Alex Warnick- Natural History Artist
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • Painting
    • Illustration
  • About
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Store
    • Originals
    • Reproductions
  • Blog

Watercolor Birds Inspired by Old Masters

2/16/2019

6 Comments

 
I like to experiment with new techniques when there’s a deadline looming. It raises the stakes, and there's added pressure to create something successful out of the experiment. When a painting begins to go south I don’t have the luxury of setting it aside. I’m forced to work through challenges and learn some of my best lessons in the process.

I recently conducted one of these experiments in preparation for a small works show in New Hampshire. I had a goal to stretch outside of my color comfort zone, and turned to the old masters for inspiration—Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edgar Payne, etc. The colors in a painting by John Lavery immediately reminded me of a Red-winged Blackbird and rose mallow. That led me to choose a different historical painting as the initial inspiration for each of the watercolors in my small works series.​ Instead of using a bird as the foundation for each design, I let the colors  define the composition. 

The birds below are the result of this experiment, and each is paired with the original painting that inspired it.
Red-winged Blackbird by Alex Warnick
"Red-winged Blackbird and Rose Mallow"
Female Red-winged Blackbird by Alex Warnick
"Red-winged Blackbird and Autumn Olive"
American Goldfinch and Mistflower by Alex Warnick
"American Goldfinch and Mistflower"
Eastern Towhee by Alex Warnick
"Autumn Eastern Towhee"
Sewing in the Shade by John Lavery
"Sewing in the Shade" by John Lavery
Spanish Landscape by John Singer Sargent
"Spanish Landscape" by John Singer Sargent
Sunset by Winslow Homer
"Sunset" by Winslow Homer
Landscape by Edgar Payne
Landscape by Edgar Payne
6 Comments

    Archives

    November 2019
    February 2019
    March 2018
    February 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    January 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    Categories

    All

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • Painting
    • Illustration
  • About
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Store
    • Originals
    • Reproductions
  • Blog