Trust vs Self Doubt

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painting birds in watercolor, poza honda ecuador, self doubt, smooth-billed anis ecuador, southern house wren ecuador, watercolor art of ecuador birds

Smooth-billed Ani in Calabash Tree – Poza Honda/Manabi/Ecuador

“… If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you – and make allowance for their doubting too…” from the poem If by Rudyard Kipling (for the complete poem go HERE)

Self doubt can sabotage one’s concentration. How well I remember standing at the free-throw line and hoping that I would not miss the final shot for a Jr.-high basketball game.  Aware of my teammates, of the coach, of offensive/defensive choices if the ball missed the basket, of the next team waiting for the buzzer and warm ups; I also considered the home-town fans and strangers in the packed gym. Would my team win, would we lose, or would we go into overtime? The possibilities provided many distractions for an inexperienced young-teen! * That moment taught me an important life lesson: block out the conflicting variables and focus on the goal.

The same self doubt inflicts the creative process. When I painted the watercolor study of Smooth-billed Anis, I used an ultra-smooth Bristol Board which is very unforgiving. Once applied, the dark pigments required for the Anis could not be lifted without staining(ruining?) the paper.

Smooth-billed Anis – Watercolor in progress (Black and white image)

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” Elbert Hubbard

Quite social and affectionate with each other, Anis stay in family clusters. Sometimes while foraging they are scattered but remain in sight of one another; they also huddle – and even cuddle – during periods of rest.  The Smooth-billed and the Groove-billed Anis prepared a little slide show introduction:

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Painting just one bird would not illustrate the true behavior of the flock.

The painting advanced one bird at a time, and with each bird – self doubt peered over my shoulder and whispered, “Are you sure you want to add another bird? What if you make a mistake? The painting might be ruined.”

Timeout for Art – Intense Concentration

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painting birds in watercolor, painting toucans, Timeout for Art

“Hi!  Remember me?” (See Timeout- Let’s Draw a Toucan)

“It takes 100 per cent of your attention and focus, backed up with years of drawing experience, to train yourself to paint what you see.” Steve Childs

Mindo Ecuador –

Simple washes of color… Remember when using watercolor to let one area (yellow) to dry before beginning another (black) or they’ll run together and make a big mess!

Sometimes several washes of color are more effective for building texture and depth.   The cecropria limb started with light washes of blues and greens, and the lightest areas were saved while darker pigments brought form and texture to the painting.  The tree limb needs another session when I can work from life and apply the subtle details.

The second application of yellow, applied after the first had dried overnight, brings more life into the toucan.

Toucans are quite social, so the study has a few support characters!   The next image shows the small painting.   With watercolor, one tries to save the whites, as in the spots of light on the eyes.   One mistake many people make is to try to rush the painting, and they are rewarded with a dark color running into a lighter one.   Placing the dark pigment (Paynes gray + burnt sienna + ultramarine blue) in the eye area would be a fatal mistake if the green pigment had not dried.    Moving to the tree limbs – or even to a different painting is the best option.   Taking a break or putting the painting in the sun or waiting until the next day are other options.