Anytime you have a lot of detail in both lights and darks right next to each other, especially when the area is small, it can be a difficult area to paint in watercolor. The colors can have a tendency to want to bleed or lift. The feathers on the breast of this owl fit that description.
Norene
I never have painted on canvas before , I am a tole painter and like this type of painting but my heart has always been into a deeper way of painting. I have started an owl painting it is a whet owl the base painting is done but not sure on the feathers and the brush stroke to uses if any for the feathers ? I’m painting it in Acrylic paint .
If you can help me to finish this little owl I’ll be so happy thanks. Norene
Matt
The approach you’d take with acrylics will be a bit different than with the watercolors. With transparent watercolor you don’t have the option of getting lighter since that is the white of the paper. You can go lighter or darker in acrylics. They are a very flexible medium. With the acrylics I’d rough in all the local colors and let them dry and then start adding varied transparent colors on top of them to suggest the individual streaks along the feathers. When I use acrylics I tend to use them a bit like watercolor in that I do a lot of glazing to build depth. I’d make the pigments more transparent using acrylic medium and water. Like the approach I take with watercolor, all those transparent layers build up a convincing level of detail. The actual application of brush strokes would basically be the same, you just have the option of working lighter as well. That should actually speed things up! I hope that is helpful.
Norene
Matt, I have used this transparent painting before and it looks very nice instead of a bold look in color. I will give this a try with the feathers. I either have the gift of painting or not and this will be the time to find out 🙂 I will let you know how I do , thanks so much for your help .
Matt
I hope it turns out well. I wouldn’t give up too easily if it doesn’t turnout perfectly the first try. It does take time to get your hands and mind used to the process! With some practice it does become a very natural way to paint. The more you do it the easier and faster it gets. Best of luck!
Kamalawarna
This is really nice.Would you please tell me the size of this artwork ?
Matt
Sure… the entire painting is 11×14 inches. The detail of the feathers is about 2.5 x 4 inches.