Spring
is just around the corner and pretty soon birds will be
on the move in Missouri as the seasons change. This is a
good time to learn to draw and paint birds in the outdoors.
That was the theme of the "Painting the Birds" class held
last month at the Busch Conservation Area headquarters in
St. Charles County.
Instructor Carol Price led the class. She spent some time
describing the characteristics of birds native to Missouri.
But, most of the class time was spent letting the kids and
adults try their hand at drawing and painting.
The classroom was filled with stuffed examples of both
big and small birds, ranging from the bald eagle to the
colorful cardinal.
Ms. Price and other volunteers then distributed paper,
pencils and water color paints.
She urged the students to first draw outlines of the birds
with pencils. She said they should make the drawn shape
of the small birds larger than the models. "Big bird drawing
should be smaller than the models," she said.
Once the outline was shaped, the students shifted to watercolor
paints to provide the color and finish their artistic efforts.
Ms. Price gave the audience some tips on painting. She
urged the painters not to use too much water when mixing
their paints. The strongest colors are achieved when using
only a little water.
She also gave them a tip on how to achieving a white color
without any paint. She said the color of the paper itself
can serve as white when painting the birds.
Thus, the white of a bald eagle's head and chest is actually
a lack of paint, she said.
The students' end results were varied and unique.
Abbey
Lawrence |
Both 7-year-old Abbey Lawrence and her brother, 11-year-old
Evan, came up with pretty realistic bird shapes. But, their
colors were a far cry from what the birds wear in nature.
For instance, Abbey chose a wood duck as the model for
her painting. But, unlike the regular wood duck's rather
bland coloring, Abbey's painting had a wide range of vivid
colors.
Asked about her choice of colors, Abbey said, "I just like
to have all kinds of different colors."
Evan
Lawrence |
Her brother Evan's painting was of a Great Blue Heron.
That's a long-legged bird that is common along Missouri's
rivers and streams.
Evan's painted bird was long-legged. But, his bird's primary
color was orange.
He didn't have any definite reason for the color change.
"I just liked it to be orange," he said.
Instructor Price told the students that they'd have it
easier in the classroom than if they tried to paint birds
in the wild. "The birds don't stand still in the outdoors.
But, their colors are more vivid than stuffed birds," she
said.
To help the students after the class, the staff handed
out a variety of MDC brochures and booklets with a wide
variety of bird pictures.
One of the booklets was an MDC publication, "Missouri Songbirds."
Another was "Feeding Backyard Birds."
The "songbird" publication folds out to make a large poster
suitable for hanging. In addition to pictures, there are
descriptions of each of the birds. There's even a plan for
building a nesting box for bluebirds, wrens and chickadees.
The "feeding" publication gives tips on the types of food
each variety of bird likes. It also gives tips on how to
adapt your backyard to attract different types of birds.
(These and other colorful bird reference materials
can be obtained at MDC conversation areas. To get locations
for the area offices, go to http://www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/stlouis/.)
Evan said the best painting he's ever done was of a bluebird.
"I painted it with tempura paints," he said.
He said the trip to the bird-painting class was the first
time in quite some time he worked on painting. "Now, I mostly
do cartooning with pen, pencil and paper," he said.
He and his sister were accompanied to the MDC painting
class by their mother, Mrs. Carol Price. She also took part
in the painting portion of the class.
Evan said his mother was a pretty good painter. Asked
about his dad, Evan said, "He even said I was a better painter
than he was when I was just three years old."
Sister Abbey said her favorite painting was a still-life
of a vase of daisies. She said that painting is hanging
in her bedroom at home.
Both of the kids said they do a lot of things outdoors.
Both said they enjoyed fishing trips.
Evan said the family has a couple of favorite fishing spots.
One is at their grand-parents home and another is a pond
on another farm location.
Abbey said they also come to a variety of other classes
at Busch and other MDC areas in metro St. Louis.
Both of the kids were home-schooled. Abbey is in 2nd grade
while Evan is in 5th.
