I've been having a wonderful week - I think that perhaps my body is happy with the current level of thyroid meds I'm taking for hypothyroidism! At any rate, I'm painting up a storm - having had 6 birds drawn out on canvas just waiting for me to pick up the paint brush and go to work. I've completed 3 of them now, and have three more up on the easel, ready to begin tomorrow.
If you like the step by step approach, I'm including some here. Hope you can learn something from seeing the subtle and not so subtle changes as I move towards the completion of a painting.
Above, I've laid in the first layer of color - the groundwork upon which to build the painting. You can see I am working from several different photographs, which is both more difficult but also more helpful in capturing the personality style of the bird, not just it's frozen image.
Each successive layer builds up light and shadow.
Time to bring out more highlights on the beak. The female cardinal's beak is a slightly different color than her mates is. Males are more colorful all around, although their colors due soften somewhat during the winter.
It's always fun to add the black accent on an otherwise black-free painting. However, black is essential for Cardinals, as you can see the bird is becoming more life-like with this addition.
Finally, the eye with it's tiny reflective spots giving a more life-like impression that a totally black eye would offer. Also, the addition of lighter over-colors in the feathering. I also did a bit of a change on the right side of the beak - a subtle shift in the "cheek" to give the head a more appropriate look in the tilt.
Here is the pair of Cardinals together on the easel. The photo is a tad darker than the paintings actually are.
Hope you enjoyed the process. I certainly had fun with her!
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