The four-step slides helped with nthis one. My printer wasn't interested in printing in colour today, so I went from screen-reference. I was surprised how well the layering worked after I let the thing dry! The lower orb was done in pastel, to see how it would translate to a different medium.
I wasn't satisfied until I had a printed reference, though, so I grabbed this Wildlife Fact File...thing... and painted the lower jaw regions on a blue and yellow macaw.
activity one, I voted for the Phorusrhacos longissimus, an extinct species. I think the study of fossils is neat, and I often wonder what the various habitats really looked like.
activity two, I remembered an evening hike I took in summer with the mosquitos and the Merlin Bird ID app- it was in a riverbank/marsh ecosystem. I was able to identify (but not see) a Hermit Thrush (thrush), an Oven Bird (warbler), a Barred Owl (owl), and a Downy Woodpecker (woodpecker). As far as identifying flying creatures by sight... only the mosquitos. I identified some with a slap.
activity three, Some of my favourite feeder-sightings are woodpeckers. I have seen downy woodpeckers the most ( they had a nest on the yard), Hairy woodpeckers, and even pileated woodpeckers. Crows are another favourite. They overturn clumps of dried grass from mowing the lawn to look for food.
Here you can see my scrap cold-press paper adding texture.
and there, where the lines were supposed to be parallel, you can see where I may have gotten dizzy. I could have used a larger brush... that may have helped.
This one was more difficult than the cardinal drawing. My eyes got a little crossed with the overlapping feathers, trying to read which line was for which feather.
And you can see where I numbered the visible feathers to ensure I got the correct amount.
Hahaha, I made the cardinal look so angry! I couldn't help but to draw some curved lines, especially under the rump.
He's threatening to give me the cold shoulder if I don't get his portrait just right.
I went full ham and painted up a full colour wheel with mixing swatches. I learned that Pyrrole Red will overpower most colours. The greens were very watered down by the time I put them on the wheel. I'm going ahead with using regular paint brushes and keeping a water jar on hand, since I'm used to those materials.