Hi everyone,
I hope you are well.
Welcome to May's content schedule! Here's a sneak peek of what you can look forward to this month:
- Major tutorial - Kookaburra portrait - Oil Paint - Available May 1
In this 3-hour 45-minute tutorial, Iāll show you how to paint a realistic Australian kookaburra in oil paint, focusing on capturing the dense, compact, and undefined feathers. Iāll also cover how to bring out the birdās intense focus, its amazing beak, the colours, the shine, and how to create a dynamic background with vibrant tones and strong contrasts. This tutorial is perfect for intermediate to advanced painters looking to refine their feather-painting skills and achieve a lifelike, detailed portrait.
2. Micro Tutorial: Wet Fur for Beginners in Acrylic: 7 Layer Exercise- May 15
In this tutorial, I will guide you through a beginner acrylic texture exercise focused on painting wet, thick fur, specifically the shiny, soaked look of a grizzly bear's fur. This will help you build confidence with layering, brush handling, and understanding texture.
I'll be using a seven-layer acrylic process that I've covered in previous tutorials, with the same materials, brushes, and palette setup. My colour palette remains neutral and warm, using Mars Black, Burnt Umber, Payne's Grey, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna, and Raw Sienna and two guest colours, Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson.
We will focus on my seven-layering process, which is:
- Tone the canvas to create a base.
- Block in mid-tones to define general shapes without detail.
- Add an opacity layer to start forming structure.
- Use a shadow glaze to deepen tones and fix mid-range errors.
- Add another opacity layer for detail and refinement.
- Create mid-range values for balanced light and dark transitions.
- Finish with highlight and intense shadow touches to finalize the depth and realism.
3. Live Demonstration: Core Class - Thursday, May 22nd at 10am (ACST)
This month's live demonstration:
Mastering Detail vs. Suggestion: When to Go Bold & When to Hold Back ā Many artists struggle with knowing when to render detail and when to simplify. Striking the right balance is key to creating compelling wildlife art that feels alive without becoming overworked. In this live demo, we'll explore how to make intentional choices that guide the viewer's eye and bring your subject to life with just the right amount of information.
This live demo is a follow on from the live demo in April that explored edges in wildlife art.
I look forward to seeing your creations this month. Thank you so much for being here.
If you have any questions or requests, please feel free to send me an email at carla@carlagraceart.com
Kind regards
Carla Grace.
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