Finally, I think I'm done!

After much contemplation, I decided that I needed to re-work the feathers near the wing tip of the top bird as they just didn't look right. I added some of the smaller feathers that make up the wing, which seemed to be lacking on the last post. I believe this to be a direct result of my bad ref. photo.

At the moment, it is hard for me to sit back and enjoy this painting, perhaps because so much effort (and frustration) has gone into it. Maybe once it is displayed in a frame and hangs on a wall for a while I will grow fond of it again.

Title: "Pretty in Pink"-Roseate Spoonbills

Medium: pastel on sandpaper

size: 9" x 15"

Spoonbill pastel painting nearing completion...

I am very happy that this painting is nearly finished! At times, I felt like abandoning this piece as I was getting frustrated at working at all those feathers!! Of course, it would have helped immensely if my original reference photograph would have been in focus to show the finer details. This is where I lose much time (and patience!!) trying to get the details and most importantly, the feathers just right.

I still have to sit back and really look at this painting for a while before I can say I am finished with it as I am tempted to go back and fix a few areas already. This is the stage I most dislike because I tend to want to frame it so that I no longer will have to work on it again! But then, I sometimes unframe a drawing or painting to fix something I find is just not right (how annoying is that?) since after looking at it for so long hanging on my wall, the faults seem to scream out at me to fix them. It is so hard to satisfy a perfectionist!

On another note, I will be working on the gorilla drawing tonight...a nice change from inhaling that pastel dust...

Yet Another Bird Pastel Painting Update

During this sitting, I was getting very tired of working the pink feathers so I decided to tackle the other elements of this painting. I am getting more and more enthusiastic about completing this piece now that it is all coming together. I hope that it will be just the bit of encouragement I need to inspire me to get back working on those feathers!

Painting of roseate spoonbills preening

I'm slowly progressing with this pastel bird painting...the feathers are taking me forever it seems. The bottom spoonbill is almost completed and I really hope that the rest of the painting will be a breeze! Still have a log , rock and water with reflections to do, not to mention the rest of the bird's feet and legs.

Ruffled feathers detail of pastel drawing

In this sitting, I reworked the wing feathers on the top bird...I felt satisfied with it and regardless, I have so many layers of pastel that I'm afraid if I add more, it will turn muddy. I moved on to the bottom bird, continuing adding detail to the feathers.

I find the ruffled feathers easiest to do while the wing feathers are trickier. They have to look just right otherwise it ruins the look of the bird.

You will notice I added the bright pink wing patch characteristic of mature roseate spoonbills (bottom bird).
I'll be re-touching the head area of the bottom spoonbill a bit later but still need lots to do on the feathers.

Bird Pastel Painting back on the easel

I'm hoping to finish this pastel painting of roseate spoonbills before the end of the month. At this point, I went back to the top bird to refine the feathers more. I will be working a bit more on the tail feathers before I move to complete the second bird.

Bald Beautie...

You may not notice at first glance that the second lower bird has no feathers on his head. That is because roseate spoonbills loose their soft white downy head feathers as they mature. The eyes also turn red, the skin on the skull takes on a yellowish green color and the spatulate bill becomes grayish. The fullest pink coloration of the plumage is only reached with age and then only when feeding on the appropriate diet. Like pink flamingos, roseate spoonbills acquire their pink feathers from the pigments in the food the eat.

Which spoonbill is which?

Click for detailed view.

The importance of proper identification became apparent to me when studying the reference photographs for this bird painting. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the two birds in my photograph were in fact, of different species; one being an African Spoonbill and the other, an immature Roseate spoonbill. While this may be unimportant for some, the significance becomes clear when one submits a painting for inclusion in a wildlife exhibit or competition for example, where anatomical accuracy and scientific description is utterly essential.

Had I not noticed the subtle characteristics of the "offending species" (blue eye, darker bill, dark red face mask, pure white plumage) and properly identified the white bird in my ref photo (which I thought was an immature roseate), this would have meant disaster for the composition as the birds I want to depict were immature and mature roseate spoonbills.

Ahhhh.... so now I reworked the facial features and bill on the upper bird, added pink tones to the ruffled feathers to represent an immature roseate. The other bird (mature roseate) will sport a featherless head, greenish fask maks/bill and bright rosy wing patch so characterisitc of this species.