I’m still trying to perfect an out of focus background known as bokeh effect like you get with a camera. This time I thought I would try it by saturating the paper and letting the paint bleed as much as possible.

Because I didn’t want the blue background paint leaching into the bird I added masking fluid. I wouldn’t get a nice pale yellow if I was trying to paint over blue sky as it would mix and create a green, so I needed a white base.

The masking fluid is a latex and just lifts off once dry but repels paint washes very well.

The background dried very quickly and I would have preferred it a little darker. I always forget it dries lighter once it soaks into the paper.

Time to start working on the burnt bark charcoal which can have quite an interesting colour range..

I started painting the dead unburnt tree using layers of grey and raw sienna. As my brush was drying out I noticed how differently the paint was behaving on the paper.

This was creating a smudged rough look as the paint was dragged across the paper grain.

I think I accidentally discovered a new technique to paint wood grain using an almost dry brush.

Where the paint created its own grooves in the paper I made theses into cracks in the tree stump.

lots of layers of very light paint and slowly adding a little colour of blues and more browns created a realistic look. I used a larger flat brush to rub across the dry gouache then I transferred this to the paper.

Close up of the bark with all the knots in the wood grain.

Last thing I painted was the pale faced rosella, unfortunately I just got stuck into it in one sitting without taking any progress shots.

I also like how the birds yellow head and blue body is a mirror image of the blue sky and yellow dry grass.

Finished artwork framed and ready for my exhibition in September – October 2022.