Bird Painting by Colette Theriault at Artsist for Conservation Nature in Art Exhibit!!!

I'm SO THRILLED to announce that my work has been chosen to be part of the prestigious Artists for Conservation Nature in Art International exhibit, taking place in Vancouver, BC at the end of August 2018!!!!!
My drawing "Curlicue" which was part of my Drawn to Nature solo exhibit last April will be shipped to BC for the Festival, with a possibility of an international tour (China, USA, Canada)!!!! This is also in conjunction with the International Ornithological Congress...I have 2 special avian artwork pieces that will be part of a giant mural featuring the world's endangered bird species.

 "Curlicue"

charcoal drawing

8"x11"

Available

Painting in pastel of black capped chickadee and golden aspen in autumn.

I am thrilled beyond thrilled that this fresh new painting of 2016 sold, and before it was ever completed! Since I've  had multiple inquiries about purchasing this chickadee painting, I fully intend on producing limited edition giclee prints so that others can enjoy it as well. And of course, more bird paintings to come in the future!

Photographs of original artwork never do them justice and this one is no exception. I still have to scan and tweak a digital copy to match the original as close as possible but this photo gives you a good idea of the warm soft glowing light shinning through the heart-shaped aspen leaves. So, I aptly named this artwork "Heartwarmer"; I hope you like it! Feel free to share if you like my work! Thanks so much!!

SOLD

"Heartwarmer"

Black-caped chickadee in trembling poplar

approx 8x10

pastel

Private Collection

More work available on my website gallery www.colettetheriault.com

Step 5 Great Egret Bird Painting work in progress

On this step I have completed most of the bird's long neck feathers. I continue to add dark to medium grey and brown pastel as my under-painting, to created those parts of the white plumage that are darkened by shadows. Stay tuned for more feather painting!!

For those who are curious, the bird is a Great Egret, (Ardea alba), also named the Common Egret, Great White Heron.

Step 4 of Egret bird painting using pastels

I am at the stage now where the bird is starting to pop out of the painting.  The light subject and a dark background creates strong contrast.  Keep watching for more updates!

Egret bird painting work in progress

Now that I've worked most of the background on the left side of the bird, the fun part of adding the main subject can begin!

Although it may be hard to see on this image, I've been adding undertones to the bird's head feathers to give some strong contrast against the white body. Click on the closeup image for a better view.

A few recent awards and news

Back in July, I was super thrilled that all three of my submissions were accepted into the La Cloche Juried Art Show (Whitefish Falls) AND  absolutely overjoyed that my miniature pastel painting earned First Place in the pastel category!  To top it off, on closing day I found out that I had sold two pieces!! Have a look...

"La Cloche Glory"

pastel 

2.5" x 3.5"

SOLD

"Anchored Off Shore"

pastel

8" x 10"

SOLD

"Balancing Act"

pastel

13" x 9"

Available

(please contact the artist)

Progress on nuthatch bird painting

The pair of red-breasted nuthatches (diptych painting) is progressing well today.  
I have begun to differentiate the two birds at this stage, and you can now see that the male has a deeper rust on his chest when compared to the female on the left.  Another distinct difference is that the male sports a black crown while the female's is dark grey (although the angle of the male's head makes it a little difficult to discern).

A Pair of Nuthatches-bird paintings in pastel

I've just started these two miniature paintings of red-breasted nuthatches tonight using soft pastels. Since both bird paintings share a similar background and color scheme, I've decided it would be easier and quicker to work on them simultaneously.  I also plan to frame them as a diptych...

Blue Jay Bird Painting in Pastel

Painting this bird in blue will give me an excellent opportunity to produce Christmas cards. Along with the similar red cardinal in snow scene that was previously painted, both will be available as cards in the near future.

 

On this last step of the painting, I completed the belly, wing and tail feathers as well as the branch and foot. I redefined more of the pine branches to darken the background a bit more. And voila, here is my "little prince in blue"!

