Blue Parrot

I decided to participate in Global Roots' Mural Mosaic project again. I like being a part of a larger, community endeavour, and this time I signed up to paint three tiles for the America Nature's Gift mural. Today, I am showing my Blue Tile, based on a photo by Nora Hanasy Cheers. Done in acrylics, on a 6X6" canvas board. I chose this image because, well... obviously partly due to its colour, since it fits the required colour scheme. However, there are many blue things one can paint. I liked this parrot, because it has a certain playfulness in its expression. As if he is up to some good natured shenanigans. 

Below, I show a little bit of my process, for those of you, who find this sort of thing helpful.

 

 

And here is the final result

Playful experimentation

Sometimes, I just like to sit down with my art supplies, and simply experiment. Usually, any paitings and drawings created in these endeavours are very loose (at least for me), and not necessarily accurate with respect to colours, shapes, proportions, shadows, etc. Just simple play and discovery.

Not long ago, I decided to test out Derwent Chromaflow pencils on Legion Lenox cotton paper. Decided to draw a simple, small cherry, since the paper I have is very tiny - you know, one of those mini pads we've all seen (about 2.5" x 3.75" in size). Liked the pencils - they reminded me very much of Prismacolor Premier in feel, but maybe a tiny bit less buttery, and more easy to smear. Liked the paper very much. I am in the market for a nice cotton paper good for colour pencil work. Unfortunately, considering the current political and economic climate, it may not be the most optimal option for me, as it is produced in United States, and I live in Canada.

Also decided to try Louise Fletcher's free Creative Reset workshop. Lots of experimentation encouraged there. So, I decided to paint something using only palette knife and a couple of silicone paint shapers, since I've never tried doing that before. I figured I'd paint an onion, since the shape is simple and easy. Well, wasn't as easy, as I thought it would be. An uphill battle of sorts, to be honest. It was a bit labour intensive to build up and spread the paint. I used Liquitex Basics, so that definitely played a role, too. Also, the hue shades sometimes don't produce results you'd expect when mixing. The onion came out looking unbelievably rustic, but I'm not mad at it. Has its charm. Reminds me of an oil pastel painting.

I also wanted to try coloured pencils on a wash of watercolour. Here, I was going for a bit of a rustic feel as well. I picked Schmincke's Horadam Aquarell super granulating colours, laid them on thick and very wet, hoping for some nice cauliflowers, but... nooooo. The paper (Canson Montval) just kept slurping up the water so quickly. No matter how much I pre-wetted it and how much, or little, water I added, and how much I directly misted it with water. Just didn't come out rustic enough. I did a light wash of colours over the onion, too. After it dried, I loosely layered Prismacolor Scholar pencils for added depth, color and detail.  It was fun to experiment with and I reminded myself that I'm really not too crazy about the Scholar pencils. But, they're ok for basic applications.

Polar Bear at the gallery

Well, my bear painting ended up on a wall in our local art gallery. The Station Gallery in Whitby, ON, made a call to Canadian artists, to submit works, which somehow incorporate Canadian Flag. Since my polar bear painting fit the requirements, I submitted it for consideration. They accepted, and here he is. 😀
The exhibit, titled "Oh, Canada Project", runs until October 19, 2025. If you live in Durham region, Ontario, or will be visiting, be sure to check out this exhibit and more works of art that are on display. 

Canadian Polar Bear in Blue

Some time ago, an ad for a Mural Mosaic project popped up on my Facebook feed. It refers to a collective project, in which participants paint an image on a small, 6x6" tile, in assigned color scheme. Once finished, they each submit their image to Global Roots Team (project organizer), which then assembles all images into one large mural. That mural (just one among many different ones) gets installed in one of the cities/towns around the world. To get a better idea of what I am talking about, please visit the Global Roots Mural Mosaic website here.
    This type of project felt right up my alley, because I do enjoy being a part of something larger and collective in nature. So, I signed up for an available Canadian project - "Nature's Bounty". A short while later, I received a package with instructions, a 6x6" canvas board, some acrylic paint, and a little easel. My assignment was to create a light blue tile, which means that the overall image must come across as light blue, but can include other colors, if they make up less than 20% of the overall picture area. I wanted to create an image that reflected Canadian nature and went well with the color scheme. I figured that a polar bear would fit the need. However, because polar bears also live in other parts of the world, I decided to add an image of a Canadian flag. Due to world events, which took place well after I signed up for this project, the flag has taken on additional significance. Since Canadian flag is rather intense in color and contrast (red and white),  I decided to drastically tone down the red, so that it would fit the color scheme better.
    Overall, this was a very enjoyable project for me. It is also a great idea for group/family projects, where kids and adults alike can spend some creative time together.
    All the tile images have been submitted by now, and the Global Roots Team is working on assembling them together. The unveiling of the mural should take place sometime in the Fall of 2025 - the location hasn't been announced yet.
    Below I included a couple of photos from the painting process.

 

 

The finished bear: