Red Bird in a Summer Garden Oil Painting

The inspiration for this scene comes from a beautiful estate in upstate New York where my son worked as a gardener for a few summers. He took many photos and this is one scene that I particularly like. I decided to try it in oils adding a bird at the bird bath and making some changes to the composition.

So I got out a 5x7 Ampersand panel and my oil paints. I'll show you how I painted it below. The finished painting is available for sale in my Original Art shop: Red Bird in a Summer Garden oil painting

First I draw the design in pencil on the panel. The major colors will be green and deep pink, but I am not sure at this point what kind of bird will be sitting at the bird bath.

Once I get the composition sketched in, I begin to paint the lawn in the background keeping the green a cool color by adding more blue than yellow. This helps the background recede.


Next are some shrubs. Since this is a well-tended garden, they are trimmed to round ball shapes. I don't get into detail with them because they are in the distance.


Now I add a willow tree on the left and begin to paint some low evergreen ground cover in the foreground.


Pink flowers bloom around the bird bath:


I add a reflection of the willow tree in the clear water in the basin. A few more details and the bird will finish the painting.


To get ideas for the bird, I ask Zeh Original Art followers on Facebook what they think. They have some great suggestions such as a bluebird, hummingbird, oriole or a magpie. Some of them thought a cardinal would work well which I think is a good idea with all the green in the painting. Red and green are complementary colors and, when next to each other, they cause a pleasing vibration that makes the colors sing.

So, what do you think? Isn't a Cardinal a great idea?


Here is the finished piece in shades of red, deep pink and green:





I'm happy to take custom orders. Please contact me for a custom painting or to have a print made of a painting you like.
To receive my posts by email, fill in your email address under FOLLOW BY EMAIL in the right hand column and click Submit. You'll receive my posts in your email inbox at the end of each day that a post is made.

No comments: