Adam and Eve

I have decided to show some photos of the process I go through while paintings my sacred birds. At the moment, I am painting Adam and Eve. This photo shows the drawing of the border in process. I find the borders can be very time consuming because if you make a mistake at this stage, everyone will know it. It is vital that the letters are as straight and even as possible and the outside dark edges or outlines must be perfectly straight or anyone will notice. In painting the birds themselves, if I make a small mistake I can cover it up or just say that I meant to do that. Not so with the lettering.

So, I started with drawing the box and the letters. Then I paint the background of the border. This example looks much more mottled than it does in real life. Then I paint the letters and the edges of the box. I haven't done the letters yet because I want to paint them red and red can be a treacherous color. If you drop any water on red watercolor it will bleed all over the place so I will save the letters for later. I will probably paint the letters after I airbrush in the sky in the painting.

This photo is for the Eve painting.