Learn how to paint a watercolor landscape with birds. Paint a close up picture of a bird. Use traditional Japanese and Chinese brush techniques.
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| Printable worksheet created by The Helpful Art Teacher from Abbreviated drawing styles for birds and animals (Chōjū ryakuga shiki) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Digital Library. |
The first step I took in planning this lesson was to look at Abbreviated Drawing Styles for Birds and Animals (Chōjū ryakuga shiki) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Digital Library.
This is a book of woodblock prints carefully designed to look like Sumi-e brush paintings. I wanted my students to learn how to emulate the delicate, sensitive lines of Edo period Japanese woodblock prints and paintings.
Vincent Van Gogh loved the varied brush strokes of the Sumi-e technique. Signs of Japanese influence are especially obvious in his later drawings and paintings. Click here for a more detailed account of the influence of Japanese art on Vincent Van Gogh's painting.
I encouraged my students to try filling their watercolor paintings with lines, dots, interesting brush strokes and textures, instead of simply outlining and coloring.
Vincent Van Gogh loved the varied brush strokes of the Sumi-e technique. Signs of Japanese influence are especially obvious in his later drawings and paintings. Click here for a more detailed account of the influence of Japanese art on Vincent Van Gogh's painting.
I encouraged my students to try filling their watercolor paintings with lines, dots, interesting brush strokes and textures, instead of simply outlining and coloring.
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| Printable worksheet created by The Helpful Art Teacher from Abbreviated drawing styles for birds and animals (Chōjū ryakuga shiki) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Digital Library. |
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| Printable worksheet created by The Helpful Art Teacher from Abbreviated drawing styles for birds and animals (Chōjū ryakuga shiki) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Digital Library. |
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Printable worksheet created by The Helpful Art Teacher from Abbreviated drawing styles for birds and animals (Chōjū ryakuga shiki) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Digital Library. 
Printable worksheet by The Helpful Art Teacher from The Metropolitan Musem of Art Digital Library.
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First we learned the basic elements of a landscape and discussed pictorial space:
Landscapes 101, Depicting Pictorial Space from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
Click here for my complete art lesson on pictorial space.
Once we learned to create landscapes we were ready to practice painting birds,
using watercolors and thin brushes.
Next, we created textured watercolor landscapes including at least one bird:
Landscapes 101, Depicting Pictorial Space from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
Click here for my complete art lesson on pictorial space.
Once we learned to create landscapes we were ready to practice painting birds,
using watercolors and thin brushes.
Next, we created textured watercolor landscapes including at least one bird:
Paint birds in a landscape using Japanese brush techniques from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
I used a pressure sensitive stylus to create a series of quick contour sketches of birds. During this initial practice phase, I did no erasing or correcting. Instead I learned from the process and applied the new knowledge to each successive drawing. My objective was to lay bare for my students the developmental, trial and error, artistic process.
I used a pressure sensitive stylus to create a series of quick contour sketches of birds. During this initial practice phase, I did no erasing or correcting. Instead I learned from the process and applied the new knowledge to each successive drawing. My objective was to lay bare for my students the developmental, trial and error, artistic process.
Materials used to create this video: IPad 3, Jot touch pressure sensitive stylus, Sketchbook Pro and iMovie app
Music from Fantasia sound track
After looking at both Japanese and Chinese ink paintings, my students also painted some close up bird studies, focusing on texture, gesture and movement.
Drawing Process, Capturing a Bird in Flight from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
Sketchbook Pro Time Lapse, Jot Touch Pressure Sensitive Stylus on iPad 3
The bird lesson was a follow up to a unit on the
After looking at both Japanese and Chinese ink paintings, my students also painted some close up bird studies, focusing on texture, gesture and movement.
Drawing Process, Capturing a Bird in Flight from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
Sketchbook Pro Time Lapse, Jot Touch Pressure Sensitive Stylus on iPad 3
The bird lesson was a follow up to a unit on the
painting techniques of Vincent Van Gogh:
How To Paint Like Vincent Van Gogh from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
Here is a worksheet to help you start inventing
your own landscapes:
Tips and Tricks to help you understand his process. The drawings at the very beginning and end are of course Van Gogh's. In between I create a few pictures of my own in an attempt to see through his eyes.
