"Dreamy Shorebirds"

Dreamy Shorebirds is a piece dreamt up in the anticipation of Summer. It’s warm golden hour tones, paired with blue hues pulled from the shores. What I was thinking of most while working on it in May of 2024 - Was how ready I was for a PEI Summer and everything that comes with it.

I love plovers and love to illustrate them, so naturally they would be included in this daydream. Lupins, bleeding heart flowers, the ocean meeting the shoreline, and a simple lighthouse are all symbols of a Prince Edward Island summer as well. 

I chose to show the different stages of a bleeding heart flower - They’re really quite beautiful and nostalgic to me as one of my favourite gardens growing up had them.

Dreamy Shorebirds began on a 11” x 14” paper - With the details roughtly outlined in pencil. I always like to mark the different sections of a circular piece - 45 degrees, 90 degrees and so on. It makes it a lot easier to decide where to place things later on, especially if I’m trying to mirror the same pattern on both sides of the design.

I wanted really light, pastel shades for this. In most cases, I started with white paint and dipped a toothpick into the other colours, adding the smallest amounts of colour to the white, bit by bit.

When I began layering ink patterns over top of the watercolours, I used a variety of techniques. As always, varying line weights helped me to really break out the different components and keep them from getting lost. For the shoreline, I tried a type of hatching pattern that I’d never tried before - I love how it turned out truly and will experiment with it again.

I felt quite experimental with this piece, and really enjoyed what came of it. I often say I’m not a natural with colour, but the more I practice with it the more I seem to be liking the end results. Earlier on, many pieces felt ruined to me by the colour choices.

I hope this piece is enjoyed by those who view it- And that you take time to reflect on what sparks that same feeling of anticipation for you.