Painting a Bobwhite Quail in mixed media (2)

Painting Session 2

Date: 12/12/2017

Subject: Bobwhite Quail

Medium: Mixed Media (Watercolor, Gouache, Ink)

Paper: Canson: 90lb traditional surface watercolor paper

Watercolors used: French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Brilliant Yellow, Winsor Red

Gouache: Zinc White, Naples Yellow, Indian Yellow, Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue

Ink: Prismacolor fine blank ink permanent marker

Link to previous sessions - Session 1

Painting Bobwhite Quail Session 2

During session two I spent time working on the overall details of the painting.  The head of the quail is painted with watercolor, and I incorporated small strokes of black ink to add detail to the dark portion that runs from the beak down to the neck. Also added some ink at the end of the tail. The rest of the bird is still all in watercolor, with a lot of work still to do. I may add in some gouache where I want the features to be more opaque. I darkened the sky, but I was a little unhappy with the results so added in zinc white gouache for some clouds May add some more gouache in the sky to bring out more detail but haven't decided. I am not experienced at using watercolor, so I will need to improve my skills when it comes to painting a sky. I decided to depict Indian grass in the fall. Since it is native to Indiana and quail feed on the seeds. I used watercolor for a light transparent background and gouache for the details of the stems and seeds. I want the plants to look more substantial than the rest of the painting. 

To Do Next Session

I am not sure what to do with the space between the quail and the barn, so that is why the field is much lighter in value so will need to refine that in the next session. Will continue to detail the quail and Indian grass. Still