Getting Back to Creating at Long Last

Stone Chats in Scotland ~ 10"w x 21" h ~ Watercolor ~ (c)Pat Dolan

Between the Pandemic and Politics, I've had a very hard time stepping out of time and space and into the altered state of creativity. However, after a few weeks off from the tragic news stories, I'm beginning to feel more like myself. I know many others find creating as their path to surviving the current situation, both personally and globally. But for me, it was as though I hit a wall and simply couldn't stop seeing the "black holes" in front of me.

But this week, my creative juices started to flow ever so slowly once again, and I've finally completed a painting I set up months ago. You see the finished painting above. I'll show my painting process below. All questions welcomed and will be answered!

First, here is the inspiration for this painting - a photo by a Facebook friend, Keith Clark, found on the Scottish Clans page. Keith kindly gave me permission to use his photo as my inspiration. As an aside, I have Scottish ancestors, Grant & Stephen, from the northeastern counties of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire. When we visited in 2007, we saw a lot of wildlife, including birds. We asked the server at an outdoor refreshment stand in Banchory or Durris next to the River Dee what kinds of birds there were, she replied "Chirpy-chirpy, Cheep-cheep!"  We all had a good laugh!

                              Photo of Stone Chats by Keith Clark, Scotland

The drawing table with everything ready to go - the inspiration, the drawing on 300# Arches watercolor paper, brushes, paints, water, good lighting - and finally, the motivation to paint.

Before I put any color down, I did two things. First, using regular masking tape, I taped the slender stems of the branches in the foreground. Second, I completely saturated the paper with water, everywhere but the birds and the taped branches.

Next, I dropped in the pale blue in the upper left corner for the sky, then quickly added a lot of mixed greens (mixes of burnt sienna, Van Dyke brown, ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, and also some sap green) with various amounts of water to create a misty background scene for this pair of birds.  

While the paper is still wet, but not shiny, I drop in some Kosher salt into the sky and the trees in the background on the right. These larger salt crystals will soak up both water and paint, leaving little starry lighter spots to give the illusion of sky behind the trees, clouds in the sky, and depth in general to the background.

Adding more shades of greens, to add depth to the background and interest to the foreground. Also some blues and browns, to provide interest and contrast.

Time to remove the tape, so I can begin to add the shading to the various branches and twigs that pepper the foreground and give grounding to the birds.

Adding Paynes gray with either or both burn sienna, Van Dyke brown, plus a pale touch of blue, I begin to bring the branches to life. I also begin to paint the female Stone Chat on the left and give an eye to her partner.

Ah, now the fun of painting the brighter male Stone Chat in the foreground. He's plump and with a deeply rich black coat and a rusty (burnt sienna) brown belly with a white underbelly and white throat accents. 

I went back into the sky to add more blue in the upper left corner - not too much, with a little more Kosher salt. Also began adding the smaller twigs to the sticks in the foreground.

Now it was time for finishing touches, more detailed twigs, careful attention to the birds eyes, highlighting branches a bit with while gouache. 

And finally, adding a signature, when I'm satisfied with the painting. That's not to say I may not touch it up a tad here or there later, if I see something that feels a bit "off." But for all essential purposes, the painting is complete - ready for matting and framing.

Hope you enjoyed learning about the watercolor process of creating a wildlife painting. If you have any questions, please write them below in the comments and I will respond.