iolanthe

@iolantherosa

Birder, artist, piano learner, cat lover. Veteran of 7 startups. California native, retired in Marin County. Atheist Jew.

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iolanthe@iolantherosa· 28d

Finished! My daughter received her PhD from the University of California last month. Her favorite bird is the Brown Pelican, so I painted her a PhD Pelican in UC doctoral regalia. #Gouache #Watercolor #BirdArt #ArtYear

A PhD Pelican in UC doctoral regalia, seen from the side, standing on a wood post. 9"x12" on Arches cold press, Holbein artist's gouache and Finetec gold watercolor for the tassel and cord around the velvet stripes.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· 29d

Another beautiful #sunset in Larksrpur, #Marin #California

Pink clouds looking east down the Corte Madera Creek.

Bright orange and pink clouds over Mt Tam, looking west down Corte Madera Creek.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· 29d

I finished my PhD Pelican #gouache, & now I'm going to do the background wash. I tend to be messy, so I taped over the whole bird with washi tape to protect it while I lay down the wash. Still trying to decide whether to use traditional #watercolor (Daniel Smith ultramarine) or a gouache gradient.

The silhouette of a pelican covered in multicolored washi tape.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· 29d

Fun in my #Abstract #Watercolor book. I like how this one kind of looks like a galaxy. #ArtYear

A bright blue and purple abstract with white splatter.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 13

I painted zinnias and dahlias during a long call with my Aunt Sharon yesterday. Everyone has an Aunt Sharon, right? #ArtYear #Watercolor #Sketchbook #FloralArt

A bright, colorful loose watercolor of a green vase holding dahlias in oranges, pinks, and purples, and a smaller blue vase containing zinnias in purples and oranges. A ceramic cat peeks out from behind the green vase. They are on a small round brown wood table.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 12

Very nice in Larkspur too

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 10

Exciting! Hiking a #Marin #California fire road this morning and there was a rare and endangered Spotted Owl, just sitting there like butter wouldn't melt in his beak. 🪶

A Northern Spotted Owl sitting on a branch, facing the camera. He has a mottled chestnut breast, yellow bill, disk-shaped face. Both black eyes are open, but he looks sleepy.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 10

PhD Pelican chugging right along #WIP #Gouache #Watercolor

A painting of a brown pelican in a doctoral hood and robe

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 9

Playing around with Nicker Poster Colours, the paints Studio Ghibli uses for its animations. They're very nice and do a lot of fun tricks. #Watercolor #Gouache #Abstract #ArtYear

A washy rainbow of horizontal lines in bright colors.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 8

The PhD Pelican #WIP continues apace.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 8

#WIP off and running with the PhD Pelican I'm painting for my newly-minted PhD daughter. #Watercolor #Gouache #ArtYear

A painting in progress of a pelican. The partially-painted bird is on a watercolor block on a table surrounded by brushes, a laptop, a sketchbook case and so on.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 8

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Lifer: capture of the last new to you bird you’ve seen. That would be the Vermilion Flycatcher my daughter helped me find in #SanDiego a few months ago. Which come to think of it, I could also have used for yesterday's #Orange theme. 🪶

A small bird perched on a twig, seen from the side facing right. It has BRILLIANT orange feathers on its head and breast. Wings are gray/brown.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 7

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Orange. Here's a Black-headed Grosbeak in #Agoura in southern #California. I love the orange of course, but also the just-barely-visible yellow streak they have on their bellies. 🪶

A bird sitting on a woody snag under blue skies. It has a black head, big silver beak, rusty orange breast with a very light yellow streak down the belly, black and white striped wings.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 7

Had a close encounter with a River Otter yesterday. #Graphite sketch from my own photo. #ArtYear #Sketchbook #Pencil

A pencil sketch of an otter's head emerging from the water and looking soulfully into my eyes.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 6

Here's a peek at a fun #WIP. My daughter just got her PhD & her favorite bird is the Brown Pelican, so I am doing a Pelican in PhD garb: the tam & hood in UC colors. The hat's okay but the stripes need to be adjusted. The liripipe of the hood could be a little showier. #Graphite #Pencil #ArtYear

A sketch in pencil on tracing paper of a side view of a pelican standing on a post wearing a PhD Tam, a gown with stripes on the sleeve, and a hanging tail of the hood on the gown.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 6

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Cutie, cute bird captures. I have just the thing from Las Gallinas #SanRafael #California last week, a baby Barn Swallow who will STARE INTO YOUR SOUL until you bring him some breakfast. 🪶

