Shiny Designs has moved!
Come on over to the new site and see what's new.
Shiny Designs...on the Brighter Side of Life.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Western Red Tailed Hawk Drawing - Colored Pencil on Dark Paper

I enjoyed drawing the hawk in the earlier post so much, I thought I'd try again. Here's a 5 x 7 Western Red Tailed Hawk drawn on Mi Tientes paper with Prismacolor pencils. Again I used a minimal palette of Indigo Blue, Dark Umber, Light Umber, Goldenrod, White and a touch of Black. I don't know the color name of the paper, but it is very dark and cool toned.

In hindsight, I would have done this differently. This color is incredibly hard to see to draw! My initial sketch lines - which are usually very light as is my habit - were nearly invisible. Also, the colors I chose harmonize well with the subject and the paper, but seem to lack sparkle.

There's some of this paper left and next time, I'll try a white bird for that lift it seems to need. Either way, I'm still pleased with how the hawk turned out, especially the expression, and it was really fun to do.

I'm still experimenting with watercolor toned grounds, but it looks like an art supply order for more colored paper is in the making!

9 comments:

Margaret Ann said...

A beautiful gentle capture of this
wonderful creature! :)

Anonymous said...

He is so lovely. Can't wait to see more..Leigh

Ann said...

This is really nice. The colored paper really lends to the mood of elegance with the bird of prey.

kazumiwannabe said...

Oh, nice! As usual the eye is perfect, and make the bird look alive! There's a Butterfly award for you on my blog, if you feel like picking it up!

Anonymous said...

This is a great drawing. I really like the darker paper and the way the colors seem to rise out of it - at least that's what I see via the digital version. It is very peaceful and reveals the elegance of this fine bird.

(I'm a new member of EDM and a "still teaching" Middle School teacher of 22 years. )

Timaree said...

I love the bird. I think the only problem is that all the "interest" is in the upper left hand corner. If you put your hand over the right side of the paper to "crop" it you'll see a great picture as now the interest fills the main area. I love the colors you chose for the paper you used and you did a great job on the bird.

Monette Satterfield said...

freebird, you are so correct! There is a compositional flaw in this. It came about as a result of changing plans in the middle of the piece.

Shows the importance of proper planning :)

or better cropping!

Anonymous said...

That's lovely - I do like pictures on tinted paper that use both darker and lighter tones, it gives them a real sense of space, especially when you let the paper colour show through. It plays some great tricks on the eye. Really beautifully done.

MD said...

fabulous drawings of hawks...utterly gorgeous.
MD