Monday, January 30, 2012

Your Guide to Stress Free Oil Painting

Art by Delilah

How I did this painting:




I like to start with a tinted canvas because I do some scrumbling in my painting so it's nice to have an interesting color in the under painting.
Scumbling / Glazing is a method of applying very thin layers to the painting. It is effective for very smooth gradations, and also for adjusting dried layers. It can be used to great advantage to manipulate the reflective or absorptive light qualities inherent in pigments.Scumbling and Glazing are transparent painting techniques.


I draw a lose sketch of my main objects and shapes.


I add color to the backgroud and the dark shadows.

The nice thing about oils is that you build the color from darks to lights and if something doesn't work out just scrape it off and continue.

I keep working on the bird. I want to develop it nice round shape.

I start adding the feather to the at little bird. There is  a lot of value to painting the same subject in many different ways. You start to think what it is about the subject that you really like.Why is it that you paint this.


I add the high lights to the eye of the bird. I use a paper clip that I have stighten and put a big dot of paint on the tip and just touch the eye of the bird. I find it easier to use a paper clip then a brush when I need just a touch of color.

As I finish up I add a loose feather in the foreground. I add a few seeds and a string for the little bird to build a nest with.

The finished painting has been done with just a few colors and I kept it very simple for nice stress free painting.

Nest Builder
Nest Builder, painting by Delilah Smith
About This Painting:
Nest Builder
7x5
oil painting on canvas mounted on a museum quality panel
Media: oil painting
Size: 5 in X 7 in (12.7 cm X 17.8 cm)
Price: $100 USD
How to Purchase:

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $100 USD plus $10 USD s/h






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All images are © 2004-2011 Delilah Smith, Art by Delilah

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