Painting a Red Tailed Hawk
Bird Watercolor Class on ZOOM: Tuesdays 4:00-5:30pm
9/21/2021 Red Tailed Hawk
I see Red Tailed Hawks quite often up in the NW hills of Portland, Oregon. They soar high in the sky, usually in pairs, screeching their high pitch voice above the treetops in search of a mole or a rabbit. They are easily distinguishable with their bright burnt orange tail glowing in the reflection of the sun.
The idea of painting this magnificent creature was a little intimidating. Unlike the smaller songbirds and omnivores we see in our daily life, this raptor has quite the strong presence when spotted on high branches of pine trees. This in itself can bring on a feeling of awe as we enter an unfamiliar territory. With great bravery we are faced with the intricate patterns of feathers and strong contrast of neutral colors, with a glow of burnt sienna and transparent pyrrole orange.
I started this painting by tracing a photo of the bird blown up big so it would almost fill the space on my 12x16” Arches watercolor paper. There is no need to trace every single marking on the bird, just the larger shapes.
To paint the background, I wet the entire area around the bird with water and started dropping in a rich blend of green gold, shadow green, transparent pyrrole orange, and bunt Sienna. The shadow green is a tube from Holbein that is a very dark rich green. You can make something similar just by mixing pthalo green and transparent orange. Working quickly is important for making a smooth, gradient wash. Because the paper is wet, it will dilute the color. So make sure you have your brush loaded with saturated color to get a rich, strong color on the paper.
To get the lighter shades of orange and burnt Sienna on the feathers, I did a quick wash of light color around the bird. And also added the orange to the tail. I know that I can apply darker color over the light, so I started with the lightest lights. Make sure your back ground is dry to start painting the bird.
The color I used on the dark feathers is a mixture of Van Dyke Brown, French Ultramarine Blue, raw umber. To get a dark dark brown, you can mix a dark blue like ultramarine blue with raw umber, instead of van dyke brown. Notice where the darkest darks are on the back of this bird… the lower part of the wing and the hour glass shape at the back of the neck.
I painting the feathers in about three different rounds. My final painting got a little bit too dark and I lost a lot of the lighter shades of warm colors underweight, but this happens sometimes.
I need to paint this bird a few more times to understand the intricacies of feather patterns, with out getting so caught up in the details. I alway try and think of implying a pattern, or to suggest the markings without painting all of them. This is always a challenge!!
Life is hard and we have to work for good results. This applies to many aspects of life, exercise, study and also painting. There will be failures, but with failure there is wisdom. This is how we learn!