Whistle-Stop Blog

A work in progress: watercolor vs. collage

5/8/2020

Not better, just different
One idea, two versions. The birdhouse with the flowers is the first version of my birdhouse project. I really like the weathered copper top and the holes where birds can enter. When I was working on it, I didn’t like how the flowers and grasses were coming together.

I made one mistake, then another, and couldn't find my way out. So I let it go and decided to create the image with collage papers.

Looking at the birdhouses side by side, nearly a year after they were created, has me thinking.

First of all, it's hard to compare them. The watercolor image has grasses and flowers which I like. The collage has a light green square behind it and wispy pine boughs that were added digitally.

I wonder, now, if I should have given up on the watercolor. I had imposed a deadline on the project and was frustrated and running out of time. Collage is easier for me, so I turned to it to get the job done.

In the end, I’m not sure one is better, just different ... what do you think?

8 Comments

Renee Tudor

5/9/2020 01:34:25 pm

I like both - the collage makes me think of early Spring with still chilly air and pines wearing the only green. That bird house is waiting for inhabitants, all fresh with crisp new paint and welcoming doorways. But your watercolor is a late Spring birdhouse in the afternoon and the air is warm and bees are humming around the flowers. This birdhouse isn’t a home for birds though, because a few flower fairies found it enchanting and moved in before the birds could!

Thank you so much for your art and blog! I love the whole monthly playbook idea and try each activity even if the results aren’t shareworthy. I learned a lot about my home state of Pennsylvania during April’s “State of Mine”, and am enjoying the bird posts this month!

Chrissy link

5/11/2020 05:24:40 am

Hi Renee!
I love your stories for the birdhouses, what an imagination you have! Your stories have me seeing them in a new way. And fairies, I do sometimes think they're there.

Glad you like the playbook idea, I learned a lot about Maine, too. Birding is something I know little about, but it is one of the most popular hobbies out there. Maybe because it's so accessible for so many. If you have any thoughts or suggestions for future playbooks you'd like to explore, let me know. I'm just guessing at topics and trying to think of things that have lots of interesting bits that lead us all down curiosity lane! Thanks for posting your comment.

Annette Stunden

5/9/2020 01:59:31 pm

Well hello there Christine. I love them both and I wish I could find some stamps from Australia with bird houses on them. Your new site is excellent and informative . Stay safe over there...from Tasmania

5/11/2020 05:40:24 am

Hi Annette!
I'd love a birdhouse stamp if you can find one. I shared the dragonfly stamps you sent with a friend who collects all things dragonflies. I glued it to a panel card and wrote all around it. She liked it so much, she wrote back!

So glad you're enjoying the site. If there's something you'd like to explore, let me know. I'm always looking for new ideas.

Kathi L

5/9/2020 02:30:02 pm

I like the watercolor version. It's more natural looking.

5/11/2020 05:32:42 am

It does have more detail and texture, and I think that's what made me give it a second look when I looked at it again.

Sandy link

5/10/2020 04:40:49 am

I love them both. In my art, I find pastels easy to pick up and start, and oil paints take longer to set up and use. You inspired me though, and I will get out my oils this week. I have been viewing online portrait oil painting classes, wonderful at this time.

5/11/2020 05:35:12 am

Hi Sandy,
Your work is beautiful, no matter if it's pastels or oils! I've never tried oil painting, probably because it does take more time (and probably space) to get started. Thank goodness for online learning.

A work in progress: watercolor vs. collage

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