Page 29 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2015

PASTELS
EYE AND BEAK
Refer to Step 5. With 9B graphite pencil, redraw and fill in the eye and dark area of the beak. Also go up to the feathers and add shadow to the undersides of the shafts of the feathers. You can also do a few of the prominent thin- ner feather lines to help them stand out. Add a soft dark line to refine the bottom edge of the beak and the chin area.
Fill in the beak with Burnt Sienna 411.5. Add a shad- ow along the bottom edge with Bluish Gray 727.5. Add the highlight with Deep Yellow 202.5. Blend the colors to- gether with a tortillon. You may want to darken the black area of the beak with a little Black NuPastel.
Lightly darken the area around the eye with Bluish Gray 727.5. Add a small amount of Perm. Green Lt. 618.5 to the front of the eye. Soften the edges with your finger or a tortillon.
Sharpen the Black NuPastel to a point or use the sharp corner to fill in the black of the eye. Add Burnt Sienna 411.5 to the iris of the eye. Add a little Deep Yellow 202.5 also. This is a very small area. Add the white highlight in the eye with White NuPastel.
UNDER BODY OF EGRET
Refer to Steps 5 and 6. Using the round edge of Mad- der Lake Deep 331.8, paint the area under the wing and leg sections. Darken the area with Sandalwood NuPastel. Use a little Bluish Gray 727.7 to tone down the area.
TINTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
If needed, go back over the body with a light layer of Bluish Gray 727.7 and Ultramarine Blue Deep 506.9 to re- establish the body shape. With the round, flat part of the soft pastel, add tints of Phthalo Blue 570.09. Add tints of Madder Lake Deep 331.8 in the pink areas.
Brighten up the feathers with more White NuPas- tel and even add some White soft pastel to a few areas. Come back in with more 9B graphite under the feath- ers if needed. Add tints of Sandalwood NuPastel to the feathers. Refreshen the sparkle in the eye.
FINISHING
It is best not to sign your piece until you have decid- ed where it will get cropped under your mat. Sign with a Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Permanent Marker or a well- sharpened white charcoal pencil.
I finished this painting with a double mat. The out- side color is white, and the inside was cut from Crescent Brand Biscay Blue Black Core.
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