From start to finish

I keep being asked by the guy who sits next to me at work, how I decide what to paint and how to paint it so here is a step by step guide to one of my pictures.

First, I work mainly from photos. I would love to work outside but I struggle with arthritis, I live in Britain where the number of days suitable for painting are minimal at best and I don’t like painting things that move while I am painting them. A lot of photos I take myself but I also spend a bit of time surfing images online to get my inspiration.

Step One – The photo

This is a photo I took at Banham Zoo while on holiday. This is a fantastic small zoo based in Banham, Norfolk and one of their specialities is the Birds of Prey. There are lots of things I like about this picture. It is simple, a clean background and a clear focus on the subject. It is, by way of contrast, very detailed. Look at the patterns on the plumage. It looks so soft and cuddly, it is hard to believe that this owl is capable of killing and eating small rodents. Most of all I like the expression on the face. This was taken in the summer holidays so the zoo was quite busy yet the owl was asleep, his face turned away from the hubub. He looks peaceful, and most of all, content with his lot.

Step 2 – choosing the medium

When I first tried drawing these owl I used pastels. I thought they were perfect for getting the softness and sweep of the feathers but I kept getting frustrated because they were never quite right. In the end I tried acrylics and they were the perfect medium.

Step 3 – Making a start

I have seen some artists that do loads of drawings, or build an immense amount of detail in before they even start to apply paint. I prefer a simple outline as a guide, often focusing on the overall shape and just one detail, such as the eyes.

As you can see, there is the barest amount of detail – just enough to guide me as to where to put the paint. I tried to mark some of the dark areas under the feathers too.

Step 4 – The background

I have had conflicting advice on whether to start with the background or put it in later to give definition to the edges of the subject. I definitely prefer it at the start. For this I used matt medium mixed with chromium green oxide then when still wet mixed in some paynes grey. Highlights were added with yellow ochre mixed into the green.

Step 5 – The dark bits

The important thing with the owl is to start dark and gradually work your way to lighter. The top feathers are very pale but underneath there are areas that are almost black. I used paynes grey neat with a dry brush to work through some of the dark areas. I then repeat with burnt umber to start building up the undercoat.

Step 6 – Working towards the light

Next I build on those dark areas with a grey made from paynes grey mixed with titanium white. It is important to keep painting in the same direction and that the grey should be just next to or intermingled with the dark areas. A lot of the feathers will be pure white at the end so I have to make sure the undercoat doesn’t extend too far.

Step 7 – Adding a colour

I have tried painting the owls exactly as in the photo but they looked a little flat. I found that adding a blue tint to some of the underfeathers makes the top feathers stand out better. In this case I mixed turquoise into the silver grey colour and then added a little more white. I was still using a dry brush at this point.

You will also notice that the beak suddenly put in an appearance. I am going to need to add feather detail around the beak that require it to be there first. I used lemon yellow with a little yellow ochre and titanium white. Under the beak needed to be quite dark so I added a little paynes grey.

Step 8 – Waste not, want not

Having mixed yellow ochre for such a small area I had a bit left over so I decided to help out all the burnt umber areas by adding a medium light colour .

Step 9 – My favourite tools

I love these brushes. I mean that I properly love them. Lots of people on my course say they never know how to use them but I think I only rarely paint pictures without using them at all. They are great for waterfalls, grass, reeds, fur and, of course, feathers. You can use them in great sweeping moves or in little dabs and best of all they are easy to load up with different colours at the same time. Did I mention that I love these brushes?

Step 10 – Buffing it up

The first light colours I added with the fan brush were warm grey and buff titanium. I used the larger fan brush first to just create some sweeping patches of feathers.

Step 11 – Going bright white

I switched to the small fan brush and really got to work with the white, making sure that all the detail around the beak and they eye made it stand out. This was also my opportunity to cover up some darker areas that got a bit too much. You will also notice that I reapplied some paynes grey which had got lost with all the other colours building up.

Step 12 – Never be afraid to go back

I thought I had finished at this point and moved from the conservatory to the lounge to load up the photos. Once I did I decided it was still too dark so I departed to the conservatory, or my studio depending on who you talk to, and got to work again. It took me a long time to get this right me in my head. When I have finished something then I usually move on very quickly but then I would always find I was a little dissatisfied with the picture. Now I am unafraid of going back to work on it although I still pretty much do this right away, or at least within the first week.

So here it is, the finished article. I think I captured the contented look. What do you think?