Winter Owl by Carmen D Castellano

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From Carmen D. Castellano

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Winter Owl by Carmen D. Castellano

Opaque colors chart

Title and Medium

Winter Owl. Acrylics on canvas 16" x 20"

Paints used: ivory black, titanium white, burnt sienna and yellow ochre.

Artist's Statement

I love owls, specially the white ones and I want to paint owls for long time. When I read about the January project, I decided to paint a winter owl. I used the yellow ochre for the sun rays reflecting in the snow because I want that the painting reflects a peaceful winter sunset.

For the owl, I used titanium white over burned sienna, using a little of scumbling technique.

Then, finally I used a velatura technique, with a lighter wash of titanium white.

What I'd Do Differently

Work broken color technique for the owl.
Use a little more titanium white on background.

Marion Boddy-Evans, Painting Guide, says:

The photo's a little small for a close look, but there's a lovely sense of the texture of the owl's feathers and these techniques definitely seem to be working for you. For snowier, whiter backgrounds, have a look at paintings of snow by Monet and other Impressionists. For how much pale color there can be in snow, giving it a liveliness that pure white can't. (Examples: Lavacourt under Snow and Haystacks: Snow Effect.)

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