Multicolor bird

How enchanting is it to paint certain small fragile animals.  They truly inspire sympathy.

To create this painting, the following colors have been used:

 

Titanium White  

Primary Yellow

Yellow Ochre  
 


Bright Green
  


Hooker green

Cobalt Blue



Ultramarine Blue 



Bright Red
  


Black

Step 1:  Creating the background


I created the background with mixes of yellow ochre, bright green and titanium white with different proportions to create different tones of color.  To give the impression of vegetation, I took a large flat brush to fill in the background with long brush strokes.

Step 2: Melting the colors

I continued the background by melting the existing colors with new tones.  I mixed yellow ochre with orange (yellow and red) and white to create warm colors that I painted on the greens. I then proceeded to add yellow ochre to the bottom of the composition.  Finally I traced the branches in the foreground.

Step 3:  Starting on the bird

I painted the inner part of the bird with red, orange, and a little bit of yellow.  Red on the head, orange on the chest and yellow on the orange on the bottom of the bird.  Then I continued the main branches with bright green, hooker green and some white.  Notice how the lighter colors detach themselves from the background.

Step 4: Creating contrasts

With a fine brush, I painted the head and the wings of the bird with cobalt blue and ultramarine blue, creating a strong chromatic contrast. And with a flat medium sized brushed I deposited some orange touches to the background.

Step 5: Foreground and finishing touches

With a pink mix and some white I obtained a soft tone to color the beak.  I used ultramarine blue to color the head and to vary the color of the feathers on the bird`s body.  Finally, I added the finishing touches to the legs, the tail and the head.

Multicolor bird