JH French

Here are the last couple stages of the nuthatch painting!

For this nuthatch, I mainly used Payne’s Gray, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, and Permanent White gouache. I use combinations of these colors for a lot of neutral-colored birds. I also used mainly round brushes to paint this guy, plus a script liner for the narrow strips of color on the wings and other little details.

I still may go in and try to add more dimension to his wing and belly. But this gives you the basic idea of how I go about painting a bird. Let me know if you enjoyed these posts and whether you’d want more like this in the future!

After blocking out the main colors, I begin layering light and shadow and details on top.

On the white belly and face, I’m still using dilute paint to layer the different hues. I’m also making strokes to indicate feather texture. All the while I’m looking at the reference pictures I’ve gathered to inform my decisions.⠀

On the wings, back, and head, I’m starting to build up shadows and highlights. Here I’m using a much stiffer paint, and mixing in white gouache to make lighter values. Here I’m only adding a minimal amount of water, enough to make the paint flow but not to make it transparent.

A little more work to go—you’ll see the final nuthatch in the next post!

Now we’re painting! Here are the first few stages.

I do most of my paintings in gouache. Gouache is similar to watercolor, but it has the ability to be opaque, meaning you can paint a light colored gouache over a dark color. It can also be rewetted and blended on the paper. I like it for that flexibility!

In large areas of white like the belly of this nuthatch, I use gouache like watercolor—I dilute it with water and create light washes to build up shadow. I will layer more shadows and textures as I continue working. On the rest of the nuthatch’s body, there are 3 main colors: blue-gray, black, and white. I start by blocking out flat areas of those colors, and later will go back and add more dimension and detail.

I’ll show more of the painting progress in the next post. Let me know if you guys enjoy seeing process posts like this!

Here’s my nuthatch freshly transferred to my watercolor paper. There are many ways to transfer a drawing from tracing paper to final paper, but I do it pretty simply. On a clean sheet of tracing paper, I use a soft pencil (4B or softer) to trace my prepped drawing. I draw it flipped or mirrored. Then I flip my tracing paper and tape it onto my watercolor paper and burnish it using something hard and flat (I use a bone folder). As I burnish it, the pencil gets transferred onto my watercolor paper, for the above result! Then I’ll go back and lightly fill it in with pencil.

Now, finally I’m ready to add paint! 🎨

Something a little different... Since many people are stuck at home, I’ve been wanting to post a little more frequently, and also get back to drawing birds! I’ve also been asked to share more about my process, so I’ll take you all through how I’ve been working on a simple spot painting of a White-Breasted Nuthatch.

I start out most paintings by taking notes on the animal or plant I’m drawing, looking up pictures and videos of it, and making small quick sketches to figure out the pose. I was already sure I wanted to do a classic upside-down nuthatch pose, so I didn’t do a ton of sketching for this one.

I used about 4-5 photos as reference for the preliminary drawing, which I’ll show in the next post. I never directly copy a single photo (unless it’s a photo I myself have taken—in this case, none were), but may use bits and pieces (like a foot or an eye) and generally use photos to inform how the bird should look. I mainly work from photos, but if I have access to specimens I will certainly use them. I also spend time birdwatching, so I see these birds in action a lot!

Next I’ll talk about how I do a preliminary drawing and prep it for painting!

Purple martins are large swallows that nest in cavities, sometimes making use of hallows in dead trees. The male is a rich velvety violet, which flashes blue and lavender in the sun.

This is a preview of more work for Ventana Wildlife Society (spy that California condor in the background). I’m working on a series of vignettes showing different habitat types in Big Sur. I’ll share more previews and final pieces in the next month!

An in-progress shot of another Christmas portrait. I went out of my comfort zone and worked on dark brown paper. There was definitely a learning curve with this one, but I can’t wait to show you the result!

Process photos for Coda’s portrait! Most artists will tell you that black and white are the two hardest colors to convey correctly, so this husky was a real challenge for me. I chose gray paper to act as a midtone for the extreme lights and darks.

Here are a few process photos I took while working on Tyla’s portrait. For the most part I work in layers, adding a base color before putting in highlights and lowlights. In this case, the tan paper I chose acted as the lightest areas of Tyla’s fur (besides her little white patch), so I worked mainly with darker colors and shadows. For stronger highlights and crisp details like whiskers and reflections on eyes, I use small amounts of gouache over the colored pencil.

A preview of the next pet portrait I want to show you all! This is the second one I did for this pet owner. I’ve loved working with colored pencils on toned paper for a while now, and cats and dogs really seem to lend themselves to this medium! 🐕🐈

No matter how many times I see them, nuthatches are always a delight, especially when they strike this classic pose. 💁🏼‍♀️✔️ ⠀⠀ This digital painting is a winter feeder scene in the works for Project Feederwatch at @cornellbirds. ⠀⠀ _____________________________________ #wip #workinprogress #process #digitalart #digital #digitalpainting #sciart #scienceillustration #scientificillustration #nature #natureillustration #illustration #art #drawing #painting #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #birds #bird #birdart #ornithology #cornell #cornellbirds #cornelllabofornithology #nuthatch #ipreview (at Sapsucker Woods (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)) https://www.instagram.com/jh_french/p/BwcDybLFHn2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=j3gbdwofq4bb

So excited to start painting this winter feeder scene for Project Feederwatch, using some new Photoshop brushes. Can anyone name all six birds in this? 🐦

A short process video showing some refinement to this condor at her nest! California condors in Big Sur often nest in burned out redwood trees. It seems appropriate that the largest land bird in North America would nest in trees that are also massive, and just as resilient. 💪🏻

This is part of another panel that will soon be featured at Ventana Wildlife Society’s Discovery Center.

Another rivermouth panel snapshot! Western gulls are some of the most common birds at any California beach. Often seen in flocks, they can vary in color from dark and patchy to their signature bright white and slate gray, depending on how old they are.

Another piece of the rivermouth painting. The iconic California condor is hidden at the back of this painting, soaring by Pico Blanco. ⠀⠀ This painting is close to being finished. I can’t wait to show you all what the entire thing looks like!

As usual, I’ve got about 10 different projects going at once. The latest is more for @ventanawildlifesociety—several illustrations that will capture the different habitat types in Big Sur. This singing grasshopper sparrow will represent California grasslands.

A bit more progress: featuring a black tailed deer and a flock of tricolored blackbirds.