I decided to do this painting in a combination of graphite, gouache, watercolor, and pastel. Graphite is a great way to start a painting, because it is easily corrected. Textures and light source can be changed and manipulated at this stage. After transferring my rough drawing from tracing paper to 300-lb. hot-pressed watercolor paper, I began to redraw and refine all elements in the drawing. My final sketch is here. This painting is horizontal in format (18" × 14").

Tree Bark in Graphite

Oak tree bark is very textured. In this illustration, it encompasses almost half of the drawing. It’s also in the background, and I prefer to start with the background and work forward. This is partially why I chose to begin with graphite. I used a large HB pencil lead holder to begin blocking in elements of the bark, working in the direction of the surface contour and light source.

The texture of the paper comes through the strokes. I wanted to be able to model the texture and undulate some areas to recreate the terrain of the bark. To do so, I used the point of a paper stump to get into areas behind the leaves.

After the areas were smoothed over, I used a 2H mechanical pencil with a very sharp point to go into areas and make the edges crisp and defined.

Spanish Moss

Spanish moss, or Tillandsia usneoides, is an epiphytic plant that often grows on oak trees. It can be found on the limbs of the trees and around the base of the trunk. It looks like a fine root system. To assimilate this texture, I used a handheld electric eraser to “draw,” holding it like a pencil to achieve the squiggles and overlapping of the moss.

Once the white of the paper was revealed, I came in with the mechanical pencil and added heavier lines on the shadow (right) side of each strand.

To finish the graphite portion of my illustration, I worked on the owls to get a general sense for how the feathers cover the body. I especially focused on the areas around the eyes to get a good understanding of the texture and structure before moving on to paint. The large white area is reserved for the sky.

Watercolor Overlay

With the graphite drawing complete, it’s time for color. Hematite is a mineral found naturally, and its color ranges from black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish-brown, or red. Many watercolor manufacturers have created a paint using this mineral, and it’s one of my favorites. When dispersed onto heavily wetted paper, the particles break up and granulate. The color and granulation was a perfect fit to overlay the pencil drawing of the bark. I started at the top and systematically worked my way down the page.

I wetted the area and dropped in a full load of hematite paint. In the areas where my drawing has lighter values, I used less paint. In the darker areas, I used more paint.

Lichen

Another thing that grows on the limbs of oak trees is lichen. Lichens are groups of organisms consisting of a fungus and an alga. They grow together in a mutually beneficial relationship. Colors may range from white to gray, red, green, yellow, or black. I drew the area in graphite and then wet the entire area. Using a mixture of greens, hematite, and white gouache, I used the tip of a round watercolor brush to drop in the colors. The heavy application of water allows the paint to mingle. I was careful not to create brushstrokes, but let the water move and meld the colors together.

Spanish Moss with White Gouache

When I painted the bark, I painted right over the Spanish moss. It would have been impossible to paint into every little nook and cranny. The basic nature of watercolor is that it is transparent, so the graphite drawing of the moss is still visible. I used it as a guide to paint the opaque white strands over the graphite and watercolor with a small, synthetic spotter brush.

Owl Eyes

A lot of the background information has been blocked in, and now it’s time to bring the painting to life. When painting any animal, be it human, bird, or cat, the best way to do this is to paint the eyes. I placed the large pupils of each owl in the darkest areas of graphite and left a white highlight consistent with my light source. I then created a medium-yellow mixture and an orange-yellow mixture. I placed the lighter yellow over the entire eye, including the dark pupil. Then I placed the darker orange-yellow just under the eyelids. This helps to show the eyelid casting a shadow over the eyes.

Black but Not Black

Black straight out of the tube can render the subject flat, especially black gouache. I used a vibrant layer of phthalo blue in the pupil area, as well as in the beak.

It may look strange, but the underlying color adds depth and “sparkle” to the finished painting. Next I layered black and white gouache over the beak, gently blending and alternating the black and white in a watery mixture to sculpt the beak and give it form. To finish the eyes, I took the handle of my paintbrush and dipped it into diluted white paint—adding water gives it a creamy consistency; it should be opaque but not too watery. I strategically placed the paint on the end of my brush in the black of the pupil to form a highlight with one quick dot—no fussing. I repeated the process for the owlet.

Virginia Creeper

Virginia creeper, or Parthenocissus quinquefolia, is often mistaken for poison ivy. It’s similar in appearance and often grows in the same areas and conditions as poison ivy. The best way to tell the difference is to look for five leaves—poison ivy has only three. I have often seen Virginia creeper growing up the tree trunk of an oak tree and liked the addition of the purple/blue berries with the red stem. I mixed varying amounts of hansa yellow light and ultramarine blue to create a variety of greens. Even though only two colors are used to mix the green, I wanted to make sure there was variation to create interest. I covered all the green leaves in the composition, varying the greens and keeping my light source in mind.

I used a watery mixture of quinacridone rose to fill in the stem on the Virginia creeper vine, keeping the left side of the vine highlighted. I worked detail onto the leaves with perylene green, a very deep, almost-black green. I placed the lines on dry paper using a small spotter brush. Then I used clear water to blend and graduate the color, creating additional form and detail.

Contour Body Feathers

As discussed earlier, a bird is covered in contour feathers. The intricate color pattern on the body, wings, and head can be daunting. I think of it like doing a portrait of a person. You would never try to count the strands of hair on a person’s head. The same is true for the feathers on a bird. The most important thing is to understand how the feathers come off the area and to follow the surface terrain.

I painted all the feathers the same way for both the adult owl and the owlet.

I introduced yellow ochre gouache in the painting and mixed it with white to achieve color variation.

Breast Feathers Detail

Using the rake brush and moderately thin white gouache, I went over the pattern of the feathers to create small lines that blended one area into another. The appearance is more like soft fur, rather than bold stripes. As the breast moves and tucks underneath the wing, I added some brown in the same fashion to show the roundness and fullness of the breast area. I continued to alternate the layers until the areas were soft and mottled.

To achieve the soft, downy feathers of the owlet, I used a heavy consistency of white gouache. I overlapped the areas, so the owlet would appear to come forward in front of the leaves. The opaque nature of the gouache allowed me to do this. I gently patted the paint into the area to create the appearance of fluff.

Sky

Florida is known for its beautiful clouds. I started by using a wide flat brush to wet the entire area. When I got to the leaves and tree trunk, I switched to a large round brush to get into the smaller angles. I continued to wet the paper so that it was evenly moist over the entire area. It’s important to create the same moisture content over the entire area; otherwise there will be delineation lines, as well as blooms. I premixed a large quantity of watery phthalo blue and ultramarine blue and intermixed the paints on the wet surface, with the heavier color at the top of the sky, getting lighter as it neared the bottom. While the paint was still wet, I used a bunched-up paper towel to lightly blot some clouds. The paint lifted and left white areas where the clouds will be further developed. Then I let the paper completely dry.

Once the sky was dry, I used pan pastels for the clouds. I added darker colors at the base of the clouds and used white to blend the colors and integrate them into the watercolor sky. I used two application sponges: a wide broad sponge for large areas of color and a smaller applicator to get in tight areas to define the cloud edges.

It’s fun to combine different mediums in a painting. The key is making sure that it looks cohesive. One technique or application should blend into another to make the painting come alive.