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Painting birds in spontaneous style can be quite a challenge. My advice? Study the anatomy of birds carefully and then practice the bird in "bits": I've done sheets and sheets of beaks and eyes, practiced wing patterns, studied feet and how to place them. See this blog post for more bird poses.
A good reference book for artists is Laws Guide to Drawing Birds. It will answer many of your questions and give you plenty of models. Looking at photos of birds can actually be confusing since that snapshot moment in time may not show you clearly what's going on. My teacher I-Hsiung Ju has several bird videos available here. He shows you how to paint them in Chinese brush style.
And when you've done all that practice? Take heart! It takes courage, but bit by bit you will triumph!
A good reference book for artists is Laws Guide to Drawing Birds. It will answer many of your questions and give you plenty of models. Looking at photos of birds can actually be confusing since that snapshot moment in time may not show you clearly what's going on. My teacher I-Hsiung Ju has several bird videos available here. He shows you how to paint them in Chinese brush style.
And when you've done all that practice? Take heart! It takes courage, but bit by bit you will triumph!
Do you have questions? Let me know! I'm happy to help.
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Goldfinch Practice
I painted the goldfinches first, then this big, noisy blackbird had to get into the picture! I find gestural, spontaneous painting is often like this: I start off minding my P's and Q's and then something rowdy jumps out of the brush.
In the next painting, it was the other way round: Old Loudmouth made his appearance first and I tried to match his energy with a flying bird in the upper right quadrant. That bird didn't work, so the splashing ink became autumn leaves. Perhaps you can still see a beak and eye peering out up there. Or perhaps some wings and a tail...
In the next painting, it was the other way round: Old Loudmouth made his appearance first and I tried to match his energy with a flying bird in the upper right quadrant. That bird didn't work, so the splashing ink became autumn leaves. Perhaps you can still see a beak and eye peering out up there. Or perhaps some wings and a tail...
Old Loudmouth
You can see more of my bird practice sheets here. Got questions? Let me know!
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Ever wonder how a Chinese brush painter creates a landscape? Today I am going to show you how I went from a tree to a misty mountain landscape, with all the moments of panic, optimism and despair along the way! Enjoy the journey!
The Tree that Started it All
Mountain Meditation - completed
Chinese brush painting landscapes are backwards - that is, if you're used to Western painting, where you start with the background and work your way forwards. In Oriental art, you start with what's closest and work your way towards the distance in layers. The start of a painting is often either a rock or a tree in the bottom left or right corner. In this case it was a tree. I sketched the trunk in quickly with Chinese ink and added clumps of greenery using mineral green mixed with gray. It looked like it needed a companion, so I added another tree:
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It's been a week of bird practice for me. As with most subjects I paint, I don't plan my birds out. That doesn't mean I don't practice. Improvisers of all kinds (dancers, musicians, artists, actors) still need to keep the wheels greased so that technique doesn't get in the way of the performance. Sumi-e birds are all about capturing the essence of 'birdie-ness'. Here are my practice sheets: some of the birds are good, some are so-so, and some are a bit of a train wreck! But that's the beauty of practicing. I hope you enjoy them and feel inspired to try your own.
Bird Practice Painting #1
Bird Practice Painting #2
Bird Practice Painting #3
Bird Practice Painting #4
Let me know if you have questions!