Blackbird on a windowsill

Turdus merula

Photorealism Bird Painting

Gouache on Illustration Board 1983

12 x 14 ins

private collection

Blackbird - is available as a Limited Edition Print

A Photorealism bird painting of  a male Blackbird which  

was hit by a car and was brought to me to be cared for. He 

was in shock and did not survive for very long.

The windowsill was in my old flat in Priory Street in Carmarthen, 

Wales. I listened to a lot of gloomy post-punk music (mostly 

Joy Division) when painting this picture.

Photorealism Bird Painting Technique:

The Blackbird painting was painted entirely using a small 

bamboo paint brush which I found in the road one day when 

walking home from art college. The board is CS10 Line 

Illustration Board. If you look closely you can see finger prints 

in the gouache paint.

The composition for this Bird Painting is inspired by the paintings 

of the American Realist Painter Andrew Wyeth who pays special 

attention to the edges of his pictures and who uses windows to hint 

at the mysteries of the outside world.

The colours are very earthy and muted. Gouache is a type of 

opaque Watercolour sometimes called Body Colour. It can be 

used diluted in Washes like pure Watercolour or applied more 

solidly. In this Bird Painting the Paint was applied using a 

combination of these Methods. In parts the Gouache Paint 

was applied then lifted off using a Paint Brush or fingers to give 

a transparent effect. The lighter areas are the pure white of the

Illustration Board showing through as no White Paint was used

in this Photorealism Bird Painting.

Blackbird Fact:

The Blackbird is one of the most common and easily

recognised of British Birds in and most people are familiar

with its distinctive song.

Blackbird - Signed Greetings Card available  Click Here

Photorealism 

Paintings Book