Exercise 17:
FLOCK OF BIRDS

IN THIS EXERCISE, YOU WILL HAVE FUN WITH ABSTRACT WASHES TO CREATE A BIRD FAMILY. A CIRCULAR WASH—OR BLOB OF PAINT, IF YOU WILL—CAN BE THE BEGINNING OF AN IMAGINARY ANIMAL, PLANT, FLOWER, OR PATTERN. USING A GEL PEN OR MARKER, WE WILL ADD LEGS AND A BEAK TO OUR CIRCULAR WASH TO BRING THE BIRD TO LIFE.

Inexpensive brush for mixing

White heavy cardstock or watercolor paper

Mop brush or flat brush

Black paint pen, marker, or gel pen

1. Cover your work space with newspaper or large craft paper.

2. On a palette, mix black gouache with water to get a watercolor-like consistency. This creates a thin body of paint. Use an inexpensive brush to mix the paint.

3. Set up a sheet of white paper, either cardstock or watercolor paper. Use this sheet to test painting your wash shapes.

TIP: Hold a mop brush or flat brush upright and twirl the brush around 360 degrees to make an almost perfect circle.

4. Load the brush with black paint and softly paint circular washes. Fill your practice page. For feathery effects, rest your brush on the paper at the start of your circle and pull the paint a bit. Lift your brush, then rest it again; pull and then rest again. (See A.)

5. Set up the white paper you will paint your birds on. Paint three circular blobs or a free-form shape. Let your artwork dry before doing any pen work. (See B.)

Arbitrary fun washes can become all sorts of animals or imaginary friends.

6. With your black pen, create fun details for your bird family. Add beaks, wings, legs, and tufts of feathers for crowns to complete your design. Add more personality with lines, circles, crosshatches, dots, and so on. (See C.)