with  my addiction - painting, creating! 
We'll see.          VCO

"Kestrel and Music" - a recent commissioned watercolor painting
which turned out to be very creative and made my brain work harder for a change.  

New Works

"TWO BURROS"  MIXED MEDIA

TRYING NEW TECHNIQUES

Every so often I like to break away from painting with oils and experiment with new 

ways of painting - mainly to loosen up. This time I started with Chinese brush painting   

techniques and did several fast ink practice sketches on Chinese rice paper.

I liked what I was doing but wanted to use a more substantial ground so I chose a pastel paper  and taped it to a board. I placed the board slightly vertically on a table easel. I had done pencil sketches of the burros so, using them as references,  I began drawing freehand with ink and a Chinese brush, loosely placing in lines and dark washes. 

After I had a good black and white drawing I changed from ink to watercolor. From that point on I continued painting with a loaded brush, allowing the paint to drip down. 

"BABY RAVENS"  MIXED MEDIA

No pastel was added to the "Two Amigos"

I loved the loose effect I was going for so I painted the "Baby Ravens" next. Using the Chinese brush painting techniques again I sketched in the forms of the birds with ink, then diluted it to fill in gray values. After brushing in some darks I added watercolor washes, still using Chinese brushes and using flowing paint. Finally, I finished the painting with touches of pastel and a hint of blue metallic watercolor which is sold as a powdered pigment. 

I'm energized by this new method and will continue using it to create energetic  and fun paintings.

See my other blog posts at:     highdesertartleague.blogspot.com

What comes first - Emotion or Creativity?

Vivian asks,

 “Does the ACT of painting STIR up deep emotional feelings, or is it necessary to have the emotions FIRST

 to even be ABLE to create?”

Vivian Olsen with some of her bird paintings!

        As an artist Vivian draws inspiration for paintings from her imagination and from distant memories of animals and places she has loved. Animals give her a sense of peace and calm and represent her conception of what is most perfect and good, so in her paintings she depicts her subjects as peaceful and beautiful creatures. The themes of her paintings are peace, joy, simplicity, and beauty. 

'Quail Family Hideaway'   Oil

Color plays a major role in her paintings because of the emotional feelings and reactions colors can impart.  She loves to use golds, oranges, and reds along with the earth colors of nature to create strong contrasts.  She designs her compositions with curves which provide the viewer with an easy visual movement through her painting and furthers a sense of tranquility.

She says,  “I love the act of painting because it minimizes stress as I move into what I call my “art zone”.