It’s draw a bird day again and this time I got the acrylics out. The previous bird day effort is over here and the blog to post these here. This time the reference is from the site Paint my Photo, here. There’s so many useful reference photos there that maybe I’ll start a new weekly series with an animal theme.
At first I was painting this just as black lines with watercolor on sketch paper, but copying the reference freehand was a little hard to get every line and proportion right on the first try. So, I painted over everything with neutral grey acrylic and then proceeded with just that grey, ivory black, and some student grade titanium white using the same brush. The paper wrinkled a bit, but it worked fine.
Here’s the brush, a 1″ Loew-Cornell 7550 wash. It looks like it’d be too big, but it actually worked great using the corners for details. For example, having one color on one corner and a different color on the other corner allows for fast switching between the two. Also, with just a little extra pressure the weight of the stroke can be greatly increased. Flat brushes are surprisingly versatile.
Too Much White Paper 
Really good, especially that front claw. N.
Thanks, it was a little challenging getting little details like that. š
Really wonderful work! Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks, I found Paint My Photo through your blog and I have an account there now here. š
I like that you chose a bird with a non-traditional stance, and you captured it perfectly. Great contrast, too!
Thanks š
Yeah, that photo was standing out to me with its lively little bounce. A little more movement than just standing there.
Beautiful work!
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. š
The beige-greys are very rich!