Hen Paint???

Lee L.

Active member
Have to order Golden's paint tommorrow and can't find my painting notes. No real time to look for them either right now. I am painting divers and puddle ducks. Far as I can remember I need Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Titan Buff, Titanium White and Bone Black. All of these will be 16 oz. jars of Golden Matte Acrylics. Not sure if I need this size jar of Raw Umber because I don't think I used it on very many birds. Do these sound about right for most hens of all species?
 
Lee

You should be able to make any hen color with that list. Raw Umber is more importatnt than you may think becuase most grays should be made with your white and raw umber, only tinted with a touch of black when necessary. That way all your grays will be warm instead of cool (blue). Black and white really makes a light blue.

Also when you want a light brown, try raw umber with raw sienna added. Don't add white except maybe a touch at the end of the mix. Diver hen colors can be all raw umber + raw sienna, or burnt umber + raw sienna. Try it.

Oh and also remember that burnt umber and white make pink. They don't make light brown. I'm sure you've seen that pink muddy brown on some decoys.

Good luck! Color theory is as tough as getting those brush strokes inder control. Just takes time, learning, and practice.
 
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don't forget to order matte--replace the bone with carbon black--seems that diver hens use more raw umber---That in small quantity with water makes a great wash for finishing-seems to soften things nicely. You might need small amounts of cadmium orange and cad yellow for some bills, also. A small amount of mars black, gloss will suffice for bill work, also. payne's grey is a must for sprig and widgeon.
 
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