Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Work in Progress, Osprey: Lover's Key, Florida. Update 14



Work In Progress: Osprey: Lover’s Key, Florida Update 14
            I’m pleased that over the past week I found enough time to complete the birds in the nest. 
            The first task was to re-draw the birds. All the previous work on the nest had erased much of the details. The intricate pattern of the feathers on the female in the nest had to be reconstructed to make it realistic and so I had to take the time to draw the correct pattern.
            Once the birds were re-drawn I started in with the color on the head of the female. Using a very sharp point (and keeping it sharp) I penciled in the beak using dark sepia FC. I also used warm grey II and III, along with a bit of cloud blue on the upper part of the beak where light would cause some dull highlights. Throughout this coloring process I kept reference photos handy to get the anatomy right on the head, penciling in the details of the nostril and beak where it attaches to the head. I also used a sharp point on black FC to color in the black eye ring and pupil. The iris is pumpkin orange with cadmium yellow FC. The cadmium yellow in the iris highlights the interior of the eye, giving it a three dimensional, glowing appearance as the sun catches its edge. One thing I did wrong here was to color in the pupil first. I should have colored in the iris first. By coloring in the pupil first I had to be extra careful not to drag some black into the iris. Coloring in the lighter iris first would have made it easier to keep a sharp edge to the pupil. I was a bit over anxious to get the pupil in.
            After getting the eye in I worked the rest of the head and then the body. The wing and back feathers were colored in with raw umber FC, burnt umber FC, dark sepia FC, cream and black FC. The raw umber and cream were used to produce the highlighted areas on the feathers on the back and the parts of the wing caught by the light. Dark sepia FC, burnt umber FC and black FC, with some raw umber FC was used on the rest of the wing feathers, grading darker and darker as it wrapped around the body and away from the sunlight. I was careful to leave white here and there to show the edges of the feathers. The breast was a combination of warm grey I and II FC, French grey 30%, 50% and 70%. I also added some cloud blue to the shading mix.
            This didn’t go as smoothly as I suggest here because somewhere in the middle I realized that I had lost the pattern of the feathers on the wing. Although there is some variation in size and the pattern isn’t rigid, there is an order to the feathers. When coloring in the individual feathers I strayed from the correct pattern and had to go back over it and straighten it out. So, when coloring in wing feathers, don’t get so engrossed with the coloring that you lose sight of the pattern.
            After completing the female I used the same colors to finish up the two chicks.
            Now that the birds are pretty much completed, I’ll move on to the foliage at the bottom. 



Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Work In Progress: Osprey: Lover’s Key, Florida Update 13



The nest is complete. Except for some adjustments here and there later on, based on the rest of the composition. As always, I like to bring each element to a point I’m satisfied with, then continue on with other elements. As I work through each element, I look back at all the elements I’ve worked on and look at them again in relation to the whole. If I think some element needs more work or needs to be altered in some way, I will do that right then or make a mental note to go back to it at a future date. When I get to a point where I feel any touchups won’t add to the composition, I call it finished. At this point, I’m pretty happy with the nest and I’m going to move on to the birds in the nest.
            Elements that may still be in flux are the sky background, which could possibly do with a bit more detail in the clouds, and the lower left corner, which, in the drawing has some foliage and branches shrouded in mist. I haven’t decided whether to keep that in or forget it as unnecessary.
            Next week I’ll have a good bit of the birds in the nest completed. The painting is nearing completion.





Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Work In Progress: Osprey: Lover’s Key, Florida Update 12



            I’ve been fortunate this past week to have had enough time to make some progress on this painting. As promised, I began work on the nest. There’s a lot to it, a lot of inter-woven branches going this way and that. Some diving deep into the mass, others poking out and away. All of it tangled – but very well constructed and suited to the task of protecting eggs and eventually young chicks. Ospreys use their nests year after year, making repairs as necessary. They build nests on manmade structure such as telephone poles and special platforms constructed just for that purpose. These platforms have been instrumental in helping to re-establish Ospreys after steep declines in their populations due to DDT use in the early 1900’s. DDT was banned in the 1970’s and Osprey populations began to re-build.
            The nests are built out of stick, vines, bark and anything else the birds can find. Usually the male brings all the materials and the female builds the nest. The nests start out at about 2 and one half feet in diameter and six inches deep, but can increase in size to nearly 12 feet deep and up to 6 feet wide after years of use and additions.
            My first task was to fill in all the darkest areas, and in doing so, give some three dimensional form to the nest. I used dark sepia FC and burnt umber FC over all of the left side of the nest, the part in shade, as per the tonal drawing. Next, I filled in all the deepest recesses between the twigs and branches using the same two colors. The darks wrapped around the bottom of the nest also and in doing so, defined the masses of foliage in front. As I worked toward the right side I filled in only the deepest areas because the sunlight is impacting this side more. Using additional colors (warm greys I and II, raw umber, cream, white, raw ochre, black) I started to give form to the myriad branches that formed the nest.
I’ll continue with these colors, working each of the twigs and branches, giving them three dimensional form and adding cracks, splits, little worm holes and whatever to make them realistic looking. It seems to be subjective exercise, working on each branch, darkening here, sharpening there, adding highlights and deepening shadows until it feels right.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Work In Progress: Osprey: Lover’s Key, Florida Update 11



            I continued work on the Osprey in flight this past week, completing the outstretched left wing.
            For a seemingly near monotone structure, I used a surprisingly large number of colors. The list includes dark sepia FC, warm grey I and II FC, French grey 50%, 70% and 90%, raw umber FC, burnt umber FC and white FC. They all had their places but it is possible that I could have done it with a shorter list. I just grabbed what I thought would look right at a particular moment. The feathers are not just black and white striped or grey and white striped but vary subtly depending on how the light strikes them. Some light umber shows as highlights when the light hits the feather right. The feathers are turned this way and that as the wind catches them and the bird moves them up and down in the air. The feathers are not completely flat either. There can be a slight bending on either side of the central shaft or rachis. So, the light will be caught differently on either side. You can see that in some of the feathers, where one side of the shaft is lighter than the other. I also hinted at the striated nature of the vane, the barbs running out from the shaft, especially in the primary feathers. I did this by first coloring in the vane with a bit of raw umber, then filling in the vane with lines of dark sepia. I needed to keep a very sharp point on the pencil.
            The bird in flight is now pretty much completed but I may have to make some changes to tones on the bird as I progress through. Everything is relative to everything else, so, as I progress through, I look at each element and make changes in tone here and there until I think all the parts look right relative to one another.
            I think next I’ll be starting on the nest.