Rodents Beware--Part Two: Painting the Barn Owl

The final stage to this sculpture is painting the bird. The barn owl has a wide range of coloration, from blond (light tones) to very dark markings. After you’ve finished and you stand back to take a look at your work, the feelings of excitement and satisfaction will let you know you’ve hit the mark.

For the barn owl I used Jo Sonja’s Artists’ Colours, and my specific paints were titanium white, warm white, smoked pearl, carbon black, raw umber, burnt umber, raw sienna, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, yellow deep, cadmium orange, napthol crimson, and dioxazine purple. I also used Jo Sonja’s mediums, including matte varnish. Some paints 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.