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Jean Mackay – Painting Bird Eggs in Watercolor (Online)
Date recorded: Saturday, April 6, 2024
Take a perfect form and add an endless variety of colors and patterns and you have the beauty of bird eggs. This session will introduce you to painting eggs in watercolor with an emphasis on edges, values, shadows, colors, and markings.
Jean Mackay is an artist, educator, and naturalist. She has been keeping an artist journal for more than nearly 20 years as a way to study and share the beauty and diversity of nature, as well as to record the art of everyday living. Working in all kinds of settings, from tide pools to farm fields to her own backyard in upstate New York, Jean’s watercolors reflect a keen eye for detail and profound sense of wonder. She is the author/illustrator of The Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook (2020). Jean teaches online and in-person classes and offers immersive workshops nationally and internationally. She has been an instructor with Winslow Art Center since 2020. Discover more at www.jeanmackayart.com or on Instagram @jeanmackayart.
Thanks Trina! I’m glad you had some success! Thanks for the U.Oregon resource. There are some beautiful eggs posted there– I wish they had more of the collection visible. You can really see the color layers within the shell in their photos.
Loved the presentation, Jean! I watched “live” and rewatched the recording to catch what I missed the first time. Thanks so much! I’ll share my journal pages on my blog!
Egg Reference: Princeton Field Guides, Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, Paul J. Baicich and Colin J.O. Harrison (2005)
idigbio.org — “Search the Portal”– you’ll need the scientific name of the bird to do a search. Click on “media” to see images in the collection.
Jean, your demo was fun and instructive, thanks. I found my Tombow markers (#95 & #65) worked good for markings. Plus they’re water soluble so I could blot.
9 Responses
Thanks for this wonderful session. Your approach exemplifies a vision & practice that truly inspires!
Thank you so much Jean !
What a wonderful class, Jean, thank you! Never thought I could paint bird eggs – you made it achievable. I’ve ordered the book. Also found this resource https://mnch.uoregon.edu/collections-galleries/birds-eggs
Thanks Trina! I’m glad you had some success! Thanks for the U.Oregon resource. There are some beautiful eggs posted there– I wish they had more of the collection visible. You can really see the color layers within the shell in their photos.
Loved the presentation, Jean! I watched “live” and rewatched the recording to catch what I missed the first time. Thanks so much! I’ll share my journal pages on my blog!
Here’s the final piece. Thanks for joining me for this session!
Egg Reference: Princeton Field Guides, Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, Paul J. Baicich and Colin J.O. Harrison (2005)
idigbio.org — “Search the Portal”– you’ll need the scientific name of the bird to do a search. Click on “media” to see images in the collection.
Jean, your demo was fun and instructive, thanks. I found my Tombow markers (#95 & #65) worked good for markings. Plus they’re water soluble so I could blot.
Thanks for posting Jan. Nice work! Glad you experimented with markers.