Common Yellowthroat--The Painting

I began this painting with a varigated wash painted on wet paper using Aureolin, Indian yellow and Prussian Blue.  I wanted to capture a sense of light shining through the blackberry leaves that provide the habitat for my subject, the Common Yellowthroat.  

The Common Yellowthroat is not "common" at all, but a brilliant yellow warbler with a spunky attitude that flits around in the leafy vegetation eating insects.  While bird banding, we frequently hear them in the fields of Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge singing, "witchity, witchity, witchity".  The refuge has recently received a new name and is becoming the first state park in Tennessee to focus primarily on birds and birding:  Seven Islands State Birding Park! 

This painting was commissioned to commemorate this announcement and the conservation of a beautiful property in Knox County that is bordered on three sides by the French Broad River. Not only is diverse grassland habitat being restored and preserved for breeding and wintering birds, the refuge provides valuable research opportunities that help all species of wildlife in the area.

Once I layed down the intial wash and gave it overnight to dry, I began to define the leaves with negative painting, first painting the space between the leaves (above), and then adding some beginning detail to the leaves themselves. 

Early on, I painted the bird so that I could see more clearly how the patterns of light and dark would move the eye through the painting while highlighting the bird as the main focal point.  Color, light patterns, and shapes, all attract the eye's attention.  When the painting is complete, I want that attention to move across the whole painting while keeping the focal point clear.  

The bird is the brightest yellow in the painting and also includes the darkest dark, so that the eye is automatically drawn to the bird.  The challenge then becomes, moving the eye across the rest of the painting. Once I added color to the bird, I realized that I needed another limb to attract and lead the eye off the page to the right.

Above you see I have added more leaves on the right side and another limb, creating a V-shaped pattern that directs the eye downward and up again and off the page.  The red in the berries also leads the eye from left to right.

A detail of the leaves and second limb, above, and detail of leaves in the lower left corner of the painting, below.  Most of the time I am wetting the leaves lightly and adding pigment that spreads unevenly through the leaf.  As that layer dries, but before it is completely dry, I add more color that blends like that of the changing pigment in late summer and fall leaves.  When the area is completely dry, I go back in to add the accent colors that mimic the spots and uneven coloration of blackberry leaves as they mature.  

I enjoyed the detail work in this painting and all the variations in shapes and colors.  Blackberries bring an early sense of fall to the landscape, their leaves changing to a variety of colors as the berries ripen.

The Common Yellowthroat is one of my favorite birds of Seven Islands and one that I was introduced to at the banding table. This painting became a limited edition, signed and numbered print that decorated the tables at the Legacy Luncheon for the Parks where Governor Haslam announced the refuge's new name.  The original watercolor was presented to the refuge founders, Pete and Linda Claussen, to commemorate their years of work in preserving this land for wildlife and Tennesseans.

To learn more about the event visit:  Seven Islands Becomes Tennessee's First Birding Park
To see my sketchbook study for this painting visit:  Using Your Sketchbook to Jump-start Your Painting

Bird banding sketch of Common Yellowthroat
Cornell on Common Yellowthroat

Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge
Legacy Parks Foundation
Seven Islands articles published in The Tennessee Conservationist Magazine
Bird banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

Purple Martins--The Painting

Purple Martin with Prey--a fun and challenging painting. 

Martins are insectivores, averaging speeds of 17-27 mph as they capture insects in flight.  Despite hours of observation, I was never invited along on one of those flights to see what the world looks like from up there!  So, when I selected this painting composition, I knew everything in the painting would be created from a combination of observations and my imagination.

When the weather is clear, early morning skies are a clear wash of light, 

with a touch of pink and gold reflecting from the horizon onto objects below.  My first challenge was creating a smooth wash of color for the sky.  In order to do this, I needed to protect the white on the bird and dragonfly, as well as the gourds in the background. The reason for this is primarily my freedom in applying paint.  I don't want to have to worry about where my paint is going while I'm also trying to achieve a flat wash.

Flat washes are made with even overlapping strokes of color across a tilted page.  The paint then flows smoothly downward as it is drying.    

To save the whites I applied Winsor Newton masking fluid using a wooden skewer in larger areas, and a straightened paper clip for the thin lines of the dragonfly's wings. The masking fluid adheres to these tools and can be dropped and dragged along the line on the page.  While using the paperclip, more care is required to avoid scratching the paper.  

Below, you see the sky wash after it is applied.  The trees were added before the wash was completely dry.   

The paint must be allowed to dry completely before the mask is removed.  No assistance from a dryer to hurry things up in this case.  Heat causes the rubbery substance in the masking fluid to deteriorate and fuse with the paper, making removal problematic. 

The mask bottle instructions suggest using an eraser to remove the masking fluid and this works.  However, if the mask is applied generously, it forms a nice rubbery surface that can be removed by applying pressure with your finger tip.  In the image below, you see I am rolling it off easily.  

Below, you see the white surface that was saved with the masking fluid.  

Masking fluid leaves hard edges which sometimes need to be softened.  The background martin gourds need soft edges to help them recede into the background.  I used my small scrubber, clean water and a blotting tissue, to soften the edges of each gourd to make them look rounder and softer in the low morning light.  

Once I lay in the background wash, I am ready to bring the bird to life with paint.  This is my preferred way of painting--to work on the subject early in the painting.   I want the color and values of the subject to lead my eye as I enrich the background with shading and detail.  Below, you see the first glaze that I applied to the martin, discussed in the previous post.     
Next:  glazes of color and the finishing details.

Links and Resources:

To see all my posts on this purple martin painting project, visit: purple martins.  The most recent post will be first.  You may also enjoy my reports on my visits to the martin colony at Vickie Henderson Art.

Click the links to learn more about using masking fluid and softening edges.

To learn more about purple martins visit the Purple Martin Conservation Society