Acrylic Painting: A Bird's Nest

1. Introduction: Hi there. Welcome to my acrylic painting series, where in this class, I'll demonstrate how to paint a bird's nest step by step using reference photos. I'm Bridget Miller. I'm a decorative painter, and I've been in the trade for over 30 years. Now I'm sharing what I've learned here on skill share to those who would like to learn more about this fantastic medium. Acrylics are a water based medium that adhere to almost any surface. They're relatively inexpensive, and in my opinion, they're the best medium to start out with as a beginner painter. There are so many wonderful subjects you can paint for a myriad of projects. And in this series, I'll show you the ins and outs of painting with acrylics, one project at a time, so you can start your journey and hone your skills as a beginner painter with regular practice. Each class will be a painting study of one subject. The painting you create in class is your assignment or class project, and I'll ask you to submit it to the student gallery for evaluation or just for your own record of achievement. Each study in this series will go over my process, color mixing, various painting techniques, and all the tips and tricks that I've learned over the years. We'll complete a study in each class as a class project. So you'll learn hands on and build your skills, as well as create a body of work. The more you paint, the more you grow and develop as an artist, with a style and look all your own. If you feel like you'd like to learn more of the basics before diving into this practice study series, I recommend taking my introduction to acrylics and the painting process glass. You can click on that link under the A section or go to my profile page and find it there. If I've piqued your interest into learning this versatile medium with me, meet me in the next lesson, and I'll give you more details on the class project. 2. Class Project: The best way to learn is by doing. And each of my classes here on Skillshare, we'll have a class project, and I would encourage you to paint each one, and you'll soon see progress, which will in turn spur you on to continue learning even more about painting. I've noticed with my in person students that painting consistently seems to have better results sooner than those that are sporadic. So, for the class project, follow along and paint alongside me virtually as I paint this study step by step. When you're finished, take a photo and upload it to the project gallery found under the Projects and Resources tab below this video. Once uploaded, everyone will be able to view your work, and you will be inspired and encouraged by the feedback as you continue on in your painting journey each and every time you take a class. If you have any questions for me, please ask in the comments area of the projects gallery. Or in the discussions area. And I'll get back to you straightaway as I check my correspondence daily. Each project you complete will help you build your skills as an acrylic painter, and uploading them to the gallery will also help you see your progress over time. I am thrilled to have you here and excited to get you started in painting with acrylics. So without further ado, meet me in the next section, where I'll go over the materials you'll need for the class project. See you there. 3. Materials: For your course project, you'll need to gather up some materials before getting started. To save time, I created a materials checklist for you, and you can download it from the Projects and Resources tab under the video of this class, and then you're welcome to skip this section if you like. To complete the class project, you'll need a surface to paint on. I'll be using a nine by 12 pre primed Canvas board. I bought at Michael's crafts. You could also use a stretch Canvas, if you like. You'll also need some acrylic paint. Any heavy bodied acrylic paints usually found in tubes will work for this class. I like Liquitex, Grumbacher, Windsor Newton, and golden brands. If you want to use exactly what I'm using for this class, I'll be using the Liquitex professional mixing set in red, blue, yellow, and white. I won't be using the green or black as I'll be demonstrating how to mix green and black in the class. As an option, you may use turquoise blue. However, it won't be absolutely necessary as we'll be mixing all of our colors from the three primary colors, red, blue and yellow. For brushes and tools, you'll need 13 quarter inch flat brush, one number three round brush, a number four round brush, and a number three liner brush. All the brushes are made for acrylic paint and have synthetic bristles. You'll also need a toothbrush, a palette knife, number two pencil, and a chalk pencil, or just sidewalk chalk. In addition, you'll need a palette. I'll be using paper plates. It'll also be a good idea to have several on hand as I also use these to practice my techniques before painting on my project. Some additional supplies are a container for water for rinsing your brushes. I like using this nifty container with two sides because I wash my brushes out on one side, and the other side, I keep the water clean. So if I need to add water to my paint, I won't be using dirty water. I also use a spray bottle to sprint my palette with water to prevent my acrylics from drying out while I'm painting my project. I also use paper towels or a cloth to white messes, block my brushes, et cetera, a hair dryer to speed the