I find it very difficult to draw and paint birds, my efforts always turning out too ‘cutesy’. The image above a case in point, recently finished after painting it about eight years ago! I have just got a really great tip though, from an artist called Shari Blaukopf. She has an online class currently on the free Sketchbook Revival, where you can access all the input until April 18th.
http://www.sketchbookrevival.com
Shari Blaukopf suggests that the reason birds and animals can look too cartoon-like is because the eye is too big, particularly with birds. She has a great watercolour class on how to draw and paint a Royal Tern and when I watched it I could see exactly what she means.
JOLLIETEXTILES 