A fluffy baby swallow with deep dark black eyes staring directly into the camera. He is perched on bending head of some rusty kind of grass.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 6

I was gifted a set of Dr Ph Martin's Bombay Inks and I am having so much fun playing with them! Such brilliant colors. #Abstract #Watercolor #Gouache #Ink #ColoredPencil #MixedMedia #ArtYear

An abstract composition of cool greens and purples with bright pinks and yellows. Many strands of color swoop across the page.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 5

I bought a little santon in #Provence #France of a lavender harvester, stopping for a moment in the hot sun to wipe her brow. This is a #Watercolor #Ink&Wash I did of the figurine. I love her as a reminder of one of my favorite places, and also of women's labor. #ArtYear

A watercolor of a painted clay figurine of a woman in traditional dress (long skirt, blouse, apron, large straw hat) standing next to a basket of lavender blossoms. She is wiping the sweat from her brow.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 5

Today's #BirdOfTheDay Theme is #Ebony&Ivory, birds that have black & white plumage. Oh yay! Another opportunity share a Puffin photo! Here are Los Tres Amigos at Castle O'Burrian #Westray #Orkney 🪶

3 puffins standing on a grass tuft. They are in the lower left hand corner, standing side by side, looking out to sea.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 3

A little #Abstract art to get the day off to a good start. #Watercolor #Gouache #ArtYear

Loose yarn-like strips of color in pinks and purples, starting and ending with smaller threads of color at the top and bottom. Painted with Holbein Artists Gouache on KOVIEDE 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper 140 lb. This is a very reasonably priced, high quality paper, and I was pleased to find out about it.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 3

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Quackers, any duck will do. To be fair, this Wood Duck is more of a whistler than a quacker. It's hard to take a bad picture of one, but I particularly liked the fun golden-green waters rippling around him. 🪶

A wood duck in full breeding plumage, paddling on golden green water with many ripples making fun signs on the water. His head is forest green, breast is shiny chestnut brown with white spots, bright orange eye and bill with a black tip.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 3

I got some good looks at this handsome Osprey at Bon Tempe Lake #Marin #California this morning. I believe he was a juvenile waiting for mom or dad to come back with breakfast. 🪶

An Osprey on the end of a branch of an evergreen tree on a bright blue day. It has chocolate brown wings and a white breast. A lighter brown stripe runs through its yellow eye.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 2

I'm a lifelong migraineuse and my auras have become more frequent, so I have had to become familiar with the "Visual Aura Table." Mine are almost always #1, however yesterday, I had #13, which was cool. As a cat lover, I long for #25, presumably reserved for Surrealist sufferers. #Migraine

A chart with 26 squares each depicting a hot air balloon impacted by visual aura, ranging from fuzziness to weird geometric shapes, to blackened areas.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 2

My #BirdOfTheDay photo meets both of today's themes: #QuietReflection, any bird paused in thought, as well as the alt theme, #SunriseSunset, a bird captured during either. This is a Great Blue Heron at sunrise at Crissy Field #Presidio #GGNRA #SanFrancisco #Photography

The silhouette of a Great Blue Heron in still tidal waters of Crissy Field in San Francisco at sunrise. The water is still and dark blue, fading to peaches and pinks of early sunrise at the horizon line. The morning sky is clear. Alcatraz Island is visible in the background.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 1

Cheerful loose #watercolor of summer annuals: bachelor's buttons, cosmos, and a sunflower in an orange fish "gurgle" vase. #ArtYear

A brightly colored watercolor of bachelor's buttons, cosmos, and a sunflower in an orange fish "gurgle" vase.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jul 1

We have a fun #BirdOfTheDay theme today: #RedBeakFeetEyes, any bird with a red beak, feet or eyes, not feathers. I immediately thought of the Black-crowned Night Heron 🪶

A side view of the head and shoulders of a Black-crowned Night Heron. Its head and shoulders are grey. It has a chunky black bill. Its eye is vivid red.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jun 30

One of the fun parts of drawing is that you're basically creating a personal coloring book that you can color in later. #ArtYear #Graphite #Watercolor #Sketchbook

The same pencil drawing of 5 seashells shown on the left, now painted with Vivia Colorsheets watercolors.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jun 30

My brother's cat Nola #Gouache #Watercolor #Cats #ArtYear

A gouache portrait of the head and shoulders of a sleeping cat named Nola. She is a gray tabby with a deep salmon pink nose and a few light brown highlights.

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jun 28

My geologist husband circa 1983

iolanthe@iolantherosa· Jun 27

WIP of Mt Tamalpais. #Marin #California #Gouache #Watercolor #ArtYear