While the students were painting their bird landscapes, I showed them parts of the Van Gogh video and asked them to describe how he filled the spaces in his pictures. Students were then encouraged to experiment with textured brush strokes instead of using a flat 'coloring book' approach. We discussed how the process of creating a picture is different from painting a room and how, when painting a picture, it is sometimes desirable to let your brushstrokes show.
your own landscapes:
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| Layers of a Landscape, Printable Worksheet By The Helpful Art Teacher,Copyright Rachel Wintemberg 2013 |
Here is a helpful worksheet to get you started drawing birds:
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| Printable Worksheet by The Helpful Art Teacher; How to draw birds. Step 1) Observe birds in photographs, on film, in real life and in art Step 2) Identify the underlying tear drop form of the bird's body and the round head. Step 3) Draw these simple underlying forms in various positions and poses based on your observations Step 4) Add beaks, wings, eyes and legs to complete your bird drawings Step 5) Don't forget to observe birds with long legs, long necks and other variations Step 6) Add texture, feathers, color and other details as desired. Step 6) Draw birds swimming, flying, eating and perching to create a sense of dynamic movement. |
If you look carefully at pictures of birds, you will begin to notice the tear drop shape of their bodies. Try copying these forms and then adding beaks, wings and legs.
By the end of the unit each student had created both a landscape (with extreme foreground, foreground, middle ground, background, horizon line and overlapping) and a close up painting of a bird (with a dynamic composition and textured brushstrokes).
More useful resources:
We looked at drawings of birds by
artist Debby Kaspari
Plain colored tanager preening by Debby's Kaspari
Here is Debby Kaspari's blog:
We practiced spotting and drawing the underlying
shapes that make up all birds.
We discussed WHY the tear drop form for a bird's body is ubiquitous and HOW birds fly:
The two photos above come from The Naturalist's Miscellany,copyright 2011,Heather Hinam
Each child picked references that appealed to them from a large selection of photographs and paintings.
When painting the close up bird studies, students used the worksheets below as a guide.
Prior to instruction, most students either attempted to create an exact copy of a master painting or placed their subject (in this case a bird) in the center of the page. Using the printable worksheets below, I taught my students how to create original, unique pictures with engaging compositions.
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| Use asymmetrical balance to create compelling photographs and paintings. Worksheet created by The Helpful Art Teacher, 2013, using a Japanese woodblock print book illustration from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's digital library |
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| Use the 'rule of three' to create dynamic photographs and paintings. Worksheet created by The Helpful Art Teacher, 2013, using a Japanese woodblock print book illustration from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's digital library |
Some ideas for follow up art lessons:
Using the above reference worksheet, from the book Timing For Animation, create an
animation of a bird in flight.
from Rachel Wintemberg on Vimeo.
Students had the opportunity to closely examine the varied textures of bird feathers using my photographs:
Children's Gallery
This art lesson is suitable for ages 7 to adult.
These watercolor paintings were created in July of 2012 by 7 and 8 year old children at Camp Horizons in Livingston NJ
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| Watercolor painting by a 7 year old child at Camp Horizons summer camp, 2012. Close up study of a bird. This student used dry brush watercolor techniques to recreate the texture of feathers. She used asymmetrical balance and positive and negative space (notan) to create a dynamic sense of composition in her painting. The sky was created using a wet on wet technique. |
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| Watercolor painting by a 7 year old child at Camp Horizons summer camp, Livingston, NJ, 2012 |
This unfinished painting was created by one of my middle school students:
Unfinished painting.
This student used dry brush techniques to create a sense of texture in her landscape. she used curved brush strokes to create a sense of three dimensional volume in her tree and overlapping to create a sense of depth in her landscape.
This unfinished drawing was created by one of my middle school students.
Beautiful sense of line:
