![bird, acrylic, painting](https://www.calendarbynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Owl-September-sm-150x150.jpg)
Advanced Level: consult professional colour list and procedures or change it up.
Beginners: follow outline provided using any available water colour pucks, liquid paint at school, acrylic house paint or pencil crayons. You are sure to have fun but keep in mind that the results will be dependent on the quality of the materials.
This magnificent bird has a wingspan of 1 to 1.5 metres. It is amazing how it can fly through the branches of a dense forest gracefully and not hit a tree. Early naturalists called him the ‘Winged Tiger”. The distinctive ‘horns’ are really feathers behind his ears that flare up when he is startled. More information can be found at the National Audubon Society.
My version of the great horned owl has been painted with acrylic paint. Students can paint this picture with the liquid paint supplied at school or pencil crayons. With paint, the challenge is to keep brushes clean between applying colours/pigment so that they do not get ‘muddy’. The quality of the materials greatly influences your results. Professional artists can use higher grade acrylics if they prefer. You will find an outline of the bird at the end of this lesson which may be used to assist with painting the great horned owl.
Materials
Paper: Canvas 11” x 17´available at local art stores or board painted with gesso depending on resources.
Brushes: Small (003) and medium (2 and 4) rounds or brights.
Colours: Prepare your own colour chart experimenting with whatever colours are available to you. Students use a variety of brown tones to paint the bird. Some whites could be warmed up with yellows or red. Greys are also shown by adding black to white paint. The background has been sponged with varying depths of greens to indicate distance behind the owl. I recommend an excellent website, Paint with Watercolors as a good reference for colour mixing and techniques.
Professionals: I have included my colour chart and listed the colours I used Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Titanium White with a touch of Burnt Sienna for the body of the owl. The eyes were painted Cadmium Yellow and Quin Gold as well as a black. The background is sponged on using a variety of greens, mainly Olive green, French Ultramarine Blue and Quin Gold.
Paint Supplies:
Raw Umber, Brown Madder,
Quin Gold & Cadmium Yellow
Burnt Sienna, Mars Black
Olive Green
TitaniumWhite
French Ultramarine Blue
![bird, acrylic, painting](https://www.calendarbynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/owl-colour-chart-265x300.jpg)
Procedure
1. Sketch your bird on the canvas by using a grid for guidance or use the outline provided with a sheet of carbon paper beneath it to complete the transfer from paper to canvas. Carbon transfer paper is available at art supply stores, or if using student grade art paper – tape the paper to a window and place the outline found at the end of this lesson on top (with more tape) and use the outline as a guide to trace.
2. Paint the bird first working from the top to the bottom of the page. Avoid putting wet paint adjacent to another colour of wet paint or it will bleed. Use light grey to tint the white feathers slightly. Be sure to distinguish between primary flight feathers and smaller secondary feathers. Always lay brush strokes in the direction of the feathers. Be sure to leave a white highlight for the life light in the bird’s eye. Note that with the bird’s feet the talons assist with gripping branches, only some of them will be visible.
3. For the tree, I painted a three dimensional shape by highlighting the middle of the tree and shading the sides. Texture was created by using my brush on its side to apply the paint. Shadows were added by shaping with grey.
4. In the background I created some distance between the owl and the distant trees by providing more detail in the closer areas and sponging foliage in lighter shades of green/blue in the background.
5. For Students and Professionals alike I highly recommend creating a colour chart as a guide. This will make you much more confident in creating a creative and more accurate rendering.
![bird, acrylic, painting](https://www.calendarbynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Owl-September-806x1024.jpg)