Lovely Weather ...for Ducks!

The weather here in Devon ( in fact all over the UK) has been incredibly wet , especially for June. Today , at last, the sun has made an appearance, which is great as we are heading to  our beloved Cornwall for a few days , but I know lots of you , like me are a bit fed up with all the rain, so much for 'Flaming June'

Given the rainy weather, I have found myself wanting to paint ducks and here is another version of a white duck for you to have a go at painting. 

Firstly I find a photo to work from, pixabay are very useful for reference photos, as well as taking your own or asking friends .

 

 

As you can see, I forgot to take just the sketch,but began painting the foot. I think the feet and beak are the most important parts of this duck, so they will have the most detail. I begin by painting the foot all in Indian yellow. 

 

I don't wait until it is dry to apply the next colours , but I do want some of the yellow to shine through

 

Add definition with darker reds and even a touch of brown, you want to make the most of those webbed feet. Now repeat with the other foot.

 

 

Similarly I want to make a feature of the beak. I am using the same colours as the feet , except I use the white of the paper to create the shine down the middle, can you see? I have also used a very dark dark for the nostril. Probably a mixture of sepia and indigo 

I also paint in the eye. 

 

Now for the scary part

 

Wet the body of the duck , be generous with the water, well after all it is a duck !

 

I hope this photo shows you how wet it is. I am now dropping in some yellow ochre, 

and now some cerulean blue, looking where the darks are on the body 

 

and finally some shadows with a mixture of cobalt blue and cadmium red . I t may seem too dark for you and if you want to keep it lighter then do, but remember watercolour always dries lighter ,

Finally I added some spots and splashes especially behind the duck so the viewer can see where the white duck ends and the background begins. 

I am so glad the rain has stopped but I will always love ducks x