Who doesn’t love birds? They’re so fragile and vulnerable, yet so strong and resilient. Oh, and they’re beautiful too, which is the cherry on the top!
When
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As we start to move through winter and desperately long for Spring to appear, the birds seem to come alive again. If you stand outside at 8am and just listen, you can hear so many species singing. It helps that I live next to ancient woodland, so am fortunate to encounter so many sounds and sights. Getting out with my camera to capture these birds in their habitat is one of my favourite pastimes. I’m not sure why it never occurred to me until now, that I could create paintings from my photographs of birds.
I paint on reclaimed or repurposed surfaces as much as possible – usually wood panels. They’re primed with gesso first and then I launch straight in.
I always start a painting with the eyes and beak. I suspect it sets a tone for the rest of the painting to follow.
As usual, colour theory and composition are vital components that dictate the success or failure! All birds have character and it’s human to apply emotive meaning to each species, so I try to keep this in mind as I work my way through each piece.
