A Bird in Space by Mary Erickson, Ph.D.

Most birds fly in space. They also hop, walk, run, or swim. A few, like the ostrich, cannot fly at all, but stay on the ground as they move through space.

Artists call the main subject of their work the positive shape. They call the space around the main subject the negative space. In this photo, the seagull is the positive shape. The sky is the negative space.

In this photo, the singing bird and the fence are the positive shapes. The blurred shapes and colors in the background fill the negative space.

What is the positive shape in this photo? What fills the negative space?

Look carefully at how photographer Nathaniel Smalley placed his positive shape within the surrounding negative space in his photograph, Full Flight – Great Blue. More space on the left than right suggests forward movement as the heron flies into it. Image copyright: Nathaniel Smalley

Jack DeLap placed his bird squarely in the middle of his image. The positive shape commands our attention, even though details of the highway, branches, and leaves fill the negative space.

The featureless, blue negative space in Anne Peyton’s painting, Big Blue, highlights the complex, positive shape of the heron’s head and neck.

Consider how negative space can complement the shape of a bird. Which drawing most emphasizes the positive shape of the roadrunner? How does the watercolor back- ground affect the lower image?

Compare the painting techniques Anne Peyton used to create patterns in these two paintings.

These are details of two drawings made with fine colored markers. How were the marking pens used differently to make the feather patterns of each roadrunner? What medium and technique/s might you choose to show feather patterns?

Your challenge is to create a drawing or painting of a native bird effectively using negative space and emphasizing feather patterns. You will: 1.Experiment with a drawing or painting medium investigating how it can be used to create patterns, 2.Research a bird native to your environment and write a summary of your findings, 3.Make thumbnail sketches to plan the relationship between positive shape and negative space in your work, and 4.Develop and refine your work until it is complete and ready to display with a summary of your research.

Begin by searching the Internet and/or books to find a bird native to the environment where you live. For example, if you live near Phoenix, Arizona, you would investigate birds of the Sonoran Desert. The next slide summarizes information about the Gambel’s Quail.

The Gambel’s Quail is native to the U.S. Southwest, especially, Arizona, and also lives in Sonora, Mexico. It sports a distinctive head plume; The male has more distinctive head and chest markings than the female. These quails often travel in coveys, walking (sometimes quite briskly), and occasionally bursting into quick, short bursts of flight. The Gambel’s Quail’s plumage is effective camouflage as the quail scurries along in search of seeds and an occasional insect. This quail has adapted to the desert by selecting green plant food for its moisture. National Geographic. National Geographic.com Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Desertmuseum.org

Make thumbnail sketches to start planning the placement of your bird in its surrounding negative space. Which sketch do you think has more interesting negative space? Why?

Continue to try out different arrangements of positive shape and negative space. Try different formats (rectangle, circle, oval, etc.). You might even let the positive shape break the format shape. Pay as much attention to the negative space as you do to the positive shape.

Lightly lay out your drawing on the surface of your painting or drawing- this example uses watercolor paper. Note the light diameter and radius lines used to place the positive shape. You can see the plan of these grid lines in one of the thumbnail sketches on the previous slide.

Your medium will dictate the next steps in your process. These images show how watercolor washes were built up to develop the painting. How were feather patterns increasingly emphasized?

The negative shapes were defined with a border. Several border patterns were considered before the cactus pattern was chosen. Will a border strengthen your work?

The watercolorist built up her border with washes. She used a dry brush technique (more paint with less water) to continue to emphasize the bird’s patterned feathers.

Now it’s your turn to: 1. Choose a native bird, 2. Choose a medium that’s right for you, 3. Draw or paint your bird effectively using negative space and emphasizing pattern. Female Gambel’s Quail with Prickly Pear Border Watercolor by Mary Erickson