Hand-Painted Kingfisher Part Two: Painting

 You have a certain freedom when painting a smoothie because you’re not locked in by carved and textured feathers. The smooth surface lets you change things as you paint, and that means you might even end up with a better layout than you could have achieved through carving. I also find that I can achieve finer detail on a smooth surface than on a textured one.

I used only a few brushes to paint this bird. A white 1⁄2" bristle brush served to apply the gesso primer coat. Any decent sable rounds in #2, 4, and 8, and a 1⁄2" flat will work for overall color layout. I use Liquitex paints because I find their colors are true and bright. A piece of glass is good for mixing colors. You’ll also want a scraper for cleaning and a container for your water.

The colors I used for this project were white gesso, gray gesso, black gesso, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, burnt sienna, and and yellow oxide.

Ready? Let’s paint.