Nest Painting

I originally started this nest painting using dark green paper and only ink. This didn’t work out the way I wanted to because I had made that painting entirely using a small stick as my brush. The stick made too small of lines with not enough gradient of values. So, I started over completely. I chose another green paper and this time started with a sponge brush that I used to apply the ink. The brush made it much easier to get bigger lines and more shadows. I was immediately more satisfied with my painting. Once I got the basic shape of the nest down and added some shadows to the bottom, I moved on to using chalk and oil pastels to add pops of yellow and orange, then used a charcoal pencil to add white to the nest to highlight where the lights hit the most. Paige gave me the idea to add blue pastels to the nest also, so I used it as a pop of color to draw in the eye. Overall, I’m happy with this painting and it was lots of fun to make, but I wish I could’ve used perspective more to show the 3D shape of the nest, this also could’ve been fixed by looking at the nest from a different angle. The practicing did help me learn how to get down the basic shapes, and as much as I disliked having to do those nests over and over, it was helpful to my finished product. I think adding the color with the orange, yellow, and blue pastels was the smartest choice for this project because it gave the nest more dimension and interest. It also helps to show the soft bird feathers that were in my actual nest. Overall, I enjoyed this project and I’m glad this is what we started our year with.