To view more bird, wildlife and animal paintings, visit my website here

"Dressed in Blue" Blue Jay
pastel
4" x 6"
 

Painting of Northern Cardinal (male) in pastel

I love painting birds but I find the feathers are a challenge to render with pastels on sandpaper. I am resisting the temptation to go back and tweak a few tufts of cheek feathers as I am never truly satisfied...



"Dressed in Scarlet"
Northern Red Cardinal
pastel
4" x 6"
 Available for Purchase





Pastel Painting of cardinal update

I started working the feathers of the body and wings on this little bird painting today. Much more layering is going to happen until I am satisfied with the results. Thank goodness this paper can accept up to 25 layers of pastel!

 

Cardinal painting in progress

Here is a better image of the bird painting progress. I am pretty much done working on the head, which has had many layers of pastel to achieve the proper hues of the red feathers.

Winter bird painting on the easel

With winter fast approaching, I am inspired to paint a snow scene. I've always wanted to paint a cardinal and so he is my next subject to be featured on paper. I am using pastels and Wallis sandpaper for this piece and it will measure roughly 3"x5" when done or, perhaps a bit larger.  It is not always easy to create the feather detail on that scale...the image shown is bigger than actual.

Song sparrow painting almost done!

After completing the bark on the tree trunk, I can now move on to finishing the final details on the sparrow. I will probably revisit the background, more specifically, the right hand side area of the painting where the single thin tree is located.

Sparrow painting update

Before continuing on the tree trunk bark, I decided it was best to finish working the background and redrawing the bird so that it is now larger.  I like this so much better as the bird's size looks more proportionate with the barbed wire.

I may end up cropping the painting differently because I notice the larger bird is now too centred.
Several options include further cropping out the right hand side to move the bird out of centre or making the paining square format by cropping out some of both sides....we'll see!



A slight retouch is in order...

OOPS!! Seems as I was drawing in the barbed wire I made it too large in relation to the bird so now a touch up is in order. Tomorrow, I will continue to work on the bark of the trunk and will have to redraw the bird slightly larger.
It's probably better that way anyways because it will be easier to add the details on a larger bird.

Progress of bird on a wire painting

There was quite a bit of blending and layering happening in the background this afternoon. I wanted to achieve a glowing effect using warm colors so that the brown sparrow would stand out against the lighter backdrop.

 I have not added the fencepost wire at this stage and so the bird looks like it is floating but that will change in the next update.

 

I am using pastel on light sage colored suede for this piece.

 

Drawing of black capped chickadee on branch

Today I completed a second bird drawing in the chickadee series. I love how quickly these are coming along compared to the longer and larger pieces which take forever to finish.

Chickadee no.2
6"x8"
pencil
SOLD

Black Capped Chickadee sketch/drawing in pencil

The first in a series of original chickadee drawings, this artwork was done using charcoal and graphite pencils. I intend to create about 10 different variations of these bird drawings and then am considering the possibility of offering unique "collage" prints.

 

Chickadee no.1
6"x8"
pencil
SOLD

Hummingbird drawing revisited





BEFORE
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Drawing

Many of my colleagues know, I rarely create a  piece of art which I am totally satisfied with.  I can usually live with it, sometimes even taking years for me to really like it.   The hummingbird drawing however, was on my black list of "terribles" and I could no longer bear looking it at anymore, even though I had hung the artwork in a dark wall of the stairwell in an attempt to obscure it from view.

So today, I felt I needed to take the chance and attempt to revive that drawing. I also needed to regain my confidence which has been escaping me these past dark wintery months. I blame it on the seasons...it's just easier that way.

 As I took the dreaded drawing out of it's frame and laid it on the table, I took out my Prismacolors and chose a chocolate brown pencil.  I was  amazed at what little time it took me to achieve what I  hadn't in my first attempt.

It was just the change I needed. I am even starting to like it now.

AFTER
Revised version of
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Drawing