Every Christmas wife wife gets a new piece of art. This is a tradition that began our first Christmas as a married couple. At the end of 1996, I gave her a sketchbook in which I drew (pen & ink or color pencil) something every Christmas. This soon evolved into every major day of the year such as Valentine’s Day, her birthday in March, Christmas, etc.
This year, I painted this blue jay from a reference photo. My color palette included: Thalo Blue, Antwerp Blue, Payne’s Gray, Medium Yellow, Sap Green, Dioxizine Violet, and Burnt Sienna.
I began with a sketch using a grid for accuracy.
Next, I applied Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid to preserve the white paper in the bird and the branch.
Once, the Masking Fluid was dry, I painted in the background.
Once the watercolor was dry, I removed the Masking Fluid and moved on to painting the bird and the branch.
