Painting a Redhead Hen with Brother Gaskill

text and photos by Brother Gaskill

Painting a Redhead Hen with Brother Gaskill

The colors I used are what I saw and matched to the mounted bird I have. I experimented with different acrylic paints and texturing techniques to obtain the needed effect. I hope this information is helpful, and my advice is to experiment to see what works best for you.   Photo 1     Photo 2   Paint the decoy with a mix of 50% Jo Sonja texturing paste, 25% black gesso, and 25% white gesso. Sponge on paint, and then use a fan brush around head and part of the body to give a feather appearance. After the paint has dried, draw feather locations.   Photo 3   Paint top of head and back with Chroma chestnut.   Photo 4     Photo 5     Photo 6   Paint side of head and side pockets with Chroma taupe. Blend colors together using an airbrush or dry brushing.   Photo 7     Photo 8     9     Photo 10     Photo 11     Photo 12   Using an airbrush, lighten around face, neck, rump, and around bottom of side pockets. Using colored pencils, draw on tertial, primary, speculum, and tail feathers. Paint the speculum area using Americana slate gray. Now, by using the same colors from pictures 3 through 6, dry brush the textured areas left behind by the sponge or fan brush.   Photo 13     Photo 14   Paint bill with Americana slate gray, ring around bill with white gesso, and tip of bill with black gesso. Darken or lighten bill as necessary.   Photo 15     Photo 16   Look decoy over and make any necessary changes.