Tag Archives: poultry

Getting in a really Fowl Mood for Christmas

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Not literally but artistically!

An original watercolour goose - approx. A3

An original watercolour goose - approx. A3

I have been asked to paint s pheasant and a goose. The goose is from a photo I took of one near Caerphilly castle where I live last May.

She could make a lovely accent piece in a rustic country kitchen or equally in a farmyard themed nursery perhaps:) To purchase a print of this goose please click here - https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/168525288/goose-print-fowl-animal-paintings-bird

Here are 4 stages of the pheasant - there were more than this but I forgot to stop as I was so engrossed in the painting!

Painting a pheasant in watercolour

Painting a pheasant in watercolour

The process for both was long but extra long for the goose as I needed several pale washes to define her fine plumage and soft feathering patterns on her body.

I painted these quite large for me - A3 - and they were a challenge. I photographed the stages to help me remember in future as it was very, very fiddly and demanding.

pheasant etsyHere are some of the stages - I used Arches hot pressed 90lb paper (unstretched) and Winsor & Newton tube paints in Winsor Orange, French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cerulean Blue, and Rose Madder Genuine plus a speck of Titanium White for the opaque dot in her eye.

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I will paint a white chicken if it kills me!

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My first ever white hen

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/

C1 copy
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

My first ever white hen

Feeling Fowl? Paint a chicken!

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Had the urge to get some stunning poultry photos yesterday and these 3 lovelies are what I found!

hens

What do you think? A pure white hen scratching for corn, a pheasant looking like he’s on the run and a sophisticated and proud cockerel that I am dying to paint.

But - first things first. I drew the cockerel on a large A3 pad with a 3B pencil.

A little bit stiff this first attempt but I just had to get it out of my system late last night after I had bought and downloaded the image. I love his splayed feet and crazy tail feathers.

hent

I will draw him again when I am calmer and pay more attention to his flamboyant plumage. I love the gesture of the white hen as she inclines her head downwards so unaware of the viewer - just going about her business…Watch this space for more drawings and some paintings.

Anyone else mad on chickens?