Wildlife painting demonstration - the colony

2008-06-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

Step 1

I have spent at least 7 hours a week for the last couple of months watching sand martins on a low cliff above a busy beach in Cornwall. I pass the beach on the way to taking my daughter to school. The board was prepared and then coated with a mid blue. then rough colours added with a succumbing action in several layers.

Step 2

I layered the sky with ultramarine and cadmium yellow taking care not to turn it green but to have a summer glow.
I concentrate on the top layer of the bank where the birds rework last years holes. The top is soil so softer than the gravely layer below. over time they have created a ledge above this layer.

Step 3
I continued to work the grass and some of the cliff face, the sunlight is strong and fairly loz so i will be darkening so areas later. The birds are constaantly comming too and frow so I vary the size of the martins and the direction of the flight. Two birds are completed.

Step 4

The grass has been worked to ensure the bright morning light hits the top section. Many of the birds are in shaddow with the light catching parts of the birds. The cliff has small stones jutting out of the sandy soil. I hope this conveys the busyness of a Sand martin colony,

Wildlife painting demonstration - Flooded

2008-06-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of my earlier step by step demonstration and I will be adding others including a day by day diary and current painting on the easel.

This painting is taken from watching a Grey Wagtail feed its solitary young at Frenchman's creek on the Helford river, such was the intensity and need that they completely ignored my presence. The whole painting will be of a flooded pond with raindrops.
Stage 1
I laid down several layers of a very dark green mix, then applied random lighter green over the base colour very roughly following where some of the ripples will be going. I blocked in the floating and submerged summer green grasses to help me establish the contrast of colour and composition.
Stage 2

I now what to leave the grass to enable me to see the overall composition so I start to define the raindrops and the reflected sky. This is used to create pattern and light at times quite abstract. I do not always want to be 100% accurate in every detail as I believe the overall effect is worth the loss. As my dad always said its not what you put in but what you leave out.

Stage 3

Moving on and continuing to add ripples and the surface sheen I have added some weeds and foliage underneath the water, this does not show up on the images as it does on the original. I have added a floating branch for one of the birds.
I love the play of reflections on the water and the ripples including seeing the vegetation decomposing under the surface. There are so many variants to water and light that I could never paint two the same. Stare at a woodland stream or pond long enough and your eyes will focus on the surface then adjust to the deeper reflection of the trees and then again beneath the surface. Its like those pictures which you stare at long enough an image appears
Stage 4

Heading for the home straight. Finished off the ripples and worked on the grass more. Now I have added the Parent bird and roughly blocked in the young. Form here I will be adding some shadow on the birds and on the branch the finishing off the young one.
I decided to make the branch where the adult Grey wagtail is sitting as a simple branch and not floating to add further depth, I have not tried to add too much detail but to echo the floating branch. The yellow on the adult bird balances the floating leaf and other yellow vegetation in the top left.
Stage 5

The final touches have been added and the birds finished, you cannot see the insect in the adult wagtails mouth very clearly on this image. I toned down the grass and now the painting is complete. 24 x 18 inches.

Wildlife art by Griff

Wildlife painting demonstration - the colony

Wildlife painting demonstration - Flooded