Looking out the kitchen window, I saw a titmouse raiding the bird feeder. The local paper had an article about David Plank, a local watercolor artist who is known for drawing Ozark birds like that titmouse.
Years ago I had an opportunity to meet this famous artist and get some tips on using watercolors. This was when I dreamed of doing my own watercolor illustrating, but was too scared to try.
Meeting David Plank
At the time I was writing articles for a local free ad paper called the Kaleidoscope. This gave me several opportunities. One was working with an editor who moved my writing from a schoolwork level to a semiprofessional one. The other was getting to go places and meet people around my area.
Visual Manna held an Art Camp each summer. David Plank was a guest teacher there. I got to attend both to write about the event and to participate. He invited me to his studio.
Drawing Ozark Birds
David Plank has drawn birds since he was very young. It’s his passion, one he followed as a hobby for years before his art drew notice. After that, he could spend all his time sketching and painting.
The studio was crowded with pencil sketches, finished paintings and prints of birds. These took up almost the entire room. His work space took up the rest dominated by a slanted board next to a window.
Watercolor Methods
There are two approaches to painting with watercolors. One uses lots of water to create washes. This is often used to do sea or sky backgrounds, wide expanses of color.
The other uses an almost dry brush to apply the paint more thickly and precisely. David Plank uses this method to create his birds. This is my preferred method.
Whichever method is used, white is not used as a color. That makes it imperative to know beforehand what your drawing will be. Any area you want to be white, must be blocked off so the white of the paper is left to supply the color. You must see your drawing differently, seeing how the color goes around and augments these white areas.
The paper’s article was a retrospective as David Plank turns 90. Drawing Ozark birds is still his passion. I admire his work, done with a skill I don’t have now and probably never will. But, when he started, neither did he. That skill comes with having a passion for drawing and persistence to keep working at it.