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Black Pitt pen
Water jar
Paper towel
Payne's grey
Cadmium orange
Burnt umber
Cadmium red
Robin, watercolour, (20x28cm)
Learn how to use a limited palette and loose, lively washes to paint this robin with a step-by-step demonstration from Michelle Campbell.
'Before I started painting this, I laid the watercolour paper flat on my work board but, because this is a small painting, I didn’t mask it to the board,' says Michelle. 'I usually mask the paper to a board or table, however, when I work on larger paintings.'
1
1. Sketch the subject loosely in pencil.
2. Loosely draw over the sketch with a pen.
3. With the No. 8 brush apply a loose wash of Payne’s grey – two parts water to one part pigment – over the head, beak and right-hand side of the body. Leave to dry.
2
1. Once dry, use the No. 8 brush to apply cadmium red – two parts water and one part pigment – on the front of the robin’s breast.
2. When dry, apply burnt umber over the wings and leave to dry.
3
Loosely apply a wash of cadmium orange over the cadmium red on the robin’s breast.
Leave to dry.
4
1. Mix Payne’s grey and burnt umber so the colour becomes dark and apply over the wings.
2. Colour the black eye with the pen, leaving a little white dot for where you want the pupil to be.
Don’t apply too much water to the brush, as it should be dryer – you only want to make a suggestion of the wings.
5
1. Paint the legs with a mix of cadmium red and Payne’s grey.
2. Using the pen, work cross-hatching across the body. To do this, draw two or more sets of parallel lines that cross one another.
3. Use the pen to squiggle loose hairs lightly around the body area, and add the suggestion of the branch.
6
1. With the white gouache and No. 1 brush, apply loose lines to the wings and body to suggest feathers, and highlight the pupil and around the eye area.
2. Dip the No. 1 brush into water and Payne’s grey and splatter over the robin by holding your brush at the end and tapping it about 8in. away from the paper.
3. Add a few words to complete.
Robin, watercolour, (20x28cm)
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Find out more about Michelle by visiting www.michelleccampbellart.com
Try painting a 'stained glass robin' with Lesley Linley
This demonstration is taken from the December 2017 issue of Leisure Painter. Enjoy endless inspiration with access to past and present issues of both The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines, plus exclusive video demos, tutorials and more, with our Studio Membership! Discover how you can join today.
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