drawing time between steps. And lastly, a ruler to steady my hand while signing my work. Once you've gathered all your materials and you're ready to go, meet me in the next lesson, and we'll go over the first step in the class project. See as soon. 4. Underpainting: For the first step, I paint my entire canvas with a mid tone color in this case, orange. Using a color that's not too dark or too light, a mid tone, will help me gauge my values, how light or dark a color is as I paint. I start with red and yellow and mix these together. You'll need a lot more yellow than you will red. Using the three quarter inch flat brush. I then paint the orange onto my canvas covering all the white. I don't worry about brushstrokes showing, but I do try to paint it thinner rather than heavy. That way, when I do paint subsequent layers, I won't have to paint on something that's highly textured. Another reason to paint my entire canvas at the start is to cover the white of the gesso on the blank canvas. This gets me off and running, and straightaway, I'll have no white that will show through by miss Spot at the finish. I chose orange for my underpainting in this particular piece, because if I choose to, I can let this color show in areas that do not get covered purposefully, allowing this color to peek through in some areas, to give my painting more dimension and color cohesiveness throughout the finished piece. Orange will balance the cool greens of the foliage and the little turquoise eggs. Sometimes I let a lot of it show through and sometimes not so much, depending on the mood I'm in and the look I want. If my subject is predominantly cool colors, I usually choose a warm color for my underpainting or a complimentary color, which is opposite of the main color. Using a color wheel, if I'm painting an ocean scene with a lot of cool blues in the water in the sky, I would choose an orange red or pink for my underpainting. Conversely, if I'm painting yellow and orange sunflowers, a great underpainting color or hue would be a blue or blue green. Once you've completely covered the canvas, dry it thoroughly and meet me in the next section to paint the next step. The background. See. 5. Background: In the last lesson, we underpainted, and now that is dry. Now for this next step, go ahead and load your pallet with the three primary colors, yellow, red, and blue. Using your three quarter inch flat brush, mix these colors together to create a brown. Remember that the darker the value, how light or dark the color is, the less you'll need to change the hue or color. In this case, I'm going to use more yellow than red and blue. Start with small amounts until you see the color that you want appear. You can always add more. But if you make too much, it'll go to waste. I want a very dark background to mimic the rests areas and the shadows in the trees where the nest will be painted. This will make the background appear farther away, making the nest stand out and appear closer to the viewer. After I mix my brown, I then add it to the canvas in the same manner as the underpainting. I like painterly brush strokes and uneven color, so I don't spend time blending on the canvas very much. If you like a more blended, softer look, while it's still wet, just continue to brush the paint over the surface until you don't see obvious paint strokes. Adding a little water onto your brush as you go can help with this. While I'm painting, I'm also deciding how much of the under painting I'd like to see. I'll leave that up to you. A I like to paint the edges, too. I feel it gives the painting a more finished look at the end. Like the last step, I'm keeping this layer fairly smooth as I don't want too much texture to work around in my next steps. It doesn't look great at this stage. But keep on going and we'll get there. Just trust the process. It'll look good in the end. Now make sure your canvas is completely dry before we move on to the next step, which is the greenery and branches. See you soon. 6. Greenery & Branches: I can In this step, we'll be painting the greenery and laying in the branches. So we'll need all four colors added to our palettes. Using a chalk pencil or sidewalk chalk, I loosely sketch where I'd like my branches. I refer to my reference photos to keep my painting accurate to the subject matter, not to create an exact replica of the photo. I use a grid to place my nest and eggs, which are the focal point of my painting or the most interesting spot compositionally. If I break up my canvas into thirds horizontally and vertically, anywhere the lines intersect is a good point to place my focal point, which is where I want the viewer to zero in on. This is called the rule of thirds. The branches in this composition lead the viewer's eye to the eggs in the nest. This is a much more interesting composition than having the nest right smack dab in the middle of the painting. For the next part, we'll make a dark green by mixing blue and yellow together. Using your three quarter inch flat brush, paint in loosely the areas in between the branches and in the center of the nest. This dark green is the base of our foliage that we'll refine later. So I'll start with the darkest color. In my process, I'm almost always start with the dark and move up to the lighter values in the subsequent layers. I vary my green as I go, adding more maybe red or blue to make it darker. I just think this adds a lot of interest and texture to my artwork. So do what works