I painted a dodo a while back, which is going to a new home as soon as the lockdown finishes. But then my sister piped up that she really liked it and could I do another. I’ve filmed the whole process, so if you hop over to YouTube you can see it in two parts:
preparation and painting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pco-mU5c61E&t=21s
applying the gold leaf: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gCCReYoLE&t=44s
First I prepared the panel, with a collaged background and modelling paste on its head and wing, with crackle paste on its feet. I then painted on three layers of watercolour ground:
Then I painted the bird using Indian ink and watercolour:
next I used gold size (tinted blue) to cover the background and once dry applied the gold leaf.
finally I popped it in a vintage frame, after sealing it with a spray metal lacquer.
hope you like it!
