This painting of a bird came from a bonus class at Acrylic University. While I’ve drawn or sketched birds, I’ve never tried painting a bird so I decided to give it a shot, after watching the 25 minute video. This was done on a 6×6 panel with only the primaries, and white as my colors.
Small Works
Cherry Tree… After Dianna Shyne
Last week, the instructor Dianna Shyne led a workshop on the “Colors of Spring”, which included her painting four small studies of flowering trees and spring flowers. I was struck most by her field of daffodils, and this flowering tree. (I’m guessing it’s a cherry tree.) I did my own version of the reference photo, and here is my result. (I took a photo at a distance, because in some ways, the painting looks better from afar.) 8×10 stretched canvas.
Colors used: Titanium White, Quinacridone Magenta (PR122), Naphthol Red (PR112), Cad-Free Yellow Medium, Ultramarine Blue and Raw Umber. I toned the canvas a few months ago with Raw Umber and Titanium White.
Field of Daffodils… After Dianna Shyne
One of the perks of Acrylic University membership is weekly classes/workshops livestreamed on YouTube. Last Friday, the instructor Dianna Shyne led a workshop on the “Colors of Spring”, which included her painting four small studies of flowering trees and spring flowers. One was of a field of daffodils, and since daffs are my favorite flower, I tried my own version of the reference photo she used.
This was done on an 8×10 stretched canvas, and the yellow used is (mostly) Liquitex Cad-Free Yellow Light (Lemon), with some Cad-Free Yellow Medium in the foreground. All the various shades of green were mixed from Cad-Free Yellow Light and Mars Black.
Espresso Coffee with Spoon
This painting was done on a 6×8 canvas panel, based on a photo by Jeremy Ricketts on Unsplash.

Cups of Coffee.. After Teddi Parker
I discovered Teddi Parker after listening to a podcast at Learn to Paint Podcast. And then I found her Instagram, and her website. In looking at her work, I was struck by one with 4 cups of coffee: black and bubbly, mildly creamy and one quite milky. I believe hers was done using acrylic house paint. In any case, I wanted to copy her different coffee colors, the bubbles, the shadows in the mugs, and the highlights.
This was done strictly as a study, on an 8×8 canvas.
52 Mini Paintings Challenge: Week #15
This is the week 15 painting for Jed Dorsey’s Mini Painting Challenge at Acrylic University. It’s called “Snowy Alley” and is based on a reference photo by Jed Dorsey taken in Indianapolis. I really enjoyed painting this one — which was unexpected.
52 Mini Paintings Challenge: Week #14
This is the week 14 painting for Jed Dorsey’s Mini Painting Challenge at Acrylic University. It’s from a reference painting by an artist named Bruno; a large lone pine is silhouetted against an evening sky. Dorsey’s process involved painting the tree and foreground first, and then the sky. I did the opposite, painting the sky in its entirety, and then painting the tree and foreground in a chromatic black (burnt sienna & ultramarine blue).
The reference photo did not really speak to me; I think this is reflected in my painting. Oh, and I started with a 6×6 canvas panel I had already painted in a diarylide yellow.

52 Mini Paintings Challenge: Week #13
This is the week 13 painting for Jed Dorsey’s Mini Painting Challenge at Acrylic University. I’m not certain where the reference photo was taken; it’s not one of Dorsey’s. The painting he did in the paint-along is called “Big Clouds” and he uses a magenta red underpainting. To be honest, his version of this painting is one of the reasons I signed up for this challenge. I’m not over-crazy about my own version; it’s just another study of clouds. I need more practice.

Yummy! — but no calories
This painting (on an 8×8 gessoed wood panel) is based off of a photo by Sara Cervera on Unsplash. I’ve been meaning to paint this for quite a while and finally got around to it.















