Northern Parula
We hope you enjoy this free design and technique. Below you will find the entire lesson in HTML format. You can just print it from there. If you would like the pattern and instructions in adobe PDF format please download it from here.
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The pattern is in PDF Format. Once you download just click print. I put a scale next to the pattern just in case you printer changes the size. Download for printing by clicking this link>>>Northern Parula Pattern
The Northern Parula
Painting Instructions
This painting will teach some of the interesting techniques that can be done with Traditions acrylics.
Palette:
Traditions 10 Color Starter Set
Carbon Black, Raw Umber, Titanium White, Naphthol Red, Naphthol Red Light, Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Green, Raw Sienna, Hansa Yellow. Glazing Medium, Light Primer, Satin Varnish, Extender Medium.
Preparation
Using the Color Mixing Card as a guide. Mix Raw Sienna + Titanium White + touch Raw Umber. To this add an equal amount of Light Primer. Light Primer will seal and prepare the surface for decoration. When this is all mixed together hold your palette knife next to the Value Scale. The background color should be a value 8. Add Raw Umber and Raw Sienna if you are too light. Add Titanium White if you are too dark. Dry well and sand lightly. After you have sanded, wash the background with Raw Sienna + water. Leave some streaks for interest. Dry well and transfer pattern lightly with grey graphite.
Step 1
Base all the objects with a medium white made from Titanium White + touch Raw Umber and Raw Sienna. This should be just a little lighter than the background. You can see this color if you look at the leaves on the left in this photo. Dry well. Make smaller strokes of Titanium White in all the objects. Streaks and texture are fine. This doesn't have to be perfect. The Titanium White will make lighter areas as seen in the next step. Using a small round base in the branches, stems, eye, and beak with Raw Umber.
Step 2
Glazing the Objects
Remove your graphite lines. Mix Hansa Yellow + water and touch of Glazing Medium. Use this to wash over the strawberries, blossoms, bird's breast, and neck. I used a filbert for this. Make a bright green from Phthalo Green + Raw Sienna and Hansa Yellow. Wash over the leaves with this color.
Photo
of wash colors from Step 1 and 2
Sideloading
with Glazing Medium. Video Above.
Using a 6 or 8 filbert brush, the is wet with water, pick up some Naphthol Red on one side of the brush. On the other side of the brush add a little Glazing Medium. The Glazing Medium will help keep the color on the side of the brush. If you get the color too far across the brush, pick up some more Glazing Medium on the opposite side, stroke on the palette and it will move the color back.
Step
3
Using the sideloaded filbert, (Naphthol Red) stroke down both sides of the strawberry, leaving some of the yellow showing for a highlight in the center of the strawberry.
Step
4
Using a small # 3 round brush, add some strokes to the bird's breast area. We will be washing additional color over these strokes later so do not worry about making them perfect.
Technique Note
When you add a lot of water to make a color transparent, you should also add some Glazing Medium. The Glazing Medium will help the paint stick to the surface better. Water thins out the binder or "glue" in the paint. Glazing Medium will add the "glue" back to the paint assuring it will not be removed.
Step 5
Using the round brush, Mix some Raw Umber, a touch of Carbon Black and Phthalo Blue. Wash this in for the back (inside) of the birds wing. Steaks are good and will add more interest.
Step 6
Pick up a little more paint so the color is just a little more opaque. Add some long lines to the front edges of the wing for the flight feathers. Do both sides of the wings. They can also be seen in the picture for the next step.
Step 7
Using the same color as step 6, add some dark touch around the eye and in the cheek area where the yellow and white are coming together.
Step 8
Mix Ultramarine Blue + tiny touch Raw Umber and Titanium White. Add some Glazing Medium and make this transparent with water. Wash onto the head area making sure you don't cover up all the yellow and white areas.
Step 9
Using the same color wash some on the wings and body to create some roundness. The bird will have a white breast so don't go too far into the breast area. Wash down the tail leaving some white in the center area.
Step 10
Using a Filbert and the same color from Step 8, wash over the blossoms so that they have a little of the color we used on the bird. Don't do too much. We don't want them to be blue flowers.
Step 11
Mix Phthalo Green Blue + Raw Umber 1:1. Sideload in a # 8 filbert brush and tap on leaf shadows. Make sure the shadows go along the petal edges. This will make the leaves go under the blossoms. Tap a little color down the middle of the leaf for a vein line.
Step 12
Sideload the filbert with Naphthol Red + touch Carbon Black. Stroke down the sides of the strawberries to give them additional shadows. Leave some of the first wash of red showing.
Step 13
Sideload the filbert with Raw Umber + touch Naphthol Red and tap on the blossom petals around the centers. Vary the amount used on each petal for more interest. If one petal overlaps another you can add a little of this color on the bottom petal.
Overall Photo of Shadows
Step 14
Mix Ultramarine Blue + tiny touch Raw Umber. Dress this in a #3 round. Add some Glazing Medium and a little water to make the color transparent. Add some additional dark strokes on the birds head. Do not cover up all the original colors. Just darken a few blue areas for interest.
Step 15
Using the same color and brush add a few darker strokes to the wings and flight feathers.
Step 16
Using the same color and brush add a few darker strokes to the tail feathers.
Step 17
Using the same color and brush add a few darker strokes to the body to create more roundness. Add more water and Glazing Medium and very, very transparently wash over some of the feathers in the center breast area. We need to do this so that we can create white highlights later that will have more interest.
