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Caleigh Bird Art

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art studio tour

2 Minute Tiny House Art Studio Tour

May 16, 2018 in Art Vlog, Studio, YouTube Videos

Welcome to my tiny house art studio bungalow! I love my little sunny Hawai'i home and I have done so much to create the perfect, most efficient, most inspiring art making space I can! Come on in and have a looksy, and if you'd like a more detailed tour, check out these link because I have two more videos detailing my painting station and the rest of my tiny house living :)

Painting Station + Art Collection here

Bungalow + Outdoor Bathroom here

If you didn't see the pics I posted last time, check those out here. 

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originally published May 16, 2018

Tags: tiny house, bungalow, studio, artist studio, hawaii
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Just a girl and her new mango tree..... 

Just a girl and her new mango tree.....

 

New Studio Tour Sneak Peek

May 14, 2018 in Artist Diary, Studio

Oh my gosh I cannot believe it has taken me this long to do a proper studio tour! Ha! What can I say, it takes a while for me to perfect my little work space nest ;) 

Today I am only sharing a few photos of my bungalow so you'll have to tune in Wednesday for the 2 minute quickie tour and then I'll have detailed vids of my art setup as well as my living space, lanai, and outdoor bathroom (which is beyond amazing!) coming out in the following weeks. 

This where the magic happens! I prefer a standing easel for pretty much all my art-making.

This where the magic happens! I prefer a standing easel for pretty much all my art-making.

I'm literally sitting on my ergonomic chair sitting at this desk typing right now...

I'm literally sitting on my ergonomic chair sitting at this desk typing right now...

I built this elevated bed myself!! Can't wait to show you how I did it!

I built this elevated bed myself!! Can't wait to show you how I did it!

So that's most of the inside area - tune in the next three Wednesdays for the detailed tour inside and out!

**Or pop your email down below to get the tour delivered to your inbox all neat 'n tidy:)**

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originally published May 14, 2018

Tags: studio, artist studio, artist life, elevated bed, painting demo
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figure drawing in charcoal

Figure Drawing Sketchbook Tour

May 09, 2018 in Acquire Art, Art Vlog, YouTube Videos, Studio, Figure Drawings

Welcome to my sketchbooks friends! I love peeking through other artists' sketchbooks so today I am bringing you on a lil journey through mine. 

These are my home made sketchbooks featuring my favorite multi-colored textured toned paper and either charcoal or pastel with white chalk pencils. I love switching up the tones between the paper and utensils so much! Learn all about awesome alternatives to black here that can really punch up your artwork too. 

So enjoy today's little tour of a bunch of my live figure drawing sketches. I've included a  voiceover on technique as well as my personal drawing choices. Hope  you feel inspired!!

I actually have a number of these drawings available for sale here, and you can view a lot of the collection here. 

figure drawing in charcoal

If you would like to make your own fab sketchbook featuring your own fave art paper click here.

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originally published May 9, 2018

Tags: figure drawing, charcoal, charcoal pencils, carbothello, classical art, life drawings, youtube video, sketchbook, acquire art, buy art
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artist vlog

Artist Vlog :: Nude Figure Modeling + New Art + Epic Hawaii Hike

May 03, 2018 in Artist Diary, Aloha, Adventure, Art Vlog, YouTube Videos

Hi friends! It's been a while since I've just sat down and given you the skinny on all the latest Nest happenings so join me today as I get overly excited and bubbly about trying new things;)

If you like hearing about the less-glamorous but more intimate sides of being a working artist, jump on my Birds of a Feather newsletter here or at the the end of this blog post post to get my monthly letter all about my personal happenings I only share in the Nest. 

I don't want to say another word and spoil the show - enjoy!!

If you want to see more epic Hawai'i hike photos check out my blog post from earlier this week here. 

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originally published May 2, 2018

Tags: youtube video, artist diary, artist life, studio
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lanipo ridge hike hawaii

Epic Hawaii Hike :: Lanipo Ridge

May 03, 2018 in Artist Diary, Adventure, Aloha

Wow friends, my mind is still swimming from the amazing hike I had the other day with one of my closest girls, Baila. We hiked to an extremely high point where the Lanipo Mau'umae finger ridge meets what we refer to as the Mother Mountain, which is the main ridge that runs from the south to north shore. 

lanipo ridge hike hawaii

Since O'ahu was formed by a series of active volcanoes,  the ridge hikes are comprised of the pyroclastic flow which created steep and narrow mountains all over the island. From what I understand many trails were used by native Hawai'ians and Polynesians for centuries, then used by the US army for lookouts, infrastructure, and training, and now mostly used by hikers.

hiking lanipo ridge hawaii

The Hawai'ian government keeps a lot of land untouched and even sanctions dozens of hikes all over the island that will take you to another world, yet will start less than 20-30 minutes from your own home. Hiking out here is beyond incredible. 

Ripe strawberry guava along the way - yummm!!

Ripe strawberry guava along the way - yummm!!

Oh the ferns..... 

To sum it up, this was a 6.6 mile (7.5 hours) there-and-back hike. The pinnacle reached the mother mountain and we were gifted a view of around 75-80% of the island. I have never had a view like that in my life so far and since I had been feeling a little studio rut lately, it was just what I needed to gain a little clarity. 

Overlooking the Ka'au Crater just behind me and a gorgeous waterfall cutting through the ridgeline

Overlooking the Ka'au Crater just behind me and a gorgeous waterfall cutting through the ridgeline

overlooking oahu hikes

[UPDATE: I featured this hike on my YouTube Studio Vlog right here with some amazing footage I took at the peak. ]

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originally published May 30, 2018

Tags: aloha, adventure, hawaii, hiking, artist life, artist diary
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gold leaf on an oil painting

Applying Gold Leaf :: My First Time!

