Three Banded Warbler ACEO in acrylics

I decided to paint a few yellow warblers for this weeks aceo's - this is the first one.

Three Banded Warbler is found in Peru and Ecuador.  They measure around 12.5 cm in lengh and weigh between 8.5 - 11 grams.

Three Banded Warbler measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on Colourfix Smooth Paper.

Many thanks to Francesco Veronesi for the reference photo.

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Black Headed Gouldian Finch ACEO

I love this ones colours.  It did give me a few problems when painting it.  I had to change the background colour as what I started out with just didn't work. Also I  had to work a bit on the branch to get it to fade into the background but I got there in the end and I am rather pleased with how it turned out.


Wild Gouldian Finches can be found in northern Australia.  Gouldian finches can be red, black or yellow. Through selective breeding, colour mutations of blue, yellow and silver instead of a green black have developed on both body and breast colour.  So this one has been bred.  They measure around 13 - 14 cm in length. 

Black Headed Gouldian Finch measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Terry Krusak for the reference photo.

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Jamaican Tody ACEO in acrylics

My brushes from the UK arrived this week so I tested them out with the two little aceo paintings - bought a no 4 brush that has slightly longer point and it works rather well for the details. 

These birds are only found in Jamaica.

Jamaican Tody measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300 gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Ron Knight for the reference photo.

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Chestnut Headed Bee - Eater ACEO in acrylics

Chestnut Headed Bee Eaters are found in India east to South East Asia including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.  They measure 18 - 20 cm in length.

Chestnut Headed Bee - Eater measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Ron Knight for the reference photo.

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Sacred Kingfisher ACEO in acrylics

The other day when driving,   two birds nearly flew into my car near the one lake in my area - fortunately they swerved in time.  I managed to see their colouring out the corner of my eye and they looked like sacred kingfishers.

I didn't realise they were in my area so on Sunday I went for a walk looking for birds.  I was really lucky -  I saw a bit of blue in a tree and zoomed in (thank goodness for 50x zoom cameras)  and it was the sacred kingfisher - I was so excited to see it and managed to take a few shots. 

Fortunately the one photo was good enough to use as a reference.

Sacred Kingfishers are a medium size kingfisher found throughout the coastal areas of mainland Australia and parts of Tasmania.  They are also found on islands from Australasia to Indonesia and New Zealand.  They measure 19 - 24 cm in length and weigh on average 45 grams.


Sacred Kingfisher measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches Watercolour paper.

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Yellow Thornbill ACEO in acrylics

I love how this little painting turned out.  Everything just seemed to work.  

Yellow Thornbills are found in the bottom half of Queensland, throughout most of New South Wales and throughout of Victoria as will into South Australia.  They average around 10 cm in length and weight about 6 grams.

Yellow Thornbill measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches Watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Yellow Crowned Bishop ACEO in acrylics

The other day I bought I new acrylic colour - Australian Olive Green by Derivan.  It is a lovely green and quite handy to have when painting landscapes or backgrounds as you can darken it with blue/red or lighten it with yellow / white.  The background for this one is the Olive Green plus white and a touch of purple and it worked really well to create a more subdued background. Really pleased with how this one turned out.

The Yellow Crowned Bishop is found in Africa south the Sahara. They are about 9.5 - 10.5 cm in length and weight around 15 grams.

Yellow Crowned Bishop measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm Smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to  Michael Pazzani for the reference photo.

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Great Kiskadee ACEO in acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one.  Everything just worked.

The Great Kiskadee is  a large tyrant flycatcher  found in Southern Texas and  from Mexico through South America. The range in length from 21 - 27 cm and weigh between 52 - 68 grams.

Great Kiskadee measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Michael Pazzani for the reference photo.

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Rose Breasted Grosbeak ACEO in acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one and it another one that everything just worked.

The Rose - Breasted Grosbeak is found in cool temperate North America and migrates in winter to Tropical America.  It is a fairly large songbird measuring between 18 - 21 cm in length and weighs between 39 - 49 grams.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Michael Pazzani for the reference photo.

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Carolina Wren ACEO in acrylics

This one was fun to paint and everything just seemed to work.

