mama mallard

From one subject to two subject rabbits then ten cute ducks!

My process in painting is the same as before, starting with penciling in all the guidelines. this way would make me think and worry less about the placement of the subjects when i'm applying paint. i prefer to concentrate on what color to mix for my subject. and as always i begin with painting the main subject, mother duck. i wanted her feathers to look slightly coarse so i struggled a little while painting her feathers.

the duckling on the right was my test subject on which colors i would be using. after a series of trial and errors i found what colors best suit in the painting. after this the rest of the ducklings was easy to paint.

after the ducklings, i immediately started painting the reflection so that the leftover paint from the ducks can still be used before they dry up on my glass palette.

i painted on a yellow green wash all over the background to unify the colors.

painting the water ripples starting from the upper right to left was harder than i thought. i was going fo a slightly blurred background then a much sharper foreground and was having a hard time translating this idea into the canvas.

the next step was to define the details and adjust the color values.

end result. yay!

mandarin duck

the first time i saw a mandarin duck was on a duck species book my reaction was "is that for real?". it really looked like a cartoon and since then it was my favorite species of duck. it comes in different colors too. when i saw the announcement of an art gallery looking for visual artists to participate in a 12x12 canvas art show. i decided that this was my opportunity to oil paint my favorite duck.



the adult male is a striking and unmistakable it has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". the breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange "sails" at the back. meanwhile, the female is similar to female wood duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill.