AUGUR BUZZARD STUDY, PART 2

 

First off, I decided to darken the background slightly with another wash. This had the effect of lifting the breast slightly off the paper, then I began adding details to the head. As usual, this process took some time as I slowly built up colors and tones. I mostly used a medium brush with a fine point but there was enough body in the brush to allow washes as well. A slightly larger brush was used on the back and wing, panting carefully around all the white markings. The breast was washed over a few times being very subtle with the details and only using the lightest tones to define the edges of some of the feathers. Finally shaping and darkening the tip of the bill finished off this one. Size is 7.5" x 11", watercolor on Arches hot-pressed paper.

AUGUR BUZZARD STUDY, PART 1

 

I have been neglecting my blog for some time now but finally have some time to my own. I started a small study this week of a male Augur Buzzard as a way of getting back to painting - it had been quite some time since I held a watercolor brush in my hand! Not that I felt rusty or anything, just ready to start painting again. Usually I have no problem picking up where I had left off so I began this study as I usually do with a detailed drawing overlaid with watercolor washes. Augur Buzzards don't have a lot of color (apart from their reddish tails) unlike their close cousin, the Jackal Buzzard (we saw quite a few of those in South Africa), so I mainly used shades of grey with a little blue and yellow around the beak. Other details were dropped in here and there slowly building up the marking of this spectacular male. The eyes had a deep base color of burnt umber put down first then that was overlaid with black to darken and form the eyes properly.