Triple Threat..........

Utilizing  a variety of varied avian views....this Varied Thrush proved himself to be a very delightful challenge!  I am a bit timid when it comes to trying something new, something experimental, but I have thwarted that fear with this realization;  that it is ALL one big experiment..... and my job as an artist is to just press on and keep painting irregardless of the fear involved.  I just keep repeating; "It is all an experiment!"

Disappearing at an alarming rate from my feeders, I could not figure out how the Chickadee's were devouring so many sunflower seeds......until I set up camp one day, determined to catch the culprit.  It wasn't long before a pair of Varied Thrush showed up, all decked out, bejeweled and bedazzling in their suits of vibrant orange and black.  What I thought was a colorful contrast to the dull grays offered up these long winter months.  Then I saw it.  The feasting habits of these birds was like none other I had seen before at the feeder.  These voracious guys didn't bother to crack open the sunflower seeds, nor did they daintily eat them one by one.....they were literally like vacuum cleaners on a mission to inhale as many as possible and in short order!  And that is when I knew it was time to capture a few photographs, study them and then finally share them through my paintings........

Starting with a heavily gessoed deep canvas,  The "experiment" here was to start with an almost completed background full of rich color and texture; I literally "upholstered" the canvas in a collage fashion with paper that I had previously prepared (another blog I will explain that process)......I do many of these painted papers ahead of time, and chose this particular paper for it's earthy tones and possible woodland-ish look knowing it would be my backdrop for something avian in nature. 

The paper was prepared using;

 burnt sienna, burnt umber, yellow ochre, and just a hint of carbon black.  

I know, I know, a lot of artists  poo-poo the idea of using black, and I rarely do use it (preferring to make my own darks/blacks using existing colors in each piece, but when I am painting these papers it is done in a rather quick process and is also very intuitive, so there is no time to "mix" once I get going on them.....
(that's my excuse, and I am sticking to it!)

I started with my center thrush, the goal here was for just a

suggestion of him, so I stopped short of giving him his full color, knowing he would have a bird in front and in back of him 

I strategically left areas completely unfinished. The birds were painted using the same background colors but with the addition of cadmium orange, a little titanium white, and ultramarine blue.

It should be noted here that to place my birds; I use simple white chalk to make approximate outlines (so that it wasn't set in "concrete" until I actually paint it).  By using the chalk, it was easy to wipe the lines away with a damp cloth and to make any necessary changes over and over again without harming my background.

With the beginnings of the next two stars of our painting, for this piece I was working in a very direct fashion, meaning that I was laying down as accurate a color as possible - the first time - so I didn't have to do much glazing later on, I am after the freshest color possible here and applying it directly I feel, gives me just that.  At this stage, one of the first things I always do is get the eye's as close to completed as I can (including that white high lite) because if you don't get that connection right with the eyes, then there is no point in moving on.......and who wants to do an entire piece they are happy with but, save the eye's for last, and screw it up?  First things first!

Well, that all went as planned, until I stepped back and stopped "painting with my nose" so to speak.  I could then see from a distance much more clearly - on the foremost thrush, that my blacks were much too gray.  A quick fix with some glazing of deeper values fixed that problem......

A "suggestion" of branches was laid in next, again leaving them a bit ambiguous for the viewer to finish in their mind's eye.

Now all that was left to do was to darken areas around the heads and beaks, pulling out all the stops here I utilized not only black but burnt sienna, hooker green, ultramarine blue, and that often forbidden carbon black, making the focal point(s).....the bird's heads..... "pop" just a bit more! I was pleased with the final texture and overall look this experimental piece netted me, and to think; if I hadn't "just pressed blindly on" I would not have learned the joys of this, a new and what has proved to me, to be a delightful, surface to paint on!

TRIPLE THREAT .......acrylic on canvas 12" x 12"

I invite you to visit:

  www.DianaCamille.com

  to see more avian pieces.