My first ever white hen
I have been prevented from painting many animals that are white - why? Because I can’t do it!
I find it very hard to paint white fur and feathers convincingly. Painting white on white watercolour paper is of course very tricky.
To quote a famous artist “With the tools of darkness he labours after light”.
But some artists manage it beautifully - so there must be a way.
I have been looking at such artists a lot lately as I am desperate to be able to paint fluffy white hens, swans, white horses and more.
So here is a head of a white chicken done today as a follow on from my post about painting fowl - here - https://eastwitching.com/2013/02/12/feeling-fowl-paint-a-chicken/
I limited myself to the head to see how I could do.
I used Arches hot pressed 90lbs paper, Cadmium Scarlet, Alizarin Crimson, Sap Green, Cobalt Blue, Winsor Violet a bit of Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna for beak and eyes and for the black of the eye and nostrils I used a mix of French Ultramarine and Burnt Umber.
Brushes are size 3 and 6 rounds.
I am happy with the end result and see that I just have to leave some white space bordered by other colours. In this case the blue reflecting light of the sky and the green underside suggesting grass reflection. I am very excited about painting her whole body…watch this space.
Anyone with painting white animal tips feel free to comment!
My first ever white hen
