STEP ONE
I like to get as much information on my subject as I can before putting pencil to paper. I have a relative who owns a very tame pair of Electus Parrots (Minka and Toby) and I was able to take many photographs at close quarters. As the painting progressed, I could also call on Minka and Toby to ensure that I was not doing them any injustices!
I settled on an arrangement, having spent a lot of time positioning photographs. I did some rough sketching before transferring the drawing to my board. The more accurate the sketch is, the easier it is to end up with a precise and true interpretation.
STEP TWO
Using a combination of Cobalt Blue and Paynes Grey, I applied a wash over the entire background (wet-on-wet). The base for the background foliage (Hookers Green and Paynes Grey) was then applied using the Roymac Golden Sable Number 6 brush. I
