The Aesop Series by Tim Hayward.

The Tortoise and the Hare; The Fox and the Grapes; The Lion and the Mouse; The Vain Jackdaw; The Goose and the Golden Eggs

My paintings begin as an idea developed over time , using observation, bird skins, sketches, and photographs . Countless sketches and days spent researching result in a final design that satisfies my criteria of achieving an image that conveys the essence of the subject as well as an overall design that is purely seen as abstracted shapes within the frame. The choice of the background colour has to compliment the subject and also should stand alone as a beautiful rectangle of pure colour.

Once the drawing has been finalised it is transferred to stretched heavy grade watercolour paper and carefully reworked to make sure that all the mistakes have been eliminated before the actual painting begins. Great care has to be taken at this stage not to disturb the surface of the paper, which can have a disastrous impact on the quality of subsequent washes. The background can now be painted. This is a laborious and painstaking but enjoyable process that can take anything up to two weeks before the desired result is achieved - the moment when it simply ‘feels right’. If one looks closely at one of my paintings you realise that you are not looking at a flat colour but a subtle and vibrant surface, nuanced and glowing with many tones and tints . Anything up to thirty washes are applied , each one carefully worked and subtly textured before leaving to dry. 

Finally it is time to paint the bird. A necessarily long process. The first stage is to establish light and shade over the whole subject. Overall colours are next applied. Detail is then worked with watercolour and gouache, which is essentially an opaque watercolour that allows pale colours to be applied over dark ones. Using the best quality sable brushes, a depth of detail can be achieved which I personally find is not possible with pure watercolour, as this has to be applied by painting from light over dark, and I find it nearly impossible to capture the finesse i am looking for. With a feather painted in gouache one should feel that you could push a point through and part the individual filaments. Having said this, it is vital that attention to detail doesn’t stifle or distract from the overall image. I hope to maintain a freshness in the painting while the whole act becomes an instinctive and intuitive one.