Galah Cockatoos in Watercolor

For the first Galah, the reference photo was provided by LDM in her class. Here is a 1 minute video that is similar to this painting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia5QrOxvOUY

Watercolors used on both of my paintings included French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Winsor Violet, Paynes Grey, Quinacridone Red, Permanent Magenta, Van Dyke Brown (Sepia can be substituted) and Lamp Black. I painted the first one on 140 lb hot pressed paper. Here it is finished:

The second painting I created using a photo taken by photographer Andrew Ingledow which I purchased from Wildlife Reference photos. It is available for download for a small fee via this link for your creative use if you would like: https://wildlifereferencephotos.com/media.details.php?mediaID=26495

I painted the second Galah using the same paint colors but on different paper. I used 140 lb cold pressed paper for this one. You can see the difference in the paper. I like the rough texture of cold pressed paper, but it is just a personal preference of mine. Both hot and cold pressed paper work fine for watercolor. Here is my finished painting from the second reference photo:

Galah cockatoos are native to Australia. I have learned that they can live up to 80 years in captivity!

One day my husband and I are going to visit Australia. While there, I will take in all the beauty of these grey and pink birds while my husband ( https://photos-as-art.com/ ) takes reference photos for me to paint later.

Sounds like a solid plan to me! I do have a birthday coming up, maybe he will read this and start planning...Hey honey?!!!!

Happy Monday everyone,

Helen

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American Goldfinch-Botanical Garden

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Summers at the Lake