This afternoon I participated in a live-virtual watercolour painting workshop hosted by the Cornell Ornithology Lab. This was very interesting to me, as I’ve been painting birds on my own for a while now. It was great to get some guidance from a professional natural science illustrator. Liz Clayton Fuller walked us through a painting of the ever-present American robin, a bird I see on a daily basis, while we all painted along.
Each participant had to draw our own sketch, from the photo provided in advance, before the workshop began. This was meant to allow Liz to start with the painting right away, rather than waiting until everyone had drawn their robin onto their watercolour paper. Unfortunately for me, the first hour of the two-hour event was devoted to an introduction to watercolour paints… something geared more towards beginners with this medium.
The second hour, which we spent actually painting the robin, was a lot of fun. Rather than describe workshop in detail, I thought it would be fun to show you the progression of my little robin in four photos, from drawing to finished painting. In two of these images you’ll see the photo provided by the Cornell Ornithology Lab.
One cool feature of using watercolour paints is that you have to avoid painting the white portions of your composition. For example, the whites around the eyes of the robin, and under his tail feathers. There is a background on my finished painting, but it’s very pale, as in the photo.
Drawing by Sandra Woods, from a Cornell Ornithology Lab photo 
Partial watercolour painting by Sandra Woods, from a Cornell Ornithology Lab photo 
Unfinished watercolour painting by Sandra Woods, from a Cornell Ornithology Lab photo 
Watercolour painting by Sandra Woods, from a Cornell Ornithology Lab photo
As always, thanks so much for stopping by! Feel free to drop a comment over on Instagram or Twitter – I love to hear from you ‘-) Stay safe, and keep well…
Reference
(1) Watercolor Basics for Birds: A Painting Workshop with Liz Clayton Fuller. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Eventbrite virtual event webpage. Accessed 19 Sep 2021. Online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/watercolor-basics-for-birds-a-painting-workshop-with-liz-clayton-fuller-tickets-160613735005#