Mr. Red Head

I haven’t drawn or painted a bird in awhile.  So when I saw a photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker on Kathy’s blog:

http://backyardbirdnerd.com/2015/12/26/more-fierce-than-festive/

I decided to give it a try!  I started with a quick pencil sketch in my art journal:

I tried to pay attention to the negative space around my bird so I could get the angles drawn correctly.

Next, I made a copy of my bird onto tissue paper so I could transfer it to watercolor paper.  I painted a light base in watercolor:

I added details with Prismacolor pencils and a white gel pen to complete it:

I learned online that a Red-bellied Woodpecker was named for the unique pinkish tinge on the belly, common to both genders.

I hope you check out Kathy’s blog!  She takes AMAZING bird photos!  And I like her sense of humor too.

Happy Bird Watching!  🙂