Cockatiels Watercolour II

I did a watercolour painting of our cockatiels, Georgie and Patch, a couple of years ago - you can see it here. Sadly, in 2016, Georgie passed away, and we subsequently welcomed a new cockatiel to our little family, JayJay. This, of course, meant we needed another painting! This painting is more informal than the last one - I wanted to give the impression of feathers rather than using precise brush strokes, and I wanted some splatter going on! Despite this, it really captures the two of them nicely.

Review: Birds by Georgie Woolridge

Birds is "A Mindful Colouring Book" by Georgie Woolridge. I have been enjoying the rise of adult colouring books - I've never stopped colouring, but it is lovely to have so many more options available than there ever have been. I have quite a few reviews of colouring books and colouring equipment planned for the coming weeks/months...

I received this particular book from my husband for Christmas, after he found it in a RSPB shop. I was immediately drawn to this robin image - well, it was the middle of winter! I decided to stick to a realistic colour scheme and fairly realistic shading, and assumed the background as mistletoe. The best thing about this book is that it's only printed on one side, so there's no worries about pens bleeding through, and each image can be removed and used as you wish. I can imagine a wall full of these images! Opposite each image is a small piece of information about the bird pictured, including it's name, which I really appreciated. It will be nice to learn about more birds as I wander through the book.

There are lots of small fiddly areas of colour in this book. Whilst I like some detail like this, these images are quite overwhelming. There is no need to colour each section individually though, and large areas can be shaded and still look great. I really appreciate the effort the artist has gone to to fit the patterns and details in with how the bird looks - the feet look scaly, the back looks feathery, and there is a clear definition where the robin's red breast begins. It's one thing to fill a shape with pattern, but it takes skill to do it this beautifully.

I have coloured this image using some (very old) WHSmith blendable colour pencils. These particular ones are unavailable, but I hope to review their latest offerings soon. I do have a confession to make though, I do not find colouring relaxing like many people seem to. My fatigue and pain issues mean that colouring is very taxing on my body, and can trigger migraines. I enjoy it as one of many creative activities, but it is a tiring activity for me, not a restful one. It takes me a long time to complete a piece as I can only do a few minutes at a time, but I love bringing magic to images with colour.

You can find Georgie Woolridge on Facebook here. This review is not sponsored and is my own personal opinion.

Cockatiels Watercolour

Rather than giving my husband cards, I try to give him paintings and drawings which can adorn our walls all year round! The only members of our animal family missing from our walls were our beautiful birds, Georgie (left) and Patch (right).

I really enjoyed picking up my watercolours again, and approached them with a gentler technique for me, really building up colour slowly. I think it works really well with the feathers. I also really enjoyed using my water brushes for this project, I felt so much more control over tone.

Georgie is a very shy bird, so not only did she make it very difficult for me to take reference photos, I thought it was apt for her to be hiding behind Patch, as that is how we normally see her anyway!