G and Green Bee-eater

G and Green Bee-eater

This project is part of a watercolor and ink study in letter styles and object styles beginning with that letter. Each week will focus on one letter and one object beginning with that letter in order to collect and practice various artistic styles and alphabets.

As I looked at letter G, I considered many possibilities: ginko, gateau, goldfinch, giraffe, gift, grasses, and of course, Groff, my last name. I could have attempted to portrait each in my family. Since I haven’t mastered faces well yet (ahem … i.e. painting them scares me) and since I couldn’t settle on one of the above words, I enlisted my children for ideas. Between gila monster and gecko, one mentioned the green bee-eater.

When I saw pictures of these birds, I was sold. Look them up. Their colors are stunning! Some are mostly orange and some are bright green with a turquoise throat. Yes, they eat bees, among other things, which means, even if they did live in the US, they would not be welcome at our house. We have a tiny apiary which would likely become a buffet. I can just imagine one of these birds perched in an apple tree waiting as bee after bee flew past. Fast food dining at its best.

Let’s take a look at letter G and green bee-eater in watercolor, ink and hand lettering styles.

Dip Pen Letter G Style

• Letter G reminded me of E in that I wanted to work those flourishes all over the place. I didn’t. I needed to stay focused, but there may need to be a flourish study in the future.
• Favorites: 1, 2, 3, 8, 18 and 19. I am quite partial to the script styles for G.
• Least favorites: 9 and12.
• I should have tried a few handwriting styles of G. I never really liked that style, and it would be fun to find one that I do like.

Watercolor and Dip Pen Letter G Styles

• The top two and the gothic style win the favorites category. Though, I think the gothic letter G needs a little more depth on the tail and maybe a hook to distinguish it from a C.
• I like the bottom left style, but this ink isn’t my favorite. It starts bright green and fades to a swampy green.
• The mermaid letter G could use some help looking less like a C. Any suggestions?

Green Bee-eater Styles

• I love the colors of green bee-eaters … enough to excuse their diet habit of removing bees from the area. (Though, if they left honey bees out of it, I think the world could live with a few less wasps and yellow jackets.)
• The left middle picture was inspired from a photograph of several green bee-eaters squished together on a branch. They looked poofy and crowded but oh so adorable. So many pictures show these little birds looking into the air. I wonder if they hunt from a seat on a branch rather than while flying.
• My least favorite picture is the top left. I tried to paint in only watercolor with frustrating results. Pictures like this one remind me of how much I have to learn about painting with watercolor and ink. As I told a friend, though, they can’t all be perfect. 
• I continue to stretch myself in one completely abstract piece a week. An interesting exercise far out of my comfort zone.

I’d love to see what you’re working on. Remember to tag me on Instagram @joanneegroff. And leave any comments or suggestions in the comment section below.

If you’d like to take a look at previous weeks, links to their posts are here.

Happy creating!