Grounded: A Northern Flicker Part Two

Jeff Rechin is recognized as an elite sculptor whose artistry and technique have garnered him two Best in World titles at the prestigious Ward World Championship. He wrote about carving and painting an Eastern bluebird in the Summer and Fall 2015 issues of Wildfowl Carving Magazine.

The Northern flicker has some unique color patterns and markings, making it an interesting bird to paint. I used acrylics for this one, first laying out the bird with its basic colors and then painting the various markings. I did some washes to finish. I used #3 and #4 round brushes for markings and #0 for fine line work. For the large base coat areas, I used a 1⁄2" flat brush and dried the areas with a hair dryer between painting steps. The variations in this bird make it fun to paint.

This article is from the Winter 2017 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.