Hello everyone! I’m back with an update on the bird show painting. I’ve been humming along with it quite nicely alongside some other projects that I can’t reveal yet.
One thing you might notice with the photo above is that I’ve put in the eyes, head feathers, and defined the beak a little more. That peek of a pencil in the top right corner is my white watercolor pencil. The tip is “shrunk” because I dip my paintbrushes in water and then rub the tip of the pencil to activate the paint enough to use it with the brush. It works the same way as paint pans, but I get small amounts of pigment and I can control the balance of water content to paint content easier with the pencils rather than pans.
Next I decided to focus on the details of the wings, deepening the shadows of the tail, and drafting out where the patterning on the chest will go in light gray. This gives me a rough map for darker markings later on. This is a good tip for painters who want to figure out where they are going to paint without very much of the mess that dark colors present. If I make a mistake with a pale color, I can use a clean brush to dab on a little water to reactivate the paint before lifting it off of the page by patting it with a dry paper towel. Then I can paint over the spot again in white or a different intensity or color after that area dries. Trying to add a light color onto a wet area makes the pigment form a ring on the borders, which is a fun effect when you want it there.
Anyways, that’s all I have to share for now. I’m going to be away for a week (as of this date: 2/17/26), so be sure to check for another update around then!