I do love painting birds. They have such a beautiful variety of colors and shapes. I tend toward the chubby ones. 🙂 I painted this little guy on Strathmore toned tan paper. I first sketched the basic shape, then blocked in the colors with oil pastels. I smoothed out the pastels, then added more detail on top (see pictures below). I also have a short video at the bottom of the post.
I like the blue and ochre palette, as it is calming and classic. These few step-by-step photos show a bit of the process. Nature is a great way to study what colors go together, as well as shadows, values, and variety. Looking out the window and observing nature never gets old!
I start to smooth out the pastels. You certainly don’t have to, but I love the creamy effect. 🙂
Adding more pastels and NOT smoothing them out gives more detail. You can also bring in colored pencils at this point.
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VIDEO BELOW!
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