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Step 1 :
I thought we
would do a bit of wildlife for this project, as you can see from this
first image I've done the initial outline drawing and stuck in the
background, my sky wash was firstly, after pre wetting the entire sky
area, a little bit of raw sienna in the base and then cobalt blue from
the top all the way down. Suck out a few clouds using my 1.5” wash brush
which is from the new Charles Evans range of brushes.
I then changed to my ¾” wash
brush to put in the distance which was cobalt blue with a tiny touch of
light red. And just blot them in. Coming further forward, weak raw
sienna then a tiny touch of hookers green and raw sienna keeping all
this weak and distant. I now switch to my No 8 round brush and did a few
lines and lumpy bits to represent field lines and bushes and for this I
used cobalt blue and light red. For the nearer trees I used hookers
green and burnt sienna again with my round brush.
Then for the
nearer trees I used raw sienna stronger and then dropped in a few hints
of burnt sienna here and there. Now that’s all the landscape stuff out
of the way. Now to start on the main topic of the painting. |
Step 2 :
As you can see from this first bird I have put the basic washes on.
First
for the breast areas I used a mixture of the Charles Evans Sand with a
tiny hint of raw umber in it.
Going back slightly around the body with
this mixture until I get to the back areas and the top of the head where
it is just a weak raw umber. For the face of the bird I have used light
red. |
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Step 3 :
These same colours I have applied to all of the birds as in the next
image, just dropping in a hint of light red into the tops of the body
here and there whilst the raw umber mix was still wet.
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Step 4 :
When it comes to the detail of the birds, that characteristic horseshoe
shape in the breast I have used raw umber mixed with burnt sienna to
give a kind of gingery colour.
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Step 5 :
For the details like the
strong bars of colours coming around the body, I have again used burnt
sienna this time on its own. Then when it came to the back of the birds
I used raw umber mixed with burnt sienna to make the markings darker.
For the eyes I used a mixture of ultra marine blue and burnt sienna to
make a black. Make sure you leave a little dot of white paper showing
through just to give it a little bit of a highlight to the eye. For the
beaks I used yellow ochre and then again a little bit of black
underneath the beak to highlight it. All of this was done with my No 8
round brush again from the Charles Evans range of brushes. |
Step 6 :
When I have
finished doing the main detail of the birds I used my No 8 round brush
and just did a weak glaze of raw umber over the whole bird just to tone
in the colours slightly. |
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Step 7 :
On the bit of ground that the birds area standing I mixed a little bit
of burnt sienna with raw umber and firstly washed this in with my ¾” wash brush start and get some base colours in for the grasses.
Firstly
using yellow ochre then hookers green and yellow ochre then hookers
green and burnt sienna, making sure that you flick the brush upwards to
give you a few blades of grass as well as lumpy bits
Also here and there a few flicks of burnt sienna.
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Step 8 :
Next I went heavier on the hookers green and burnt sienna making the mix
burnt sienna biased. Also at this stage still with my ¾” wash brush I
just tapped on into the earth area with a few touches of hookers green and burnt
sienna.
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Step 9 :
Finally still
with the same brush but with a mixture of cobalt blue and burnt sienna,
heavier on the cobalt blue, get some depth into those grasses. Also at
this stage I put the shadow in cast by the birds both onto the ground
and from bird to bird, notice how this makes the birds sit down on the
ground and also give the impression that they are more huddled together.
There we go a lovely little scene that can be spotted in any stubble
field up and down the country.
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