EAGLE: BUILDING UP THE BACKGROUND

I put my easel up in my kitchen to work on this painting so that I could look at it occasionally with a critical eye. After a bit of thought, I decided to do the background a very solid color with no brush strokes or variations in color. I did this to showcase the busy-ness of the brushstrokes that will come later with the feathers. I did the background at this time to paint the eagle in front of it, instead of painting the background around the eagle. Doing the background last tends to make the painting look like a paint-by-number. Painting a solid background may look easy, but it wasn't! You never mix quite enough of the paint, and have to try to match it, and the acrylic dries so fast that the brushstrokes make little STICKY marks in the paint you are trying to blend into. Of course, I couldn't do it the easy way and add a retardent to the paint, allowing it to dry slower! As hubby always is saying, "You always choose the hardest path!" He let me know that I chose the most difficult angle to have the eagle's head, as well. He was right, of course. But it was just so effective this way! I took a lot of pictures of eagles to get this particular regal look. (Another good source for your sketches and paintings is the raptor rescue programs in your area. We have a great one here, and this eagle had broken it's wing. They named him Abe.)                                               MY PHOTO OF ABE, A RESCUED RAPTOR