A new art challenge has begun! This is a short seven days, with the theme of “liquid,” which to my mind cries out to be done all in watercolor for the medium. I have my seven reference photos picked out, cropped, and gridded … and all seven involve one or more flamingoes, which are wading shore birds so it was merely a matter of making sure they aren’t on dry land. I have been wanting to paint a flamingo for almost two years now, and have done sketches to get a feel for the bird’s lines. Now, it is time to paint some.
First up is a young bird, molting from the grey-purple chick down to the vibrant pink feathers of the adult flamingo. The wings change over before the head and neck, just like chickens. The brilliant rose pink is a perfect contrast to the blue-green I used for the water, with the distant shoreline a blurry combination of yellow ochre for sand, brown in the shadows, and three shades of green.
Flamingoes usually don’t come this far north, nor this far inland, in Florida, but down in the southern part of the peninsula they are believed to be starting to come back and be a part of the wildlife again. Personally, I love the thought of the American flamingo regaining its Florida native status.
The original is twelve by nine inches, sealed with wax to protect against humidity, and available to purchase through Daily PaintWorks. Prints – both smaller and larger – are available at my Pixels store. Tee shirts and accessories are available at my RedBubble subdomain.