April 26, 2018 in Oil Paintings, Tutorials, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos

Aloha fellow artistas and gold-lovas! I am super psyched to bring you a tutorial featuring my first time using the most exciting accent of them all: gold leaf!!

I was a little wary of filming myself using a brand new (to me) art medium, but I figured any screw-ups might help someone else learn, so why not, right? You won't believe how surprised I was to have the gold leaf turn out PERFECTLY on the very first try! Hooray!!

So check out this fun tutorial and you can literally be gilding like a pro in no time at all!! Fan-freakin-tastic!!!!

Optional:

  • Pencil
  • Talcum Powder

Supplies:

  • Mona Lisa Metal Leaf Kit
  • Large stiff but soft brush
  • Paint brush(es)
  • Painting surface

You can snag some gold leaf here using my special Dick Blick affiliate link and anything in your checkout basket goes to helping support my YouTube channel - Yay!

applying gold leaf
gold leaf tips

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originally published April 25, 2018

Tags: dick blick, art supplies, art demo, tutorial, studio, how to gold leaf, gold leaf, youtube video
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dreadlock muse on a mountain top

Photo Shoot with Jan Galvan

April 24, 2018 in Artist Diary, Me as Muse, Inspiration

On a foggy afternoon high on the Lanipo ridge I was fortunate enough to have a photoshoot with the very talented portraitist Jan Galvan who was on island all the way from Washington DC in order to shoot a wedding. He was very interested in exploring unique spots on the island and I was happy to oblige with a short foray onto my favorite hike. 

You can see more of Jan's work here.

dreadlock muse

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originally published April 23, 2018

Tags: muse, me, time off, art model, artist life, artist diary, artist feature
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Yasmine.jpg

Yasmine Portrait Drawing

April 18, 2018 in Pencil Portraits, YouTube Videos, Studio

HI friends! It's so lovely to be able to make art simply for the sake of capturing beauty, and sometimes I get so caught up in other things that I forget to make time to just enjoy the process for myself. 

I don't think I've done a portrait drawing in months just for fun so here's a super casual lil vid featuring my drawing of Yasmine set to some really fun French-style remix music by a lady who is generous enough to let YouTubers use her tunes for our vids, Dyalla Swain. 

Hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed relaxing and drawing!

Is there anything you'd like me to discuss in an upcoming vid? Feel free to drop me a comment here or on the YouTube comments:)

::

originally published April 18, 2018

Tags: portrait drawings, pencil drawing, timelapse, speed demo, how to draw, youtube video
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painting dahlias in oil

Painting a Dahlia in Oil

April 11, 2018 in Oil Paintings, Studio, YouTube Tutorials

Aloha friends! I'm so glad to be back in the studio sharing another painting vid with you! I feel like it's been so long since I've made one of these since I just finished that whole fun series all about 'Putting on an Art Show on a Budget.'

I've been loving the addition of all these flowers to my latest paintings. So much fun to play with all that color!

Painting this dahlia in oil was a really fun and unusual challenge for me. It's important when depicting something as geometric as these petals to start out with a strong and accurate drawing. Once you have that down, enjoy the next steps in my video!

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originally published April 11, 2018

Tags: painting flowers, oil painting technique, oil painting, youtube video, tutorial
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oil painting of a dahlia

Good Enough?

April 10, 2018 in Oil Paintings, Studio, Artist Diary

From the responses I get to my blog and videos I can tell that most of my supporters are ambitious, hard-working, and creative in their own right so I feel like many of you will be able to relate to a recent gnawing feeling I had when creating a painting that was not my best work. I struggled a little bit with an internal dialog when deciding whether or not to take the time to go back and correct my shortcomings.

Sometimes good enough is good enough, but often times it’s not.

When working on a repetitive or tedious part of a painting it can be tempting to just go through the motions until the paint is on the canvas (or linen in my case) and be done with that area as soon as you can. However, in the grand scheme of things I have learned that there really is no point to making art unless you are sincerely doing your very best and genuinely trying to use all of your skills to make the most remarkable work you possibly can.  

As much as I hate to admit it, art is not a necessity, at least not in the way food, water and shelter are, so if you have something creative yet extraneous to minimal survival that you wish to share with the world, I have learned that it is wise to push yourself to your limits and go all out in creating something truly incredible and unusual. A good rule of thumb is that audiences don’t remember ‘average’, they remember ‘mind-blowing.’  

Today I am happy to share with you friends a little demonstration of how I decided to take my own advice, even though it meant redoing something I had already spent a few hours on.

bad painting of a dahlia

Last week I painted this dahlia, the first one like it I have ever done, and I kind of knew that I didn’t start off with a strong enough drawing, which is honestly why it eventually turned into a weak painting. At first I thought I could just muddle through and maybe go back in with a few corrections, but after feeling dissatisfied every time I glanced this painting on my easel I just knew that this was not remarkable enough to be proud to show an audience. Good enough was not good enough for me. 

I decided to completely go over what I had done before and give myself a better ground surface and a much better drawing. I also took extra time and care while painting and I'm pretty thrilled how it turned out! It did take me a few hours to paint just one and I still have two more to go, but in the end all the time is worth creating something I can truly be proud of:)

good oil painting of a dahlia

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originally published April 8, 2018

Tags: oil painting technique, painting flowers, art talk, art advice
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