acrylic owl paintings

In the "Birds of a Feather" camp run through the North Vancouver Community Arts Council, I tried to focus on a different species of bird for each project. No art camp is complete without at least one acrylic painting project and for this one, I decided to have the kids focus on owls.

I had brought a file folder full of reference for them to choose from but stressed they could change things up to fit their visions.

9 year old

There was a burrow owl created by an artist with an astounding knowledge of birds. He was in his element in this camp and loved creating his artwork with accurate details of each birds' environment and personalities.

7 year old

6 year old

There were a lot of owls placed in the woods. One of the things I try to teach the kids is to start each painting by putting in the background first, so they can then paint over when placing in the mid and foreground. My hope is they realize how much easier it is to get neat finished lines when they paint over what is behind something instead of the other way around.

8 year old

6 year old

The other thing that I showed the kids was how to put in the woods without drawing each thing. They could paint some trees in after putting in a green background that they mixed on paper with blue and green. I think this technique created some really lovely wooded paintings.

9 year old

6 year old

We also discussed background, mid-ground, and foreground. I asked them to try to identify each in their compositions. 

8 year old

The kids had a great time painting these owls and I love looking at all the different interpretations of each child's vision. I'm so impressed with each and every one of them. They are "owl"standing!