A Bird with Character

By: Jerry Simchuck

Article Excerpt – Fall 2017 issue

PART TWO: PAINTING THE SCRUB JAY
I am ready to paint. I will use acrylic paints for this project. Acrylics are durable and work quickly, and I use them for all my carvings. For this project, I used Jo Sonja’s Artist’s Colors, which I like for their more realistic matte finish. Some paints will leave a slight sheen to the finish. I want to control the sheen on my painting, so I add a varnish in specific areas that need it. My colors for the scrub jay are titanium white, warm white, smoked pearl, carbon black, burnt umber, raw umber, and ultramarine blue. I also used other Jo Sonja’s mediums, which included matte varnish.

Since entering his first competition in 1994, Jerry Simchuk has competed regularly at top-level bird carving shows around the country. A full-time artist since 2004, Jerry currently lives in Spokane, Washington, where he continues to build his reputation as a wildlife artist, carver, judge, and instructor. You can reach him at Jerry@Simchuk.com.

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