Step 18
Using the same color fully load a # 8 filbert and glaze over the blossom petals to add additional blue.
Step 19
Using a #3 round brush dressed in Raw Umber + touch Carbon Black, add some darker shadows to the branches and stems.
Step 20
Using the same color, add a few dark touches to the eye, and beak.
Step 21
Please watch video
Puddle on some light orange in the centers of the strawberries. To do this, give the surface a light even coat of Extender Medium. On your palette mix some Naphthol Red Light + Hansa Yellow. Add lots of water, a little Glazing Medium and a touch of Extender. With the surface wet with Extender
Step 22
Using the same color glaze on a few blossom petals as a tint color. Keep it transparent and make sure you have some Glazing Medium in the color for added "glue".
Step 23
Mix a lighter green from Phthalo Green + Raw Sienna 1:1. Then add a touch of Hansa Yellow and Titanium White. Brush mix in some Glazing Medium to make this a little transparent. Fully load the filbert and stroke from the tip of each leaf towards the shadows. Do not cover all the shadow near the blossoms or strawberries.
Step 24
Mix Titanium White + touch Raw Sienna and Raw Umber. Add some Glazing Medium and a little water. Glaze and tap into the center of each blossom petal to soften the shadows and tints. See the blossom in the upper left that is finished.
Step 25
Tap some of the light color from step 24 into the center areas of the bird to soften the colors. I used the chisel edge of a filbert so I did not make perfect little feathers.
Step 26
Mix some Naphthol Red Light + Raw Sienna + Hansa Yellow and touch Titanium White. This will make a soft light orange. Puddle some of this into the center of the strawberries. Use the same puddle technique as you did in step 21.
Step 27
Glazing the Edges
Mix Naphthol Red + Raw Umber + touch Raw Sienna. Make a nice toned or soft red color. Give the edge of the tray a light even coat of Extender Medium. While the edge is wet, mix a little Extender Medium into the red color and brush onto the edge. While this is wet, take the edge of a paper towel and wipe the red color. The more you wipe the more you begin to take off. Remove as much as you desire. Leave some streaks for interest.
Step 28
Please See Video Build Petal Edges
Using a # 6 or 8 filbert, sideload with Titanium White to make the petal edges. Add a little Glazing Medium to make the color slightly transparent. Use some Glazing on the side of the brush without color if necessary to force the color onto the side of the brush. Push the brush on the side with color as you go down the edge. Flatten the brush through the center of the petal to make it softer. Use the non color side of the brush to fade or soften any color. Stroke down the sides of petals that sit on top of other petals. If one petal sits over another on both sides, then stroke down both sides.
Step 29
Using your # 3 round dressed in Titanium White + a little Glazing Medium add some light strokes to the birds breast. Use short "choppy" strokes to make them look like feathers. Add a few to the head, body and wings. Don't get too many. Just a few for interest.
Step 30
Dress the brush with Raw Sienna and tap down the top sides of the branches and stems. Tap a little into the centers of the flowers. When it is dry add a little Hansa Yellow and tiny touch Titanium White to the Raw Sienna to lighten and tap a few small highlights on the branches.
Step 31
Pick up some Hansa Yellow, Glazing Medium and a little water and glaze over the yellow areas on the birds body. Leave a few white areas in the center of the yellow area for interest.
Step 32
Mix Ultramarine Blue + Titanium White + touch Raw Umber. Add some Glazing Medium. Stroke onto the blue areas to add a soft blue highlight. Please be careful not to paint out all the layers we have added. Just a few strokes soften and lighten.
Step 33
Add small touches of Titanium White highlights to the beak, eye and anywhere you might have painted them out.
Step 34
Mix a lighter green from Phthalo Green + Raw Sienna 1:1. Then add a touch of Hansa Yellow and Titanium White. Make this color lighter than what is on the leaf at this time. Using smaller strokes in the center of the leaf add some highlights. Streaks of color are fine and will add more interest.
Step 35
Mix Phthalo Green + Raw Umber 1:1. Add a little water and Glazing Medium. Add the dark strokes for the strawberry braches and then add a few transparent accent strokes in the design. Go down one side of a few leaves for interest. See photo for step 36 which shows accent strokes and these leaf strokes.
Step 36
Use the light green leaf color from step 23 to add a few light strokes on the strawberry braches.
Finishing Steps
1. Using a liner brush and Titanium White liner the blossoms, leaving a small space between the petal edge and the liner. This will make them look more "airy". Sideload this color in a small filbert and make the accent blossoms using the petal edging technique.
2. Mix Naphthol Red + Raw Umber and touch Carbon Black. Add some dark dots to the strawberries. Add a little of this color to centers of the blossoms if needed. Add some of this color to the small accent flowers centers.
3. Mix Raw Sienna + Hansa Yellow. Add a few dots to the strawberries. Tap a little of this color into the centers of the blossoms. Add some Titanium White to this color to lighten and add just a few dots to the strawberries and a few taps to the blossom centers.
4. Wash Transparent Raw Sienna around the edge of the tray. I used a # 6 filbert. It was the perfect width. When that is dry, liner with Naphthol Red + Raw Umber and touch Carbon Black. This is done on the frame also.
5. Dry the piece well and give 2 coats JansenArt Satin Varnish. I add just a little water to the first coat to thin it out and allow more working time.
We hope you have enjoyed this piece. Look for more free designs and techniques soon!
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