Today I have a sweet little watercolor bird to share with you.
I started out by sketching my bird using a watercolor pencil. Then I painted the background around my bird sketch. By painting the branches on wet paper it created soft dreamy distant branches. I love how it sets the mood. 😊
little bird on 8 x 8 inch fluid watercolor paperblock
I worked on the bird and branch in the foreground next. The detail and additional layers of color brought the bird forward and into focus.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
Lately I’ve been trying to work more in my sketchbook. Today I have a few pencil sketches to share with you.
I decided to work more on sketching birds.
This was a quick sketch. I like the idea of limiting my time on a sketch which helps me focus on shape and form. Having a time limit also keeps me from getting lost in detail.
More work on shore birds… I hope this will help build my confidence when adding birds to landscape paintings.
Another page with a few quick bird sketches. I really liked this one more than the others on the page. I cropped the others out but kind of love that they are sneaking into the photo a little. 😊
More quick sketches with different views.
Finishing off our sketchbook tour is a quick flower sketch. I was thinking about painting but didn’t have enough time so I just started sketching a poppy. I’m happy that I opened up my sketchbook.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
I decided to paint a little bird and play around with the background. I have a few in progress photos to show you how it all came together.
Hope you are having a lovely day. 💚
I started with half a sheet of a 9 x 12 inch watercolor paper. I taped off a small border and then I outlined the shape of my bird using a pencil.
The background was first: I wet the paper around the bird using clean water. This lively watercolor background quickly took shape as I dropped in green gold, sap green, and prussian blue on the wet paper. I used mostly lighter colors in the top area and darker colors below the bird. For some additional interest, I dragged the edge of a credit card through the wet paint in random places and it created some nice markings.
Painting the bird was next: After the background was dry, I wet the bird with clean water. Then I painted an initial layer of color.
I had to lift off a little bit of the green that had covered the bird’s beak area when I painted the background. These things happen so I just went with it and made an adjustment. It was an easy fix. If the green wouldn’t have lifted off so easily, I would have just gone with a darker beak instead.
The next layer of paint adds more definition. I added some feathers to the body and tail and then started working on the eye and beak. Placement of the eye is very important so I took my time with it.
At this point, the bird was starting to look pretty good.
Tip: When painting the feathers, be sure to paint them in the same direction as they would be on the bird. To soften any hard edges, you can use a damp brush with clean water.
Sweet little bird
Finally it was time for a little more color and detail. I noticed that my bird was just floating without a branch (oh my)… so that was a last minute fix. 😊
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
Patty Anne - Art 