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In recent days, a flock of eight Wild Turkeys has been visiting our backyard to glean underneath the bird feeders. These big birds are fun to watch! I even captured a short video as several took turns jumping to snatch low-hanging crabapples (watch below)!

Of course, I had to paint them! Here are some thoughts about my process in creating Early Birds:

Step One.
Once I had a careful drawing in place, I "mapped out" my darks, using my black mixture of Pthalo Blue and Perylene Maroon, occasionally dropping in Scarlet Lake or Ultramarine Blue for interest.

Step Two.
I began adding some warm tones in the sunlit areas of the birds. I decided to put color in the background at this point, though I didn't really have a plan. I didn't want to be stuck with "perfectly painted birds" and no idea of how to handle the background!

Step Three.
Once the first layer was completely dry, it was safe to glaze over the shadow areas on the turkeys. I used juicy mixtures of Ultramarine Blue, Mineral Violet, Scarlet Lake and Burnt Sienna, allowing the colors to mix on the paper.

Using the colors already in my mixing wells, I created a dull green to darken and neutralize select areas around the birds.

Step Four.
I finished the feathers on the bird on the right, did some lifting and tweaking to create form on the bodies of all three turkeys, then suggested leaves below the birds' feet.

I thought I was finished (I even signed it), but the next day I decided that the bottom right hand corner needed more attention to create an entryway into the picture. Final painting below and at top of page.

I hope you found this little step-by-step tutorial to be helpful!

Paint. Love. Repeat.