Part 2 Project 5 Ex 4

For this work I've decided to try to draw a cockerel.  I've quite fallen for the multitude of these colourful birds that I've found on the net.  The ones I like best are those with a certain scruffiness. There's also an arrogance that's appealing.

Rooster Painting by Robert Joyner
http://robertjoynerartist.com/portfolio/rooster-paintings/

This looks very much like the effect I get when I draw at arms length then go in closer gradually.

These water colour chickens took my eye - at the moment water colour is just a step too far for me though.

Backyard Girls by Liz Chaderton
http://www.lizchaderton.co.uk/photo_12560450.html#photos_id=12390320

These are so full of energy and life but they are so lacking in fine detail. I find it amazing that so much can be conveyed simply by gesture.

Cockerel walking by Sam Harvey
http://www.birdsbirdsbirds.co.uk/acatalog/Paintings_Sold.html

I could go on and on quite happily but I need to look at a framework so that I can get the shapes and proportions right.  It seems to me that if the detail is scanty then these things become most important.

This idea is reinforced by Sandy Scott who says "movement, gesture and reality cannot be represented without knowing the birds skeleton and how the bones and joints articulate".

Drawing by Sandy Scott
http://sandyscottblog.blogspot.co.uk/

There are lots of layers of feathers over this skeleton and this image helps to differentiate them.

Parts of a rooster
http://www.extension.org/pages/65352/external-anatomy-of-poultry-kept-on-small-or-backyard-flocks:-chicken#.VFIXB_l_uxo

I notice from the two images above that proportions are not written in tablets of stone.

This bit of research has been useful from the point of view of giving me ideas.

I used the skeleton as a guide and the diagram as on this site as well http://www.yedraw.com/how-to-draw-rooster.html#.VFfNqfl_uxo

Cockerel sketch

I very definitely want to do an expressive piece of work and I also want to use some colour.  I outlined a second bird then used my pencil crayons to put in some colour.

Using pencil crayons

This doesn't give an intense enough effect and the tail feathers aren't well enough defined - they look more like a firework.

Head study - pencil crayon

I wanted to get a better feel for the head of a cockerel and I am fairly happy with this.  There are various textures and the neck feathers look really silky.  But I still think the colour lacks vibrancy so I'm going to try out my pastels.

My pastel cockerel

The colours in this are much better suited to what I want to achieve.  However I have completely lost the freedom I felt previously.  I think it's because I've got too involved with detail.  It's nowhere near as good as my owl.

I feel I have got bogged down in this piece of work and lost my spontaneity. I have begun to get a bit despondent.

I decided to change tack.  I remembered getting some good expressive results in Part 1 with watercolour.  I put a wash on my paper, outlined another cockerel and painted it.

Watercolour cockerel

This took very little time and there is some movement in it.  It looks very primitive but I resisted the desire to put in detail for fear of it becoming like the pastel piece.

I am going to leave this work now because I'm getting frustrated at not having the skill to accomplish as much as I would like to.  I have had a bit of a roller coaster ride with Project 5; some I have enjoyed and other exercises I'm very happy to leave behind.

http://robertjoynerartist.com/portfolio/rooster-paintings/

http://www.lizchaderton.co.uk/photo_12560450.html#photos_id=12390320

http://www.birdsbirdsbirds.co.uk/acatalog/Paintings_Sold.html

http://sandyscottblog.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.extension.org/pages/65352/external-anatomy-of-poultry-kept-on-small-or-backyard-flocks:-chicken#.VFIXB_l_uxo

http://www.yedraw.com/how-to-draw-rooster.html#.VFfNqfl_uxo