My most recent small painting features some bright cardinals showing off among their Plain Jane pals. It was based on photos taken last year. Our feeder is empty and there are few birds to watch now. (Our neighborhood has been encouraged not to use feeders so birds won’t gather and spread a new virus among themselves.)
For the artists who are reading, this painting was an experiment in “cmyk” colors — a very limited palette of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This group of colors is used with great success in color printing, but it’s pretty rare to see it underpinning an oil painting or water-based art.
For this attempt, I used the closest hues in my paint stash: manganese phthalo, quinacridone violet, azo yellow and ivory black. I managed to mix everything in the painting without resorting to additional colors ~~ other than the male cardinals, for which I dipped into cad red. I can’t say I enjoyed the experience or like the outcome! I’m not sure whether I’ll try it again!
#22. Birds in the Backyard. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 8″ x 10″
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- Reference Photo 1
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- Reference Photo 2