Duck Stamp 2007

I finally began painting a few weeks ago, even though I'd had my duck stamp composition planned for a long time. I'm using a gesso-primed masonite panel for this painting of a Bufflehead at sunrise/set (can't decide which). The airbrushing was fun. When I first began layering it looked pretty bad, because the two complimentary colors I used (blue and orange) blend to make a kind of brown. That was fixed by using magenta in the center of the gradient and gave me exactly the background I wanted.


The next step was to lay in the basic colors--just white and black this time--so I had a solid base over which I could easily add detail later. Acrylic paint is usually opaque, but I had to thin the white with water to make it more workable, thus increasing the number of layers. Eventually I built up enough paint to cover the background colors.


The black was easier. At this point I'm not quite sure about the bill proportions--it may be a little bit to long and narrow. This is where I'm at right now. And just so you know, I'm going to be adding ripples and waves to the water--I just haven't gotten there yet.


Here's my makeshift 'studio,' just my messy desk and a collapsible table. But it's really all I need.