Maybe you'll notice my love for dead animals later. I can truly be mesmerized by the proces of death and decay, I can't explain why. A few years ago I participated with a contest for young artist, where I met a girl (find her here: Christel Verdaasdonk) who stuffs dead animals. She received deceased goldfinches from previous owners, on which she practiced taxidermia. I bought one of her, because they are beautiful birds I often see in my neighbourhood, and they make great, metallic sounds. They always fly and live in groups, so enough signs to know if you see one.
Next to that, I wanted to paint this particular goldfinch. Another not-moving study object (I also have a goldcrest, I will write about thatone another time), and in this case, it makes me think of Carel Fabritius. His painting is called "Het Puttertje" (the Dutch word for goldfinch, also called distelvink), and to be clear: I don't want to compare my skills with one of the the great masters of Dutch, classical painters.
Het Puttertje - Carel Fabritius, 1654
At first I started with a red/pinkish background, again to create a warm atmosphere (as you can see at my other blog about a painting of a falconer). I noticed that a small surface to paint on, will keep the entire painting relatively wet for a longer time, as you can see on the progression photos.
After the woolly part comes the contrast and bit by bit details. Finally I reduced the intensity of the shadows, finishing the branch, add the lights, and ta-daa:
The result
You'll find this painting in my Etsy-shop: https://www.etsy.com/nl/shop/MariekedeStip
Thanks for reading! Or in Dutch: Dankjewel voor je bezoekje :)
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