The Carolina Wren is found in the Eastern half of the United States, the northeast of Mexico and south of Ontario in Canada.  They are measure around 12 to 14 cm in length and weigh between 18 - 22 grams.  An interesting fact about these wrens is that only the male sings the loud song whereas in other wren species both the male and female  sing together.

Carolina Wren measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Matt MacGillivray for the reference photo.

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New Holland Honeyeater ACEO in acrylics

Everything just seemed to work with this one - really pleased with the final painting

New Holland Honeyeater's can be found throughout southern Australian from Brisbane, to just north of Perth (WA).   The are around 18 cm in length and weigh on average 20 grams.

New Holland Honeyeater measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Wayne Butterworth for the reference photo.

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Malagasy Kingfisher ACEO in acrylics

I had to paint this one a little bit differently to how I normally do. Usually I paint the bird on top of the background colour but as I didn't want to paint the bird on such a dark background I decided to paint the background around the bird.  It worked rather well.

Malagasy Kingfisher measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Frank Vassen for the reference photo.

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Striated Thornbill ACEO in acrylics

So for my next  bird aceo, I painted this little fellow.  I decided to go for a two tone background - rather like the effect - just had to be careful not to over blend.

The Striated Thornbill is found in South-Eastern Australia from Southern Queensland to Eastern South Australia  They measure  around 9 - 10 cm in length and weigh about 7 grams.

Striated Thornbill measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Brown - Hooded Kingfisher ACEO in acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one - everything just work.   I am really pleased with the final painting.

Brown Hooded Kingfishers are found in the Eastern part of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the eastern half of South Africa.  The measure around 22 - 24 cm in length and weigh about 60 grams.
    
Many thanks to Derek Keats for reference photo.

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Yellow Thornbill ACEO in acrylics

I really enjoyed painting this one  - everything just worked.  Really pleased with the final painting.

Yellow Thornbills are found in the Eastern States of Australia from the bottom half of Queensland, most of New South Wales, all of Victoria and parts of South Australia.  They are around 10 cm in length and weigh on average 6 grams.

Yellow Thornbill measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches Watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Boreal Owl ACEO in acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one - everything just worked.  Really pleased with the final painting.

The Boreal Owl it is a small owl measuring only 22 - 27 cm in length.  It breeds across Northern North America and Eurasia

Boreal Owl measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches Watercolour paper.

Many thanks Pauline for the reference photo.

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Blue Jay ACEO in acrylics

I enjoyed painting this one - everything just worked.

Blue Jays are found through out eastern and central United States and Southern Canada. They  measure between 22 - 30 cm in length and weigh between 70 - 100 grams.  An interesting fact about the Blue Jay is that the pigment in it's feathers is melanin which is actually brown.  So the blue colour arises from modified cells on the surface of the feather barbs which scatters the light creating  the blue colour.

Blue Jay measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Lissa Perkins for the reference photo.

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Chestnut - Backed Chickadee ACEO in acrylics

I love the colouring of this bird and I am really please with how the painting turned out.

The Chestnut - Backed Chickadee is found in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Western Canada.  They measure around 11.5 - 12.5 cm in length and weigh between 8.5 - 12.6 grams. An interesting fact about this bird is that they use a lot of fur to make up its nest - more than half of the nest is made up of fur/hair.  When they leave the nest, the cover the eggs with a layer of fur that they have made.

Chestnut - backed Chickadee measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren for the reference photo.

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Evening Grosbeak ACEO in acrylics

Enjoyed painting this one and I am rather pleased how the final painting turned out.

The Evening Grosbeak is a large finch that breeds across Canada and western mountainous areas of the United States and Mexico.  They range in length from 16 - 22 cm and weigh between 38.7 to 86.1 grams. 

Evening Grosbeak measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren for the reference photo.

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Brown Thornbill ACEO in acrylics

This one gave me a few problems.  It went through a very bad ugly stage before it started to take shape.  Glad I carried on working on it as I am really pleased with the final painting. 

These birds are found in eastern and south- eastern Australia including Tasmania. They are around 9 - 10 cm in length and weight on average 7 grams.

Brown Thornbill measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm smooth Arches watercolour paper.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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