IF "spring" - Blue bird on a plum tree

*click on the images to see them larger*

This week's Illustration Friday topic was "Spring". I had been planning to create another bird illustration and start making a series. The first one was the pink and brown bird on a cherry blossom branch. This one is a blue bird on a plum tree branch, also with spring blossoms. I thought the blue colours were very fresh and springlike so it was well-suited to the topic.

As in the previous bird illustration, I started with pen & ink in a sepia colour. Then I added watercolour on top. I needed ink that would be waterproof, and I wasn't sure about the Windsor & Newton inks that were in the artist supply store. I asked for help and they pointed out another type of ink that would be for sure, it's Daler Rowney Acryclic Artists Ink (Sepia 251). It works very well, and there was no bleeding at all when I added the watercolour. Of course if you try this technique you would want to let the ink dry for at least a couple of hours. I inked the picture and let it dry overnight before painting. Here is a detail of the bird:The previous bird postcard was for sale in my etsy shop, and was quite popular, so I will probably add this one too*. The cards are printed by me at home with corners I've rounded by hand. I've since been told by a fellow illustrator that the post office will not deliver postcards with rounded corners. The intention in any case was to sell the cards as very affordable artwork. So if people like the picture they can have a copy for only $2 rather than paying more for a professional print. If anyone would like them as greeting cards, please see my website for pricing and I can add custom orders to my etsy shop. I will also be making blue pincushions to sell with the bluebird card as sets. Thank you to everyone who expressed an interest in my things, I really really appreciate it!

*The blue bird postcard is now in my etsy shop.