More birds

As I work my way down the piece, I am painting the main birds and working in the background birds. Usually I would be painting one completely, then the other. I thought working on them together would help create a more seamless feeling of distance.

Painting the birds

Usually I would save painting the most detailed birds for the end. In this piece I decided to work on them first and establish the movement I want to portray. Once I have them in place, I'll start playing around with the softer flamingos in the background.

A New Color

For years my turpentine underwash has been a combination of raw sienna and burnt sienna (leaning heavily on raw sienna.) I thought a cooler (less warm) and more intense underwash color would enhance this painting. Seeing the color in my head, I went to my local professional art store, Spokane Art Supply, to take a look.

The first color I saw was "it." A Daniel Smith Quinacridone Coral oil paint. I knew nothing about this color or how it would work, if it would work, but it looked right, at least on the outside. Plunking down almost $20, I left the store ....hopeful.

After spending a lot of time drawing out my piece (when you see thousands of flamingos take flight, which do you choose for the right composition?), I was ready for my experiment.

My first thought when I put some paint on my palette is that the color had the right intensity and coolness. With a little bit of cadmium orange, I think it will work. After roughing in the background I was ready to start on the birds. My first bird finished, all I could think was "what was I thinking when I switched from my usual underwash?" The color is SO bright. I forged on.

By my fifth bird, my doubts were still there but I was determined to see this experiment through. The underwash is meant to peak through and I wanted a vibrant color. When I finished, it was bright alright. Almost distracting. The right choice? Yes, I believe so.

Below you can see the finished wash and the start of the background.