Bearded reedling, Panurus biarmicus, male Watercolor, 2010 Tulay Yilmaz
Hello everyone,
Say hello to my birdie. It is bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus), adult male. I truly don’t remember what was the exact date that I painted this but what I know for sure is, this was my first bird painting. I assume I did it in 2010 and on those days I had an idea that I can paint for bird guides (yeah, a biologist in dreams). It never happened though!
What I learned from this painting was painting fur is not easy, especially where the fur is white. There should be some techniques to make it easier but I am not aware of it. Second thing I learned was it is important to date your work, then you can see your progress. Third thing is don’t leave your artwork in the mess of your table or you end up having dust and stains on them. They don’t need to be a masterpiece to deserve the respect. File them properly!
My bearded reedling has some funny wings, shading is not that great but still I like it. It looks promising, isn’t it?
This is my first botanical illustration. It was tough to give the shape of the fruits, because they were in such a dark color that I was scared to dirty my paper or ruin the whole thing but they turned out pretty well at the end. By the courage given to me by my instructor, I painted the very bottom of the fruits in a deep dark color, then felt amazed how that shade made a difference.
The round shape of the fruit appeared all of a sudden. This is when I realized shade and light is everything if you want realistic pictures.
I enjoyed painting especially the branches of this plant, because it was full of details. I spent a fair amount of time working on those details that I even rejected to take breaks. I ended up having one of the girls from the group calling me ‘Detail freak!’. And I still am!
Hyoscyamus reticulatus Kars, Turkey 2009 by Tulay Yilmaz
When the illustration course was over, we conducted an exhibition free to public. Everyone was standing next to their paintings and giving information about the process and the plants. However, it turned out to be the locals knew the plants better than we did. One of the villagers said the fruits of this plant is poisonous and causes hallucinations. I was already warned not to be too close, or touch to the plant during my drawing and painting but seeing people knowing the plants around them and talking from experience was pretty sweet.
Xeranthemum annuum Kars, Turkey 2009 by Tulay Yilmaz
I love the composition of this painting. Also the plant was so gracious and soft in colors that I enjoyed painting every bit of it. Composition is another important thing that needs to be taken care of properly. Otherwise, an unbalanced placing of different parts of the plant can cause an uncomfortable look even the painting is perfectly done. I don’t have many paintings yet with compositions, but I am looking forward to come to that point soon enough.
Veronica gentianoides Kars, Turkey 2009 by Tulay Yilmaz
I remember how I was zoned out while painting this one. It was late in the evening, I was listening to my music and painting at the same time, then my instructor came to check my painting. She compared the seeds of my picture to the real plant and said ‘Why they look like little hearts? Are you in love?’. And yeah, I was in a long distance relationship and it was so new that I was full of thoughts. It seems I was detached from real life for a while and transformed all the seeds to little love hearts in my la la land.
When this Crocus sp. came to our place for drawing, our instructor brought it to me for painting. I was quick enough to be able finish it before it died. It was my first white petal painting and it was a challenge because in our palette we don’t have white color. We only shade the darker areas and protect the white areas on the paper. I gave the shades a greyish color and left the rest white. Although the petals looked kind of dirty at the end, the bulb detail and the picture as a whole were satisfactory.
Eryngium billardieri Kars, Turkey 2008 by Tulay Yilmaz
Dried plants always catch my eye. I find them really beautiful when they lose their natural shine and become more dominant in pastel colors. Their morphology changes into fragile little sculptures by the loss of the water and the elasticity. I really enjoyed painting this one. Even though it looks like a colored pencil painting, it actually is a watercolor and I would love to paint a similar one again to see if I can make it look any better.
Potentilla fruticosa Kars, Turkey 2008 by Tulay Yilmaz
I learned how tricky yellow can be by this painting. Yellow is a sticky color, it is hard to remove or clean when you make a mistake. I am sure there are ways out there, if you know I would love to hear the magic tricks to deal with yellow color.
Art in Nature 