Sketch Series #5 (baby chickadee) and Twelve days: #2 (books)

Still working on painting the chickadees at my feeder. This one seemed to paint himself. It looks like one of the chicks from the spring. I decided this morning that rather than "mess him up",  I will try to paint his parent later. It is always fascinating to me when these personalities "appear" on the paper.
This little guy has already found a new home before I can get this post written today (thank you!)

Day 2 of my twelve day "notes":
Most of you know that I came to painting late in life. I love every second that I am allowed to do this. I want to learn everything I possibly can. Therefore, I read. Here are my favorite book finds for this past year:

Alla Prima 11 by Richard Schmid
I have the first edition (also amazing) but this edition contains even more information. Somewhere between editions, I learned about "color temperature". The "warm light, cool shadow" rule seemed to start to make sense. In this edition, Richard has two photographs that show the same table leg lit with warm and cool light and the different color temperature shadows that result. This pair of photos are incredibly helpful to new painters. The entire rest of the book is worth the many, many times that owners will read this and savor the fabulous paintings.

Painting People in Watercolor
A Design Approach by Alex Powers
Design is not an area that has come easily to me. This entire book is filled with wonderfully designed images. I have a permanent bookmark on the page that demonstrates how to simplify shapes in a painting. As I write this, however, I have to confess that there are several other "permanent" book marks and I know that I will read this book (and continue to learn) many more times.

Color Harmony in Your Paintings
by Margaret Kessler
I have every book on color that I can find. Sometime, I could write a post on all of the color books. This particular book is fantastic. Finally, there is a description of the Munsell Color wheel and a way that I can understand and use the "visual or light" compliments that I have previously had charts to keep in mind. One of the "twelve days", I will write about the Munsell Color Wheel and why it might be worth understanding.