Page 88 - DPM4_Winter_2021_Flipbook

STEP 3
STEP 4
Step 4: Now, let’s paint the feathers.
Use a medium dark value Gray Brown (Burnt Umber+ Neutral Tint) and paint them onto dry paper, leaving a thin outer edge of the light background color to separate them.
Place small dark areas for the eyes. The eye is like a tiny triangle.
Flower Center: Wash a darker value Golden Red (Quinacridone Burnt Orange+you can add a bit of Alizarin Crimson, if you wish) over the center. Let it alldry.
BACKGROUND
Here are several colors you may choose to use in your background:
Light value: Quinacridone Gold Medium value: Ultramarine Blue
Dark value navy: Ultramarine Blue+touch of Burnt Umber
Medium value violet: Ultramarine Blue+ Alizarin Crimson
Medium value green: Quinacridone+Payne’s Gray, then mix a darker value green by adding Ultramarine Blue to that same mix.
MAKE A PLAN
Before you begin, get a plan of where you intend to put your color. ONE color should be the star, with only bits of the others. I used blue as my main color. Once you begin to paint, you should use MOSTLY your main color with just bits of the other color mixes. I chose to use the two blues, with the brighter blue at the top, darker grayer blue at the bottom and just bits of the green and the violet. This is the process, and it’s not difficult once you break it down:
First, tape your paper on four sides to the support. Taping will keep the paper stable when you wet it.
Wet the background with clean, clear water
very carefully around the bird. The petals of the flower are still masked, so all their outer edges are protected. Do not wet over the area where the two stems will be placed later. Leave clean white paper where the stems will be.
Look for a nice, even shine on the paper. Then, using a one-inch flat brush, pick up the brightest of your mixes and begin to lay it on the paper from top downward, using short choppy strokes.
86 TheDecorativePainter • WINTER 2021