Ready For Christmas

Ready For Christmas
Watercolour on Paper
8cm x 11.5cm (3.25" x 4.5")


I know it’s a bit early for Christmas, but yesterday was the November Painting Day of the Shelford Group of Artists and Tony Slater’s topic for the day was Small Pictures for Christmas Cards/Presents.

Tony painted a sprig of holly in an attractive loose style and then offered the group advice on their paintings.

My subject for the day was this well-fed robin. One of my goals was to give an indication of feathers, without getting drawn into painting details with a fine brush. Before I started painting, I made some marks with a clear wax crayon in the direction of the feathers. The paint cannot stick to the wax and I hoped the textured wash would read as feathers. I made some more prominent wax marks on the background to represent plant stems, but perhaps they look more like falling snow.

After the paint was dry, my final touch was to add some Winsor and Newton Iridescent Medium to the snow and white plumage. Its effect is a more subtle version of the beloved classroom glue and glitter technique. Unfortunately, the effect is so subtle it doesn’t show up in the photo.

I will wish you a Happy Christmas, but lets leave it for a month.