Create a duck and a lilly pond painting in acrylics

In this lesson Joe uses Satin Acrylic in the 8 piece Introduction Set to create a beautiful Duck floating in a lily pond.

Step 1. Transferring the image

On the first image of this PDF is the outline of the duck and a general layout of where to lay in the colours. Shade the back of the sheet in the general vicinity of where the duck lies, flip the shaded sheet over and onto the canvas and retrace the outline of the duck. This will transfer the outline. You can then refine and detail the duck. Don't transfer any other information as it will be put in direct with the paint. A variegated wash is a coat of paint that gets consecutively lighter. When doing a variegated wash in Acrylics one has to keep the brush moving quickly to keep the paint in play. Just dip the tip of the brush in water.

Step 2. Tinting the canvas

Squeeze out some Lemon Yellow paint into your palette and add some water to it so it is the viscosity of cream. Using the 50 mm wide artist taklon brush, cover the surface. Let this dry. Next, squeeze out some Phthalo Blue and lay it across the top of the canvas. Work the paint down the canvas, and add more water to the paint as you do this. Make sure that by the time you get to the bottom of the canvas there is barley no paint in the mix. You should be able to see the duck drawing. Let this dry.

Step 3. Painting the Reflections

Squeeze out some Titanium White, Purple, Scarlet, Phthalo Blue and Black. Using a large Filbert brush lay in the reflections of trees. Then lay the Red into the side of these trees and add a little Phthalo into the tops. Mix some White and Blue together and lay it into the left top side of the canvas. Let this dry. Next we need to create a Sky Blue from Phthalo Blue, Titanium White and a touch of Scarlet Red. Paint this colour into the reflection. Use a small Filbert brush for this. Refer to the print out regarding what shapes to create.

Step 4. Creating the lily pads

The lily pads can be created 2 ways. a) by painting the elliptical shapes in directly with Titanium White and painting them Green or b) by creating a stencil using a hobby knife and applying the White with a sponge roller, letting them dry and painting them Green. Create the Green from Mid Green, Titanium White and Lemon Yellow in equal proportions. Once the pads are in, create the flowers. It is important to follow the steps on the video on how to do this.

Step 5. Painting the duck

It is advisable to watch the video on the steps to take in painting the duck. Below is the order of application that I took. 1) Painting the Duck White. Remember to leave the head free of colour. 2) Paint the head, Phthalo Blue. Let the Green show through for highlights. 3) Paint the beak. With Yellow Ochre made from Yellow, Scarlet and Green in the shadow accent and White and Yellow over the highlight area. 4) Paint the breast area with a Brown made from Orange, Scarlet, Yellow, Blue and Mid Green. Leave the collar White. 5) Paint the topside of the Duck and tail in a light White/Yellow mix, and darken the area between the wings with Brown and blend it in. 6) Add White and a touch of Black into the Brown Mix and paint in the side on the duck from under the wings. 7) Paint in the White under the tail and collar. 8) Paint in the Black areas around the rump. 9) Paint in the leg with watered down Orange.

Step 6. Painting the ripples

Refer to the colour placement guide and take note of where the ripples that surround the Duck lie. Lay these in as best as you can with a White crayon. Create a light Blue mix of Titanium White and Phthalo. Lay this colour in using a small Filbert brush.