Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Some birds are simpler to watercolor than others. The speckled wood thrush, a cute little bird, is one of those. You do not need to be exact with the speckled chest. We see a limited color palette, and there are no intricate layers of feathers. If you have tried painting birds in watercolor, you know feathers can be a challenge.
In my previous bird art tutorials, I tend to delve deep. I use colored pencils to make realistic feathers to the extent that it is more of a drawing than a painting. With this bird, a few simple steps will do the job.
Wood thrush symbolism and more
When I stumbled upon the photo of this wood thrush, I was charmed by its expression. I had no idea that it is a beloved songbird of the eastern US forests. Nor that it takes a winter break in Mexico and Central America.
The wood thrush has a beautiful, flute-like song that makes it a symbol of good communication. Like many birds, they mate for life. For this reason, it embodies the spirit of lifelong unions.
Drawing the bird
Make a quick sketch of the bird first and then trace your drawing onto watercolor paper. You can download my outline in The One Tree Art Club | Creative. Go to the Membership tab. When you sign up for my newsletter, you have access to a sizeable library of free outlines for my tutorials.
I use a LED light tracing pad (it is low-cost) these days. For a long time, I transferred my drawings with tracing paper. It does not matter what method you use. Another advantage of tracing is that you avoid the drawing ending up in a corner of the paper. Unnecessary pencil marks will not smudge the sheet, either.
Find the right color palette
Let’s start watercolor painting. But first, select the colors you are going to use. It saves you dithering in the middle of the painting process. Some of the colors below are straight out of the punnets, and some are mixed. Take note of the white. It is gouache, an opaque watercolor. For the speckles, don’t use black. Add a little bit of black to brown instead.
To pick up color palettes from photos, you can use our free color palette generator for artists.
Painting the bird in watercolor
Step 1
Paint the feathered part with ochre and blend in some terracotta and brown. Use water generously so that the colors flow freely. Wait for the paint to dry. Watercolor the chest with a tiny bit of black so that it is light grey, and the legs a peachy color.
Step 2
Time for the speckles! Make sure that the spots follow the round form of the bird. Paint loosely. There is no need to get the speckles just right. No two birds are alike, anyway. Paint some of the feather creases with dark brown. The eye is black, and the beak is peachy with some dark brown.
Step 3
When the speckles are dry, paint a soft shadow with highly diluted brown watercolor. Use the moisture on the brush to get a smooth transition. A little sponge is useful, too.
Step 4
Paint the pattern on the feathered part as thin, white lines. Use a slim, pointed brush. Again, don’t try to be exact. The reference photo is an inspiration, nothing more.
Step 5
Would you believe it- we’re almost done! The photo below shows some colored pencils I used to add details and depth to the painting. Colored pencils work wonders on top of bone-dry watercolor. I drew the iris with a brown colored pencil. You can see that I painted a white outline around the eye. Two tiny dashes of white brought the eye to life.
And now, the cute little wood thrush is all done! I wonder if she found some tasty grubs foraging for food out there on the forest floor.
If you wonder about the art materials used for this tutorial, go to my Guide to Art Supplies.
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