In Living Color 23 - Floating Pelicans

Once again I'm doing another painting of water, lots of water.  Therese brought in a new drawing of floating pelicans which looked intriguing so I gave it a try.  In order to paint the water and not have to work around the pelicans and disrupt the flow, I had to paint over the birds with masking.  Most of the masking could be applied with a brush but the small feathers at the back of the head were done using a paper clip.  I also placed a few areas of masking in the water around the birds for the light reflection off of the birds. The water was painted using several layers and shades of blues starting with the lightest and working up to the darkest using random strokes.  Next I removed all the masking and started adding color to form the feathers by painting the negative space around them and adding shading where needed.  Then on to the beaks and eyes to complete the painting.

Floating Pelicans
Watercolor
14"X22"