This week I had the honour of receiving a request for a custom piece. It is both anxiety inducing and confidence building when someone asks me to make a specific piece for them. This isn't the first custom piece I have been asked to do, however, this piece was requested by the first person who ever bought a piece of my art work. This makes this project an extremely humbling one for me. Not only did this client see value in my beginning pieces of work but have asked me again to create a piece for them. I was really excited about the concept for this piece, a woodpecker. I have often avoided painting birds because of the detail of the feathers and the texture within them. Even though I was nervous about it I decided to jump in and go for it in the spirit of my new commitment to try new things and to not be afraid to fail. I began this piece with research about woodpeckers and did a lot of consulting with my client about the type of woodpecker they were wanting. We also discussed colour scheme and style. For this particular piece, the client wanted a black background with bright red and yellow as the main colours. It was also important to the client that the woodpecker looked as if they were on a tree and had plenty of texture in the feathers. We decided on a Pileated Woodpecker for the distinct markings. I kept the red colouring of this bird in place and then changed the other markings to fit the colour scheme the client was looking for. Once these elements had been discussed I began the sketching portion of the project. I made two sketches, keeping track of the colours I used for each part of the project. After creating the first sketch I checked in with the client to get their feedback. From here we discussed focusing more on the head of the woodpecker and changing the angle of the bird. Sketch number two begins with the new feedback. I zoomed in on the face and angled the head more on a diagonal. This was the result of the second sketch. I am glad I needed to to a second sketch because this one captures the woodpecker much better. After the client assured me this is what they were looking for I transferred my sketch onto a 12x12 canvas with my handy transfer paper and the painting progress began. I began with the background of black mixed with a hint of gold. I always have a hard time using plain black, mixing black with another colour always helps give depth and interest to the colour. After the background dried, I began with the main portion of the bird. Painting the solid colours first and then going back with a mix of colours to create the texture of the feathers with an angle brush.
The last things I did were the beak and the eye. After checking in with the client I added more texture to the feathers to make them pop off of the background and the piece was complete. The final step will be to seal the painting with a matte finish to protect the colour from fading or changing with time. I am so grateful that a friend trusted me with this project! Without them asking, I would never have been brave enough to try a bird! And bonus, my father-in-law, who is an avid birder, assured me that it definitely looks like a woodpecker! Feeling accomplished today!
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