for you. This just resonates with me, so I do this. In the bottom of the nest, I definitely want it to be the darkest spot, so I'll add a lot more blue and red to get almost almost a violet color. I'm also turning my flat brush on its edge and going around the nest a little bit to add some dark recessed values to the nest as well. I'm making sure not to cover up the layers in step one and two. For the branches, I mix a very dark brown using all three primary colors, red, blue, and yellow. And using the edge of my three quarter inch flat brush, I glide my brush along the right side of my sketched branch lines. Then I lighten that mix with white and a little red and a little yellow until I see a lighter value of my earlier brown mixture. And then I add that next to my last strokes. To make any object appear three D on a flat surface, you need at least three value changes, dark, medium, and light. Now, for my lightest value, I'll add more white and yellow and a little red to the last mixture, making it a little lighter in value than the last mixture, and then I'll add that along the right side of each previous stroke. This will give my branches that three D appearance that I need to make them look real. For more texture on the branches, I dip into the medium brown mixture and add thinner, shorter strokes to appear like a real branch. Here I'm adding a little more orange, yellowy, brown. I'm just going to add several different browns to make my branch look more realistic to me. I'll also use that color to lay in just a couple more smaller branches. A lot of these might be covered, but in between the foliage, you'll be able to see these and see that there's just a lot of branches on this tree. You can leave them just like this or dip into a lighter color and highlight them like when we did the larger branches. Okay, this completes the greenery and branches. Meet me in the next section for the foliage. See it there. 7. Foliage: For this step, it's a good idea to observe a real example of the foliage you'll be using to be as accurate as possible. I clip this from one of my trees in the back yard, and I'll use this and my copyright free photos to refer to as I'm painting. Feel free to make your foliage what you'd like it to be maybe from what you see around you. To begin this step, you'll need to have all your colors, red, blue, yellow, and white on your palette. You'll need to mix yellow and blue to make a dark green to start. If your green is a little too bright, add a dot of red, and that will tone it down. Now, if you've never painted evergreen foliage before, grab a paper plate or a spare canvas and practice your brush technique first. I start by using a three quarter inch flat brush and using it on its edge, I just start with a line. Then I make short strokes from the middle out or from the outside in diagonally towards this initial line. And then the overall shape, I taper slightly. You can also use a palette knife, if you prefer, load a beat of paint onto your tool, and apply it to the surface in a line by running it along its edge. Then tap and pull out or scrape from the outer edge to the inside to make the needles. Practice either or both techniques until you're satisfied with your foliage then add it to your project. I placed the foliage on my painting in the direction that it would be growing from the branch, careful not to completely cover my previous layers. After I make some of the foliage with the dark green, I add yellow and a little white to lighten the dark green mixture and add some more foliage in other areas or to highlight previous strokes. Just like with the branches, I want it to look three dimensional, so I'm using three different values of green, light, medium and dark. Also place some of the foliage over my branches to increase the three D effect. For added interest, I use both techniques using the three quarter inch brush and the palette knife. I especially like the impasto techniques that I get when I use a palette knife. Overall, I'm really just wanting the general idea of evergreen foliage. Not an exact photo realistic version. If you feel like you've covered too many of your darks, go ahead and dip into blue or blue and red mixture to make a violet, and just add that in here and there where you think it needs to be more recessed or shaded. As you add lighter and lighter values of green, you'll see how the contrast increases the three dimensional effect. This is absolutely essential for realistic painting. After you've added as much foliage as you'd like, meet me in the next lesson, and we'll paint the nest. See over there. 8. The Nest: In this step, we'll use the number three round to start and then switch to a number three liner brush for highlights. We'll use the primaries to mix a dark brown first and then use this color to refine the shape of the nest and establish the dark values. Next, I'll lighten that color mixture with a little white, yellow, and red until I see a warmer, lighter brown. With n linear strokes following the circular shape of the nest, I'll add that color referring to my reference photo for accuracy. Here, if you need to, add dark brown to the middle of the nest to make it appear more recessed. Then, to your original brown mixture, add yellow and white to lighten its value, and add some more paint strokes, mimicking sticks and straw that birds use for their nests. For the paint strokes si look organic and natural, I paint with my brush perpendicular to the canvas, using the tip, and without a lot of pressure, I try to create ann circular pattern. Lighten once again and switch to your number three liner brush to achieve a thinner line. You may need more water to thin down your paint with this brush. To get a very uneven look, I wiggle my lines as I come around and make the strokes. I think that looks a lot more organic when I do that. My husband found this nest in our yard after a storm a while back, and he knows I like this sort of thing, so he saved it for me. I've had it in my studio for quite some time. So here again, painting is very, very helpful. Once you're satisfied with your nest, begin the next lesson where we paint in the vocal point, which is the eggs. See in the next lesson. 