Saturday, 1 June 2013

More Bird Paintings

These are my latest bird paintings for `Painting Colorful Birds for Fun' on Facebook. 

Western Tananger -15" x 11" Gerstaeker No3. 200gsm Not

Oranges and yellows predominate with some green and yellow in the background..

Fork-Tailed Woodnymph Hummingbird - 15" x 11" Fabriano Artistico 90lb Not

Here it is mainly greens and blues.

Orange-breasted Sunbird (1) - 15" x 11" Amalfi Hand-made paper 90lb (or less)

Orange and Turquoise with some Ivory black, with yellows and greens in the background. Also a touch of red.

Orange-breasted Sunbird (2) - 15" x 11" Waterford Rough 140lb.

This is my favourite so far.The flower is a mixture of Quinacridone Purple (Daniel Smith), Ultramarine Violet (Rowney PV15) and Ultramarine Blue. The bird mainly Translucent Orange (Schminke PO71), Turquoise (Lukas PB16), and Prussian Blue (Graham PB27) with some Indian Yellow (Rowney PY153). There are touches of Sap Green, Ivory Black and Burnt Umber. Raw Umber in background and Sap Green for the flower stem.


Southern Gound Hornbill (1) -15" x 11"Gerstaeker No3 200gsm Not

This is the latest subject `The Southern Ground Hornbill'. What a handsome fellow - maybe to another Hornbill but otherwise..... Mainly blues, purples and oranges with Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and Ivory Black. Also some Acrylic white. Much more detailed than previous but I couldn't see how to handle him in any other way. 


Another Hornbill (2) -15" x 11" Gerstaeker No.3 200gsm Not.


I realise birds are not everyone's favourite subject but in this instance allow me to indulge my penchant for colour. They generally take from 45 mins to an hour including breaks. One good thing is that it helps me keep up the painting momentum. Also on the Facebook page you can compare how other artists tackle the subject and these include professionals, not just amateurs like me. Very instructive. A note on Gerstaeker paper. This is a cheap cellulose paper only from Great Art. www.greatart.co.uk It is very cheap bought in a large pad (65 sheets) and is even cheaper than Bockingford,  In this instance of turning out many paintings it is a budget choice rather than the £1.00 plus cost per sheet of cotton-based papers. More of a sketching paper really. You may note however that (in my opinion) the best painting is the Sunbird one on Waterford rough.  

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13 comments:

  1. Sharon Whitley1 June 2013 at 01:03

    I have to say I love your bird paintings and think you've always had a way with them but since you've been doing the challenges on PCBFF you've come on leaps and bounds - and yes I agree it's great to see how others tackle the same subject - I've got some catching up to do - the last one I did was the hummingbird!

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  2. Jane1 June 2013 at 01:08

    I love birds and you really know how to paint them ! Warm and wonderful colors, good job !

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  3. Peter Ward1 June 2013 at 02:17

    Thanks for comments Sharon. This is a great challenge and indeed seeing what others do is tremendously helpful.

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  4. Peter Ward1 June 2013 at 02:18

    Thanks for your kind comments Jane. I gather the latest bird has just surfaced so will have to follow that up!

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  5. Yvonne Harry1 June 2013 at 07:04

    Some good work, Peter. I do not fond the Hornbill a very endearing bird, so am not keen on those, but I do like the treatment of both bird and flower in your painting of the Sunbird.

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  6. Peter Ward1 June 2013 at 07:52

    Thanks Yvonne. No the Hornbill is an ugly brute - not to another Hornbill presumable! My favourite is the Sunbird.

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  7. Judith Farnworth Art1 June 2013 at 13:23

    Love them all but agree with you the sunbird is the best... loose, colourful, really works well!!

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  8. Peter Ward1 June 2013 at 14:42

    Thanks Judith. I really like the Sunbird. Sometimes they work and I think this one did.

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  9. Unknown1 June 2013 at 15:10

    Lots to like in this collection, some good drawing and vibrant colour. You're obviously enjoying this type of work.

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  10. Ray Maclachlan Art1 June 2013 at 18:11

    Bird paintings are your forte Peter. A very colourful, well drawn and composed collection here. Well done. You have bounced on from the CR workshops. Love that orange PO71.

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  11. Peter Ward2 June 2013 at 03:02

    Thanks Mick. I do enjoy painting birds.

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  12. Peter Ward2 June 2013 at 03:03

    Thanks Ray. I like birds but I don't want to be a `one' club artist and will still paint a variety of other subjects. See the next post on Monday!

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  13. Jack Hoover1 March 2023 at 00:58

    I have to say I love your bird paintings and think you've always had a way with them. Lots to like in this collection, some good drawings and vibrant colors. You're obviously enjoying this type of work. Thanks for sharing this. Check here for more information.

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