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APRIL 2021 23Paint along with LPhttp://www.painters-online.co.ukCChrisFind out more about Chris hris PendletonPendleton
and his work by visiting http://www.pendleton.co.ukSHOW YOUR WORKHow did you get on? Please send a jpeg image of
your finished painting to [email protected] along with a few lines on how you found this project, for inclusion on the painting project area of our
website, PaintersOnline. watercolour on Goldline 200gsm cold pressed paper, House Sparrows,(^12) background wash is expressly lively to help indicate the x9½in. (32x24cm). The
birds’ nervous tension.
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APRIL 2021 21
Paint along with LP
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CompositionMany of you will be familiar with the ‘rule of thirds’, which, like all rules in art, is made
to be broken, but there’s no doubt that placing the focal point of a painting roughly a third of the way into an image often leads
to a successful composition. We are so used to seeing images designed with this rule
in mind it goes unnoticed, but it’s worth looking around to see how ubiquitous it is in our visual culture, from advertising to
television and fi lms.the composition so, when I placed it in the I wanted my subject to be quite large in
middle of the painting, the focal point of its head would be about a third from the
top. I also positioned the bird somewhat to the left-hand side so the strong line of its beak wouldn’t lead the eye out of the
composition. Next, I needed to think about the
background of the painting. It’s good to provide some habitat context and I wanted the bird to be perched on something more
better and the bird is still too far to the left.Sketch 4 This isn’t much of the tips of the twigs becoming buds, just coming into leaf and showing well against a dark Sketch 5 This is a possibility. I like the idea
background below. The bird’s position is better.
Notice how the bird’s head is nicely aligned one third of the Sketch 6 My final decision.
way from the top.
Photo 2 is another view of plum tree twigs
kingfisher looking to the left Sketch 1 A thumbnail of the placing the bird on a branch.Sketch 2 Here I experimented with shading option and it’s unbalanced with the bird, which I placed too far to the left.Sketch 3 This is the least likely background
learn-to-paint magazine.
It is written especially for
beginners and amateur
painters, and is brimming over
with tutorials, demonstrations
and practical advice
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Composition
better and the bird is still too far to the left. This isn’t much
Photo 2 is another view of plum tree twigs
kingfisher looking to the left A thumbnail of the
PPaint winter aint winter
llandscapesandscapes
APRIL 2021 £4.80
ARMCHAIR TRAVEL
Paint from sketches
770024
071195
9
04>
How to paint
from photos
HOW DO I...
fi nish a painting?
MEET THE ARTIST
TALP Open winner
EXPLORE ACRYLICS
Develop your
brushstroke skills
FIND YOUR SUBJECT
Be inspired by
nature & wildlife
THE UK’S BEST-SELLING LEARN-TO-PAINT MAGAZINE
watercolour on Goldline 200gsm cold pressed paper,
background wash is expressly lively to help indicate the 9½in. (3224cm). The
birds’ nervous tension.
watercolour on Goldline 200gsm cold pressed paper,
background wash is expressly lively to help indicate the 9½in. (32
birds’ nervous tension.
APRIL 2021 21
Paint along with LP
of the tips of the twigs becoming buds, just coming into leaf and showing well against a dark This is a possibility. I like the idea
background below. The bird’s position is better.
Notice how the bird’s head is nicely aligned one third of the My final decision.
way from the top.
placing the bird on a branch. Here I experimented with shading option and it’s unbalanced with the bird, which I placed too far to the left. This is the least likely background
20 APRIL 2021
Paint along with LP
http://www.painters-online.co.uk
LEARNING OBJECTIVES■ How to prepare to paint a portrait
■ Consider composition, background of a bird
and layout of your painting
I
love painting kingfi shers and, although they’re quite common along our rivers
and ponds, they’re usually pretty shy and and canals and sometimes by lakes
diffi cult to sketch. Often all you see is a dab of electric blue on whirring wings as it whizzes past, low over dark water. They
are vocal birds though, so listen out for their shrill whistles, or you might hear a
little splash as one dives for a fi sh from an overhanging branch. If you can get close,
they are sometimes good subjects, posing beautifully as they gaze down into the
water, their gorgeous colours often set off by dark foliage behind.
combination of hot orange and exquisite It is this extraordinary tropical colour
blue and turquoise that makes them unique amongst all our native birds.
For years I used a Victorian stuffed specimen for detailed reference, together
with gestural sketches made in the fi eld, but there are lots of free sources
of photographs for artists now and I’d recommend Pixabay, where images are
free to use for domestic or commercial purposes.
The subjectThe photo (above) is extremely sharp and
has the bird in a typical pose, perched over water, looking for fi sh. You could,
of course, print the photo, but why not set up an old computer in your studio
instead? You can download image
handling software, like Gimp, for image manipulation or just use Paint in Windows
Accessories, which will do a basic job. Image handling is memory-intensive so
feeble old pcs are best disconnected from the internet and emptied of any other
software and fi les; you can also load the images on from a memory stick.I began by making loose thumbnail
sketches using cheap drawing paper and a 7B pencil (above right). A soft dark
lead like this lets me place basic areas of light and shade quickly. At this point, I
wasn’t bothered about making accurate drawings, but I did sketch the borders of
the thumbnails to help fi x elements of the composition within its frame.
portrait-shaped designs, because, if I From a commercial point of view I prefer
decide to publish them as greetings cards, this is the shape that displays best in card
racking in shops. For the same reason, I usually place the bird’s head, the most
interesting part of the design, towards the top of the painting, as that is often the
only part of a greetings card visible in the racking.
bird pointing from right to left as seen in Although I made one thumbnail of the
the original photo, for no reason other than personal preference, I decided to fl ip
the image horizontally so the bird now faced right, which is easy to do in Gimp.
Painting project
Part 1 Chris Pendleton– a delightful kingfi sher – and discusses how to plan the painting introduces this month’s painting from a photograph
from http://www.pixabay.com Your reference material for this project: a copyright-free photograph of a kingfisher, taken
here is a photo of twigs on a plum tree Photo 2 To help with the composition,
To take up this off er, go to
http://www.painters-online.co.uk/store
and add code LPAI/TALP2104 or telephone
01778 395174 and quote LPAI/TALP2104
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ARMCHAIR TRAVEL Paint from sketches
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EXPLORE ACRYLICSEXPLORE ACRYLICSEXPLORE ACRYLICSDevelop your Develop your Develop your Develop your
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FIND YOUR SUBJECT FIND YOUR SUBJECT FIND YOUR SUBJECT FIND YOUR SUBJECT FIND YOUR SUBJECT Be inspired by Be inspired by Be inspired by
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