9. The Eggs: For this step, we'll need all the primaries and white on our palettes, and we'll use the number three brush to start. This year, my husband found this egg on our lawn while he was mowing, and he gave it to me. I'm not sure how it came to rest in the middle of the lawn, but there it was. It looks like a Robin's egg because it doesn't have speckles. It's a lot smaller than a chicken egg, and its shape is more pointed on one end. It's so beautiful, and it'll be the egg I refer to for color and shape in this final step. Using a chalk pencil, sketch a small circle on one side of the nest, then add a round triangular shape above it to mimic the shape of our reference egg. I'll make another one next to it. Feel free to make as many as you'd like. If you're making this for a Mother's Day gift, it would be a splendid idea to add an egg for each one of her children. That would be so sweet. To make the gorgeous turquoise blue color of the egg, you can mix white and a tiny bit of black turquoise blue paint, and you'll have it. However, you can also mix this color with your primaries and white. Let me show you how. First make a green with blue and yellow, and then add more blue to get it to lean more on the blue side. Then add white. If that color is not correct, adjust your color by adding tiny amounts of yellow if it needs to be greener or blue if it needs to be bluer. It takes practice to get it just right, so use small amounts and be patient with yourself and you'll get it. It's always a good idea to make a pencil sketch of the highlights and shadows in your subject, to help you paint accurately. If you don't feel like you're great at sketching, there's a lot of amazing classes here on Skelta that can help you build your sketching skills. I love Victoria Mico's sketching class. She's a great teacher. Observe your subject carefully and start your sketch with the basic shape, and then add the shading. Pay attention to where your light source is and how that changes the values in your subject. When you feel ready, using the number three bruh, fill in your sketch on your project with the turquoise color. To make the egg appear three dimensional, you'll have to use at least three values again, just like you did with the branches, where the right side was lighter, so you'll want to repeat that for the egg as well. When you need shadow at the left side, add blue, and when you need to lighten the egg to indicate where the light source is at the right side, use more white. Since this is my focal point, and I want it to appear closer to the view, I refine my object by blending the edges and adding a more detailed look. I do this by adding paint and then with a clean brush, I blend the edges until they're softer. If your edge gets a little wonky on you, add a little water to a clean brush, and before it's dry, bring up the paint by lifting it off with the brush or a paper towel. Here I'm creating a black mixture to add a little more shadow behind the eggs. This will prevent them from appearing like they're floating. I will also use this color to clean up the edges of the eggs, kind of like an eraser. I use a lot of blue and red to make a very dark purple, and then I add a little bit of yellow, and that turns it black. I call it my colorful black because it uses all three of the primaries. Now your project is finished. Dry it completely and then gently erase any chalk sketch marks by wiping with a moist cloth. In the next section, I'll give you a couple more ideas and techniques, and then I'll conclude the glass. See you there. 10. Details: In this section, I'd like to demonstrate a few other details and options, so you get the idea to make your project uniquely yours. The first technique I'd like to demonstrate is spattering. If you've ever taken any of my classes, you know I like to spatter. I feel it gives the piece a more organic look, and it's also fun to do, even though it can be messy. To start, make black with your three primaries, a lot of blue, half as much red, and a tiny amount of yellow. Then water it down a little and load a brush. I'll use the liner brush. Tapping on your hand, let the paint from the brush fling onto your canvas. Have a moist cloth handy to remove any unwanted dots or spatter. Another way to spatter, and this yields a finer spray, would be to use a tooth brush loaded with thinned paint. When you pull back the bristles aiming towards the painting, a fine mist of paint will splatter onto the surface. If you want speckled eggs, like red wing blackbird eggs, this would be a great technique to use for that. If you have a different type of evergreen like a cedar, you could add seeds or cones to your foliage. Just mix a yellow orange or a very bright green