Magnolia and Bird Plate
by Aileen McLeod

I adore magnolias, the perfume and delicate blooms make a very feminine flower.
And what would we do without birds? They can make a very dull day beautiful.
My choice for this painting was a plate with a relief border and I used a technique of very fine brush strokes. This can seem tedious but when you love what you are doing, time is not an issue.

Colours used:- magnolia, purple black, violet of iron, trenton ivory, blue, shiraz, pompadour, finishing brown, yellow green, moss green, sepia.(other colours of your choice may be substituted.)

The medium used:- Seminar medium by Josephine (an open medium)

Brushes:- Large square shader, medium pointer, small pointer. med. stippler

STEP 1:Tint the plate with a light wash of Trenton Ivory, using a large square shader and fire at 790 degrees.
STEP 2: Lightly sand plate (repeat this after each successive firings) Sketch design using an all pencil.
STEP 3: Mix Magnolia with medium and paint in the petal shapes with a medium pointer keeping the strokes close and smooth; wipe back the highlights and with a wipe-out tool, establish the stronger highlights on the edge and tips of the petals.
STEP 4: Yellow green is painted into the pod areas and shaded with Moss Green plus Sepia, use a small pointer brush.
STEP 5: The bird is painted with Pompa for the breast and head; wipe back the highlights (use the medium pointer) ;the wings have a light wash of pale Blue shaded with Violet of Iron; paint the head,eye and tail feathers, use Purple Black and Finishing Brown for the beak also; wipe out the highlights of the eye.
STEP 6: Use Purple Black and medium pointer for the branches and wipe back the highlights. Fire.
STEP 7: Shade the magnolias with Magnolia and Shiraz, place some Pompa into the darker areas, keep the highlights clear but softly extend the shading into the area.
STEP 8: Pompadour is used to deepen the shading on the bird; keep the brush strokes fine and even; deepen the wings with Violet of Iron , Purple Black and Finishing Brown; paint the eye with Purple Black and wipe out the highlight.
STEP 9: Deepen the green pods with Moss Green and Sepia.
STEP 10: Purple Black is used to deepen the shadows of the branches and also the leg of the bird.
STEP 11: Use a medium stippler, paint the depth of shadow around the blooms and bird with Violet of Iron, blend softly into then background. Fire.
STEP 12: Wash Trenton Ivory plus Yellow Green over the entire background, wipe back any residue of colour from the design; deepen some areas of shade with Violet of Iron and also brush on around the inside of the rim of the plate. Fire.
I hope you enjoy this lesson, I found the choice of colours were very restfull and the painting relaxing.
Aileen McLeod.