Monday 26 November 2012

Robin

The `dear' little Robin is one of our most loved birds but in reality they can be little monsters. Robins are very territorial and the male will only allow the female into his territory during the breeding season. Males can be very vicious and fights to the death between two are not uncommon. In my small garden Robins have nested amongst the pots in a cold frame, among the pots in my greenhouse, in ivy on the garage wall, and twice in an open fronted nest box. These are the ones I discovered because on other occasions the first sighting was young robins hopping around. The first two were well advanced before being discovered and at one stage I had young Robins clambering around the greenhouse benches. Unfortunately those in the nest box were predated, by what I don't know for certain but probably Magpies.


 `Where's my next meal coming from?' approx 30cm x 40cm Gerstaeker 200gsm 

I was prompted to do this by my friend Hap, because of an initiative by the artist Jean Haines. This is called `A Robin for Charity', the idea being that you sell the painting and give the proceeds to charity. As I'm not exhibiting at the present time I'm not sure how to do this. In case anyone thinks this is a cop  out we do have two monthly standing orders to charities, one the RSPCC, and usually give to one of the Xmas appeals. 

This is a modest little painting done quite quickly. I first completed the drawing using a mechanical  No5 2B lead. The eyes and beak and surrounding area were painted first with Ivory Black for the darks. The red breast is a combination of Transparent Orange (Schminke PO71), Cadmium Orange (Maimeri PO20) and Cadmium Red with a little Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith (PO49). Mostly mixed on the paper.

The lighter areas are various combinations of Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Teal Blue (Daniel Smith PG50), Raw Umber, Raw Sienna and Quinacridone Gold. The ground the Robin is standing on is a mixture of Raw Umber, Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber. I sprayed this area with W & N granulation medium. Brushes were the Isabeys sizes  6,8 and the retractables. I think that's it.




13 comments:

Unknown said...

You've captured the attitude of these little garden visitors in a lively and attractive image.

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Mick. I quite like this one myself, simple as it is.

Sharon Whitley said...

I love your robin - they are aggressively territorial but cute all the same! I'm not surprised you like it - I think sometimes the simplest paintings are the best, you've really captured a lovely expression here -n will you be showing it to Jean Haines, she's asking to see what people come up with - she'll love this!

Peter Ward said...

Thank you Sharon for your kind comments. I've posted it on Facebook in several places including my own page and the home page. It's visible to all.

Ray Maclachlan Art said...

A lively, beautifully executed little painting Peter. I was interested to note the colours for the breast.

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Ray. I thought about the `red' colours on the Robin before painting them. They are more of an orangey red and in the end combining those listed seems to have worked quite well.

Oscar Solis said...

Really like this one. You painted the robin as a front view which is something one rarely sees (at least me) and I think it works wonderfully.

Peter, your blog has become a must see for me because I know I'm going to see some really nice paintings.

Peter Ward said...

Nice to have fans like you Oscar! Seriously though your comments are much appreciated.

Yvonne Harry said...

Lovely, Peter!

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Yvonne.

Jan Weeks said...

Love this cheeky chap. Lovely fresh painting

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Jan. Looks like you've got it all sorted out!

Sharon Whitley said...

tried to find you on facebook but can't!