Woodland Animals

This week we painted our favorite North American critters in their beautiful woodland homes.

We have painted these watercolor birch tree scenes in the past, but this painting was much more complex because it is larger and involves freehand drawing, mixed media, and various watercolor masking techniques. 

The animal was first selected and sketched (using a photo resource) with graphite pencil. We then used masking tape to create our birch and/or aspen trees (like painting with tape!) while ensuring that at least a portion of the animal is hidden behind a tree. Then we completed the visible portion of the animal with colored pencil and/or crayon. 

Before painting, we also used Q-tips to add masking fluid, which would later become wildflowers. 

We then loosely filled in the watercolor scene, dabbing colorful paint right over the masked off areas. The animals resisted the watercolor, but we were still able to paint over them as well with watercolor that matched the animal's fur. This filled in any white areas while leaving the furry textures visible. 

I think the best part is removing the masking material from the dried painting to reveal sections of clean white paper.  This invites the artist to add birch tree shadows and markings to create shape and volume, as well as the colorful wildflowers. Further details are then added such as branches, grasses, and foliage into the upper trees.  

This 11" x 15" painting project takes about three hours to complete. 

The first three paintings were created by young artists ages 8-12.  The bottom three paintings are adult samples.