Sketch For The Laughing Gulls Seascape Painting

This is the sketch of the laughing gulls that I did in the same size that the finished seascape painting will be when it is finished. I am painting these laughing gulls on a Ampersand board in 12" by 16".  I did this drawing of the birds the same size they will be on the board.

You can see where I started each bird with a basic oval shape for the body and another smaller oval for the head. From there I refined each bird, adding more detail while trying to keep the initial gesture or pose for each bird. The other important step is keeping the birds to scale. I want these shorebirds to be fairly accurate in my painting so I pay attention to all of the gulls features.

I have created distance by reducing the size of the birds as they recede in the scene. These are some of the preliminary steps that I take when planning a painting. If you take the time to do these steps the outcome of the painting should be better.

Color Sketch for Painting of Shorebird "Laughing Gull"

During one of my kayak excursions last summer I came across these laughing gulls. There were many of them along a sand bar as I was paddling in a marsh on the outer shore of Cape Cod. I thought they were attractive shorebirds with their black heads and grey wings and I knew that they would make a great painting.

In the first stage of this painting  I did this color sketch. It can be in any medium, pencil, marker, watercolor whatever is handy at the time. The color sketch above is done with a black marker and then a watercolor wash. I may do this painting in oil or acrylic paint, I have not decided yet. But I do have a good start for this painting of birds after my quick color sketch. Check back for updates on this painting and my large oil of the Watch Hill Carousel that I am still working on.