Paint a cute bird on newspaper

Create a collage and then do a painting of a Jackie Blue cap perched on a milk bottle.

Step 1: Preparing the Newspaper

Take your chosen newspaper and book leaves, cut them in to the desired size with a pair of scissors. I am not using any colour prints from the newspaper to help make the Bird stand out.

Step 2: Applying the Newspaper

Squeeze out some Mont Marte Craft Glue into a round Plastic Palette. Give the front of the Canvas an even thin coat of Glue with the Long Handle Gesso Brush. Then lay the news print onto this layer of glue. Any extra smaller clippings can be stuck on top of the large pieces of Newspaper. Allow this to dry before moving to the next step.

Step 3: Drawing the Bird

With a Black Pencil, copy the image of the Blue Cap onto your Canvas. This image can be found on the last page of this PDF.

Step 4: Painting the Background and Bottle

Squeeze out the desired colours onto the round Plastic Palette. I’m using Chinese white, Lemon Yellow, Prussian Blue, Violet, and Black. Apply Prussian Blue to the back ground using the Angle Brush. Scrub the paint around and try not to cover the entire background, to enhance the bird as the focal point. Paint a thin mixture of Chinese White over the bottle, while this is still wet blend a little Blue into the sides. Lay some pure White in to the middle area of the bottle, this will suggest highlight.

Step 5: Painting the Bird

First paint the bird’s tummy in Lemon Yellow. Then apply the Blue to the Cap and the wings. Drop some Violet into the wing coverts and blend it out in to the tail. Add a tiny bit of Blue to the Yellow and create a green and paint it onto the back.

Step 6: Adding the Details

Create a thin mix of Black and lay this in to the head markings, legs and eye. Now lay White in to the cheek area, scumble it over the legs and then place a tiny dot on to the eye.

Step 7: Applying the Silver Leaf

Apply a thin coat of Mont Marte Leafing Size to the area that will be the lid of the milk bottle. Leave it to dry until tacky. Then gentle lay a sheet of silver Leaf over the area and apply light pressure. Once applied use your finger or a soft Brush to rub off the excess Leaf.