A flamingo – painted with da Vinci´s COLINEO brushes
Since decades, the brush industry has invested in researching all options to imitate the special properties of Siberian Kolinsky Red Sable hair with synthetic fibres.
With COLINEO da Vinci has now succeeded in creating a composition of wavy and straight synthetic fibres, which comes very close to its natural ideal.
The 5 different shapes in the COLINEO line are perfect for painting with different effects and textures with liquid colours – such as a flamingo, for example.
Materials:
Brushes: da Vinci COLINEO, 422 size 3, 1222 size 4, 5522 size 12, 5527 size 14 and 5822 size 20
Colours: Schmincke HORADAM® AQUARELL in half pans or tube: 367 Purple Magenta, 227 Cadmium Orange Light C, 355 Transparent Red Deep, 225 Cadmium Yellow Medium, 781 Lamp Black
Paper: Hahnemühle – The Collection cold pressed
Others: Photo as template, pencil, eraser, waterproof fineliner, paper towels.
1st step – the drawing:
Transfer your desired motif onto your chosen paper.
Be careful not to leave too much pencil pigment on the paper. If necessary, dab off excess pigment with an eraser. When you are satisfied with your sketch, you are ready to go. When using your new COLINEO brushes for the first time, make sure that you have completely washed the gum arabic out of your brush - you will find a video on this topic on our YouTube Channel.
Tip: if you are unsure about transferring the sketch, use a projector app or print out your motif in the desired size.
2nd step – wet on wet:
oak the areas well where you want to create a soft colour gradient.
We use the COLINEO flat brush series 5822 in size 20 for this. The large surface of the brush is perfect for working over a large area, but also for creating hard edges.
Tip: if you have applied too much paint in some places, you can easily remove it with a clean brush or a paper tissue.
3rd step – rough details:
for the feathers you can choose a mix of wet on dry and dry on dry technique. This way you create a successful variety of clear lines and more abstract effects. For the rough details, we chose the COLINEO sword brush series 5527 in size 14. The shape of this brush makes it ideal for starting lines with a thin tip and ending with a wider one. Use the brush even if it doesn't carry much colour – this way you can create a great, abstract dry effect that also emphasises the structure of the paper.
Tip: let your painting dry in between and work in several layers, in order to create more depth.
4th step – fine details:
for the fine details we used the COLINEO round brush series 5522 in size 12. We deliberately chose a larger size, because thanks to COLINEO´s perfectly shaped point, you can create very fine details and at the same time paint on wider areas with a little more pressure on the brush tip.
Tip: paint the feathers freehand and let the brush dance on the paper - not every line has to be perfect, because that's not how it is in nature either.
5th step – finetuning:
your flamingo is now almost finished and only a few light and shadow elements or darker details are missing. For this you can use the COLINEO rigger brush series 1222 in size 4. The long tip of this brush is perfectly suitable for the shadow edge on the neck of the flamingo, the details of the beak or the eye.
Tip: for a special look, you can frame your finished picture with a shadow edge. The COLINEO rigger brush is ideal for this, as you can move the brush around your motif in one stroke.
6th step – effects:
your image is now dry and you want a little more structure for your flamingo? Use our COLINEO fan brush series 422 in size 3 and add some fine lines to the feather robe. This makes it even more interesting for the observer.
Tip: Use the brush in the dry-on-dry technique and use as little water as possible when picking up the paint. If the brush fibres do not come together in the desired shape after picking up the paint, simply separate them carefully with a needle or tweezers.
Tipp: Verwende den Pinsel in der Trocken auf Trocken Technik und nutze bei der Farbaufnahme so wenig Wasser wie möglich. Sind die Pinselfasern nach der Farbaufnahme nicht in der von Dir gewünschten Form zusammengekommen, trenne Sie einfach vorsichtig mit einer Nadel oder Pinzette.
You've done it - your flamingo is now finished! If you like, you can use a round brush and enough colour and water to apply a few splashes of colour around your motif.
You can also find a short video to go with this tutorial on our Instagram and TikTok channel.
You liked this article, but you don't own our COLINEO brushes yet?
No problem - just click HERE and you will find all the retailers in your area where you can buy your new COLINEO brushes.
Have fun with your new brushes!