and add dots in clusters with the number three round brush. You could also use the palette knife and tap the paint on in a more impasto like manner. Maybe you'd like some of your foliage to stand out even more or just some to look more forward than the rest. You can achieve this by highlighting your greenery a little more. First, make a very, very light green by adding a lot of white and or yellow to the last green mixture that you used for your foliage. Then add this color to the foliage anywhere you wanted to appear closer to the viewer. Then increase the contrast by accentuating the shadows using your colorful black mixture. Anywhere that the foliage branches or nest would be casting a shadow, add this color. Consider adding any elements to your painting that make it uniquely yours. I've heard that some birds add string or yarn to their nests, and some people actually purposefully leave pet hair and natural material in their yards for birds to use. So here I'm going to add red yarn or ribbon to mine. You could also add a couple feathers or maybe some moss or lichen. Birds are very resourceful, and some species are more adept and creative at building nests than others. If you want to learn more about nests, the Cornell lab of ornithology has a nest Watch site with a lot of information and photos. You could even upload photos and research of your own to the site. To find that, you can go to nestwach do. Okay, that's the extras I have for you. Now, meet me in the next section, where I'll show you how to sign your work, and then I'll conclude. See you there. 11. Signing Your Work: For this step, make certain your artwork is completely dry. Then, using the number four round brush, load some thin paint onto the brush and with a ruler or mall stick, steady your hand while writing with the brush tip perpendicular to your surface. Have a moist cloth handy as this step may take a couple tries before you're satisfied. I usually choose a color that is in the artwork but lightened or muted, so it isn't the first thing that the viewer sees. Also, I sign using cursive, but you can do whatever touts your horn because every signature is unique to the artist that writes it. So make it yours. If you want to date it, that's okay, too. Claude Monet, the famous impressionist, added the year to his. I usually just put my first initial and last name. This is completely up to you. But whatever you decide, you should be consistent so that when you're famous and your work is hanging in the louv, your signature will easily identify who painted the masterpiece. If you want to give it another try, wipe it off immediately with a moist cloth and dry completely before giving it another go. Be patient with yourself. It takes practice, and the more you need to try again, the more practice you're getting. So it will eventually get easier. Some artists prefer to write their name with a paint pen. So definitely consider that if you're not getting the result you want with a brush. The downside to using a paint pen is that you're limited in your color choices. In a nutshell, when lettering with a brush, use the very tip and write the same way you do with a pen just with a lighter touch. If you apply pressure, you'll get a thicker line. Ease up, and your line will be thinner. If you need more guidance on hand lettering, there are some fantastic classes here on Skillshare that can help. Type hand lettering or brush lettering in the search bar to find those. Now that it's signed, we're completely finished. Next, I'll wrap up the class in the conclusion. See you there. Thank you. 12. Conclusion: Thanks for painting with Me today. I hope you learned a lot, and you feel energized to continue building your skills in painting with acrylics. In each class in this series, I'll go over my process, techniques, color mixes, and more tips and tricks that I've learned over the years as a decorative painter. So I'm hoping to see you again for some more practice soon. If you'd like feedback from me and others taking this class, be sure to upload a photo of your project to the project gallery. Just click the Projects and Resources tab below this video. And you'll see a blue Submit project box at the right. Once you click that, follow the prompts where you can upload your image, create a title and description, and then click the Green Publish button to submit it. Not only will you receive feedback, but you'll also be able to keep track of your projects and see your progress over time. It's a great way to learn and be inspired. So I hope you take advantage of this valuable resource that's included in your Skillshare membership. If you'd like updates every time I add a class or host a giveaway or create a challenge, you can follow me here on Skillshare by clicking the Green Follow button beside my name below this video. You can also tell me and others your thoughts about this class by leaving a review. This is super helpful, and I read everyone and consider this information very valuable. It helps me create the best learning experience for you that I can. So after you've finished all your lessons, I'd love to hear your thoughts. One more thing on my profile page, are links to YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, if you'd like to check out other stuff I've got going, and feel free to post a project and ask questions there too if you'd prefer. Thanks again for being here, and I hope we can paint together again soon. It's much more fun together. O