Pigeon Portrait

Capturing the profile, iridescence and plumage of the pigeon was the goal of our first project of the semester!

We began this project with preliminary sketches, then transferred those drawings onto vintage sheet music 

and then filled it with a thin white base coat to soften the musical notes that we were painting on. 

 

Next we used acrylic to put down a bright base coat and then we added layers of darker paint over it, leaving just a bit of the bright underpainting to create the illusion of iridescence. 

96 birds fledged the nest (left the studio) this week and each one was unique! Some flew away so fast I failed to get photos of them. A big thanks to Monique for suppling the vintage music sheets and for Annie letting her King Pigeon Stefani be our live model in the studio!