My Bird Obsession….
I LOVE feeding the birds! I get so many in my wee garden and I delight in watching them from the kitchen window every morning.
I have loads of feeders….but sometimes I throw some left over breakfast on the studio roof for the crows (all healthy and bird appropriate of course!). The number of crows that swoop down is staggering. They now patiently wait on me every morning and as soon as I shut the door, there they are, squabbling over the titbits!
I have become somewhat curious about crows - they are incredibly intelligent and show the most remarkable behaviours!
Anyway…it got me to thinking how these beautiful birds could be captured in a painting..and here it is. Their fabulous colours exposed (they’re not all black, you know!)
It starting with a piece of MDF board…..I hope you like it! Meet ‘Shimmer’.
The Process
All of my recent work has been on MDF board - I love how it feels compared to canvas. It seems to suit my style better too. The first stage is preparing the board by sanding and a couple of coats of PVA glue mixed with white acrylic paint. Once that is sanded its time for the pour..I select a few colours I like and I think will help show off the colours of the subject. Then I just experiment by making a mess! I never know how it will turn out - and there have been quite a few misses - but I really liked how this one seemed to merge and shimmer.
The pour......and the sketch
After the initial sketch is finalised and I’m happy, its time for some colour! First a basic underpainting is applied, blocking highlights and shadows…I must admit I got a bit carried away before I remembered to photograph the underpainting!
The under painting is complete and some details are starting to go into the feathers.
Once all the details are in its time to get up close and personal with the beak and the light in the eyes - the most important part of the painting for me as this gives life to the subject!
After some splatters and stamps its time for the final stage, the gold leaf. Pretty messy…..but so, so worth it!
