I mentioned in the blog post “Artworks of Owls” that initially I drew the owls with regular wings and only after research I was inspired by Dorothea Tanning‘s drawing of an owl that seemed to have feathery coat on. To make Adele and Gabrielis be owls wearing coats seemed like a great idea. In the fairy tale created by the sisters, the dragon got hurt and owls came to rescue them. The metaphor of apparent coat or blanket could associate with the care and nursing of the owls towards the dragon.
During making process of the painting, firstly I drew out the whole composition on paper. (If I worked straight away on canvas, it would have been difficult and time-consuming to make changes or correct mistakes.)
When I was satisfied with the drawing, I used tracing paper to transfer the drawing onto canvas. Read my previous blog on tips for using tracing paper on canvas. You might notice that I put a lot of detail in the drawing and I was not intending to copy every detail diligently in paint. Therefore, I had to consider how to make the image look as effective in paint as it was in drawing.
I surfed the internet for owl images to get inspired and decide what texture and colour should be the coats of the owls. I was pondering whether to colour them in brown, grey or golden. I noticed that for many owl species the dominating colours of the body are either grey, brown or golden. I was pondering on which colour I should use for owls in my painting. I initially thought that darker colours would match better the wild environment of the painting as golden seemed too royal. Then it came to my mind that golden is a very warm colour and would suit well the owls – the caring rescuers of the dragon.
Below is an excerpt from my reflective journal showing how I decided to colour the owls. For me, journaling is the most effective way to think clearly and make decisions.
Owl colours:
– white
– golden
– brown
– black contours
– Yellow eyes.
What’s my technique with the feathers? I thought of drawing the contours black but I don’t think owls are so dark. Maybe it’s actually a good thing to paint owls in warm colours such as brown, golden and white. So I’ll paint the edges dark brown, I’ll cover the whole coat in light brown and I’ll paint the feathers in warm white. Where does the gold colour go then? Well, it seems that owls are covered in patches and spots of those three colours. Actually, I have two options – painting the owls primarily white with golden wings and faces; or painting small patches of three colours all over the body. I don’t think I want the owls to look so royal. I think this environment reflects wildness; therefore, owls should be brown as well. I could take the best of both worlds – make the belly lighter while wings and faces darker, either way all in a colourful pattern. “Ok. Deal.’’
The result appeared somewhat impressionistic and reminiscent of Van Gogh style. It could be considered as not very original but I was happy about it. After all, my aim was to convey the feathers in painterly way rather than to delineate them so precisely as if with a pencil.
I also learned that I need to draw a dark thin contour line around every detail so that they would pop up out of the flat surface.
