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Painting on location is even more challenging when your subject is on the move and painting time is limited. When you need to move fast - pick up a big brush and come out swinging!

This past May I celebrating the arrival of spring in the south of France. I venture to Limoux every other year for a little plein-air painting and a big dose of elegant wine, pastries and scrumptious meals.

On a sunny morning, my students and I travelled high up the hills to the village of Brenac. The sights and smells of printemps overwhelmed the senses. Selecting the perfect seasonal subject to paint had each artist scurrying in a different direction.

While delicate blossoms and deep river gorge were tempting, our painting time was limited. I needed to select a subject that would capture the spirit of the day but could be put to paper quickly. I chose to set up my gear under a shady tree and enjoy the company of a small flock of red hens. I was granted permission to paint these handsome girls along with the farmer’s warning “Ils sont les poulets moyennes” (mean girls).

Painting wet into wet on location on a windy, warm, dry day means there is a need for speed! As is most often the case, I didn’t pre-sketch, I simply studied the girls, focusing on shapes and colours. The birds clucked away busily strutting and scratching. I took a few quick camera shots but the ladies were not about to stand and hold a pose. I had to commit to memory the shapes I needed to make.

Colour Selection

With a goal of suggesting the colour, movement and textures of a bird (rather than create a realistic depiction) I squeezed fresh colour onto my palette. The hen and the yard called for warm hues - Cadmium Red Light, Pyrol Red, Permanent Orange and Burnt Sienna. In my photos you can also see the flashes of blue and blue-green that flickered across the scene - bits of paper, a garden hose and a water bucket. A cool Cobalt Turquoise Light seemed to be exactly what I needed. When placed close, the orange and turquoise act as near complements to activate an exciting contrast of hue. An array of neutrals that swing from warm to cool were achieved by mixing the reds, oranges and green-blue as required. I also added a touch of black to the palette and some pale Jaune Brilliant II.

Preparing My Paper

Typical of the method by which I begin most of my watercolours, I wet my paper front and back with a large flat wash bush. for this painting I used  7.5” x 7.5” Saunders 80 lb Aquarius II.

The saturated paper was laid down on my plexi-glass. Excess water was drained by tilting the plexi board and moped up with a paper towel. The paper should be wet and have a soft sheen but if there are puddles of water, it is too wet. The moisture will adhere the paper to the plastic sheet without need for tape or staples. Because water is trapped between the paper and the plexi you will extend the length of time you have to paint wet into wet but you will still need to act quickly and apply the paint in a direct manner.

Getting The Paint Down

The initial strokes of colour established the birds feathers and were applied with my Kemp Badger Brush which was jabbed into the reds and Burnt Sienna.

This is a 1” prickly club of a brush, that doesn't look or behave like your usual watercolour brushes. Here’s the trick: This brush is used dry! Don’t dunk it in your water bucket or puddles of watery colour. Just pick up fresh gooey paint, straight from the tube with the tips of the dry brush and stroke it onto damp or wet paper for unique painterly marks and textured brush strokes. Here’s what my Badge Brush looks like:

For the second colour-attack, black was added to the dirty brush with a quick poke into fresh paint. I continued to manipulate and stroke the fresh colour onto the damp paper.  Without being able to demonstrate, it is hard to describe exactly how to apply colour with a such a weapon -  I can only remark the paper is briskly swept in a motion similar to the ruffling of chicken feathers!

Adding Layers

When I was satisfied with the brushwork that suggested the volume and texture of Ms. Hen I set about building layers of negative shapes to carve her shape and create edges that would be descriptive of feathers. Using a 3/4” flat I cut around her red comb with black and pulled the dark paint right out to the edge of the paper in the top right corner. For the third layer, thick Jaune Brilliant was applied directly over some of the black while leaving a silhouette of the comb (3). Can you see the three layers? Red, black then neutral yellow. While the paint was still thick and sticky I scratched into it with a thin stick to suggest wire caging. I like the bits of red and black that remain. All the applications were painted with thick fresh paint - no drying in between.

To paint around the bird’s body, Cobalt Turquoise Light and a mix of neutrals (made by combining the reds, CTL and a little black) were used to carve (no pun intended) two or three layers. Here’s a look at her back side. Bits of white and some orange textural marks hint at layers of plumage without needing to paint a single feather!

Here’s my finished study - it took about 20 minutes to complete.

Did you notice that most of the paints I selected are opaque? I like the no-nonsense solidity of these paints, especially when working on location or when I need to get in and get out quickly.

They are ideal for top layers, scratching into with calligraphic marks and for laying in translucent veils. Opaques are also quite forgiving; when applied thickly they can be pushed around and reshaped.

I’m happy with the results - best of all I enjoyed a spring morning painting outdoors with the good company of painting pals. It was eggs-xactly what I needed. I hope you won’t be too chicken to give it a try.

Happy painting!

Linda and Ms Henny Penny