Dad's 60th
This past Tuesday, my Dad turned 60. 30*2. 120/2. Any way you write it, that's what he is. For a gift, I decided to dust off the ink and paint and make him something crafty in celebration. I decided to sketch out a Blue Jay from a photo I'd found on Google.
I'd like to note that I didn't trace or do this digitally. It took maybe 30 minutes to sketch out while Kevin was watching some TV. After I sketched it, I had to learn how to watercolor. I'd never watercolored before and I'd heard it was a tricky medium to master. So I turned to YouTube for some basic tips on how to mix and apply color and used some scrap paper to do a few rough drafts until I felt comfortable.
The painting process took a little less time but I was more nervous since once your paint is down, you can't mess with it later. Kevin's dad wasn't able to guess the species of bird before it was colored so I was determined to make sure it looked like a Blue Jay in the end.
Here's a more detailed shot since my iPhone isn't very good at getting those. I apologize for the glare - this photo was taken after it was framed and hung on the wall. To get a sense of scale, it's in an 8"x8" frame so it's kind of small. I'm pretty proud of how it came out and my Dad says that he loves it so all in all, a successful birthday present!
I'd like to note that I didn't trace or do this digitally. It took maybe 30 minutes to sketch out while Kevin was watching some TV. After I sketched it, I had to learn how to watercolor. I'd never watercolored before and I'd heard it was a tricky medium to master. So I turned to YouTube for some basic tips on how to mix and apply color and used some scrap paper to do a few rough drafts until I felt comfortable.
The painting process took a little less time but I was more nervous since once your paint is down, you can't mess with it later. Kevin's dad wasn't able to guess the species of bird before it was colored so I was determined to make sure it looked like a Blue Jay in the end.
Here's a more detailed shot since my iPhone isn't very good at getting those. I apologize for the glare - this photo was taken after it was framed and hung on the wall. To get a sense of scale, it's in an 8"x8" frame so it's kind of small. I'm pretty proud of how it came out and my Dad says that he loves it so all in all, a successful birthday present!