I don't think I'll ever be able to get all the way away from painting birds, and I don't think I want to. Like most areas of the country, I've got plenty of sparrows flying around my house. I thought it might be nice to paint one. I think I did one years ago, but they are nice birds and I always enjoy watching them at the feeder and flitting about too and fro.
This isn't any particular sparrow, but one of many that could be around my house. He's just sitting there on a little branch looking for his friends to play with.
He was great fun to paint. If you want to see a video of how I did it, check out the video below.
Back again with another bird painting. This one is a great blue heron. These prehistoric birds are all over the place where I live, and I hope you have them where you live too. Here they stalk the tide pools and seashore looking for small fish to eat. I've even seen them in the fields and on the golf course looking for mice or moles. A big one can stand in excess of 4 feet tall. I don't know what its wingspan is, but its big. They will stand motionless for quite a while waiting for a tasty morsel to come into range. As soon as it does,... Whammo! Thats is. Feeding time.
I've got a nice heron her for you to view. He is in a classic standing stance. Just surveying his surroundings, waiting, biding his time. I've used a healthy dose of cerulean blue in this painting. Used it both in the bird and on the background. The bird itself is tempered with a little mix of my own grey too.
For those of you interested in seeing how I painted it, you can view the action below. Even if you don't give a view to the video, thanks for taking the time to read a bit about this bird. Enjoy the video.
I must be on some kind of bird painting kick. Here, I've painted an Oriole. He is sitting on what appears to be a broken branch.
This bird was really fun to paint. The vibrant orange color is made from a couple of different reds, and a couple of different yellows. I did use a pre-mixed grey (payne's grey) but I augmented it myself. I don't usually use the grey right out of the tube. It's mot a bad color, just a little bit flat.
I've given the bird just a few indications of feathers. Just enough to enhance the shape of the bird.
He sits on a stick that has obviously seen better days. Its got some pitting and dents in it.
The background was originally going to be a bit more mottled, but I think I forgot to mix another color into it. As it is, the colors are phthalo blue and ultramarine blue. The green parts are windsor green and viridian. The blue behind the orange really makes this bird pop off the page.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the painting and the quick read. If you want to see how I painted it, check out the following video.
In addition to last nights poppy painting session. I also found a little time to paint a few chickens. I really don't know why i keep painting chickens. I do like birds, but if I were asked to list my favorite birds, chickens would be WAY down the list.
It must have to do with the fact that you can throw a few colors into a chicken shape and it always comes out looking good.
I started painting them to force myself to let the colors mix on the paper, and I guess I got a little addicted. Well, at any rate, they are fun to paint. I hope you like them.
Was doing a little doodling, and decided to doodle some chickens. These were super fun to paint. I had the intent of letting the paint mix on the paper. I still wanted to try to maintain that each had a crown, wing tail, legs, etc. while not being so tight with the paint. I think for the most part i worked pretty well. You can see that the tails are a dark, and their underbelly is dark, and their necks a bit lighter. If you look you can see the color blend from one to another.
Well, I had fun with this practice. I'll probably put the ground and a background on at some time, so these might just pop up again.
Ahhhhhh, the old bait and switch. There is only one hooter. Having a little success with human eyes, I thought I would give a a try to an animal that has perhaps the best eyes. My thought was to have the eyes crystal clear and sharp, then as you moved further away from the eyes, the painting became fuzzier, so that your eye would focus in on the eyes of the owl. I'm visualizing this owl sitting in a tree staring out through the night. If I were to come across an owl on the golf course, this is what, in my mind I would see. (btw, I run into them on the course all the time. I give them a wide berth knowing that owls can be really mean.
This one turned from another eye exercise to a looseness exercise. Trying to get that etherial look around the edges.
Hope you enjoy it.
Oh and if I give post a title like this one, I'll get 3 times the amount of hits that I normally get. Funny how that works.
Those of you who know me, know I have a thing for kingfishers. They are really funny little birds with some fantastic coloring. This is a quick sketch I did of one. There isn't much to say about it, I just saw a picture of it, and had to take a crack at painting it. Hope you enjoy, and Thank you.
John is a faculty member her. His son took a whole bunch of pictures of their chickens one day and John asked me if I wouldn't paint one. I said sure. This is the result of my effort. No, its not an exact match. I never really try to make the exact match, but I think I got a fairly good likeness.
I've been told that all the birds I paint seem to be fat. I just thought they were all big boned. Today, I give you two birds that might have an actual chance of flight. Two Western Scrub Jays. They are fun to paint with their blue and browns, This one has found a perch on a dead branch and is looking back over his shoulder.
This picture is approximately 5x7.
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This second bird did look a bit more haggard in the original, but I don't think I did him any favors in this picture. Again he is looking over his shoulder. I'm told that his head doesn't look like it fits on his body properly. I didn't really think about it when I drew it. Its how the picture was.
Both of these birds were fun to paint, and I will be doing more birds. I've found a website full of great pictures of just about all species of North American birds, so expect to see more in the future.
This picture is approximately 4x6.
For Sale -$8 - free shipping.
Alright, I started to draw this bird just a bit too large, and it didn't quite fit on the paper. I don't think it really affects the picture. I think it turned out really well. The bird is sitting in the middle of some branches and obviously looking at something tasty. I drew the outline of the bird, and the eye, and that was it. Freehanded the rest. I really was having problems with the feathers on the wings and back. but after layering the colors on, I think it came out nicely. Hope you all enjoy the picture.
This panting currently for sale. Contact Michael for details.
Ever been in 4H? No, neither have I. But you have gone to the state, or at least county fair right? Right. Then you've seen all the chickens at the fair, and you probably have seen one that looks similar to this.
He's a nice little rooster painted in 3 to 4 different layers of color. The first is just the base coat. The second and in some cases the third give definition to the bird and feathers. The final layer adds the details to the feathers, crown and beak, eyes, etc. I'm actually pretty happy with the way this one came out. I may go back and paint some foliage in the background, but even if I don't I think he's a nice bird. Enjoy.
