Note the curve of the flamingo's neck.
Birds are a popular painting subject for artists of all skill levels. Flamingos are especially fun to paint with their bright pink colors, oddly shaped beaks and long spindly legs that appear to bend the wrong way at the knees. Acrylic paints have the advantage of drying quickly, and they are easy to clean up with water. Familiarize yourself with the anatomy and habits of these unusual birds so your painting will look naturalistic. Study their natural habitats to get an idea of the background landscape you will use in your picture.
Instructions
1. Select your painting materials and arrange them in an orderly fashion in your painting area where you can easily see and reach them. Lay out your brushes or put them in a glass or jar with the tips showing so you can decide which ones you need. Use watercolor paper or stretched canvas for your picture. Put your mixing palette next to the paint tubes. Fill two containers with water, one for thinning and mixing paint, the other for cleaning your brushes.
2. Study photographs or actual flamingos at the zoo before starting your drawing. Draw your composition in pencil or with diluted paint, using a small round-tipped brush. Sketch in the basic outline and shape of your flamingo, keeping everything in proportion. Choose your background landscape and integrate the flamingo into it. Don't put the flamingo in the exact center of the picture. Draw a tropical scene with palm trees and lots of water surrounding the bird.
3. Block in the landscape with a large square tip bristle brush after choosing your color scheme. Paint in the simpler shapes of the flamingo's body in broad strokes with a medium-size round tip brush. Thin your paint with water for large washes of color in the sky and water area. Grade your sky color from darker at the top to lighter as you approach the horizon. Decide which direction the sunlight is coming from to match the shadows on the bird with those in the background.
4. Mix your bright pink color for the flamingo's feathers using white paint and adding touches of different types of red until you get the right match. Mix several areas of lighter and darker pink on your palette for shadows and sunlit areas of plumage. Thin your paint for a watercolor effect or paint it on thickly for an impasto, oil paint look. Paint in the finer details of your bird and landscape after the first layer has dried or paint over it immediately for a wet-in-wet look. Use smaller round tip brushes as you define the feather patterns and facial features of the flamingo. Use softer, flexible brushes for the detail work.
5. Paint in the highlights last, using your smallest brushes. Use white paint, with a little yellow or orange added, to imitate sunlight reflecting off the water, tree branches and brightly lit areas of the flamingo. Decide when your painting is finished and stop before you overwork it.
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