Monthly Challenge - February (Patreon)

Hi everyone,

Our February monthly challenge is ready 🦜This month, we’re painting a vibrant macaw.

Before you scroll looking for it, a quick and important reminder (especially for anyone new):

There is no tutorial for the monthly challenge.This is not a step by step lesson.

The challenge is all about having a go on your own, making decisions, experimenting, and building confidence without guidance. There’s no right or wrong outcome here.

Macaws are a fantastic subject to work from. They’re bold, graphic, and colourful, but they also reward simplification. This is a great opportunity to practise seeing shapes, values, and edges rather than getting caught up in every feather.

A few tips to help you along:

Simplify the colours. You don’t need every blue and yellow under the sun. Choose a small palette and mix as you go. Variations in water and value will do most of the work.

Look for big shapes first. Blur your eyes and notice the main light and dark areas, especially around the head and beak. If those are right, the painting will read well even without lots of detail.

Suggest feathers, don’t paint them all. I've drawn the feather detail on the wing but there's no need to paint them all if you don't want to. Think in overlapping shapes and planes. A few well placed marks at the end will say 'feathers' far more convincingly than painting every one (up to you though).

Use edge control. Soft edges through most of the body will keep it painterly. Save your sharpest edges for the eye and parts of the beak to create focus.

The beak is all about form. Watch the gradual shifts in value across the curve rather than outlining it. It’s a great place to practise smooth transitions.

You’ll find the reference photo and line drawing below. The photo is one I took myself.

When you’re finished, or even if you’re halfway through, feel free to share your work in the chat, Facebook group, or Discord. Seeing everyone’s different approaches is one of my favourite parts of these challenges.

Happy painting,Louise