Give a Gift
Hummingbird Photo credit: Leila Shehab.
For reference: the striking barrel cactus in bloom and the colorful male broad-billed hummingbird.
This article is part of a two-part series. In case you missed it, you can read Perched on a Gourd Part One: Carving here.
Before painting the carved cactus gourd, spray the surface with a light mist of lacquer sanding sealer. Like with prepping wood, a light misting will prevent surface fibers from rising when applying acrylic paints. A heavy coat will seal it so well that the paint will not stick, so use a light touch! Occasionally, I will undercoat the gourds with gesso before painting, but only when I plan to use a lot of yellows, reds, or other transparent colors.
I use small bottles of DecoArt Americana or FolkArt craft paint and an artist’s sea sponge to paint the cactus gourd.
You may use any brand of acrylics you prefer, but sponge painting uses a lot of paint and these less expensive paints hold up well when finished with a light coat of lacquer spray. It also saves time to use colors straight from the bottles rather than spending a lot of time mixing paint. Choose a “silk” sponge with fine holes and avoid ones with large holes. For sponge painting, I work from dark to light. The trick to sponge painting is to use a minimal amount of paint, and to let each layer dry before adding additional layers. With practice, you can achieve a beautifully shaded effect with interesting color variations.
Even though I spend less time on the birds that I carve for my gourd projects, I still want them to look as realistic and eye-catching as possible. The added bird will become the focal point of the finished gourd sculpture.
Before painting the hummingbird, spray the surface with a light mist of lacquer sanding sealer. When dry, add a light coat of gesso, brushing with the feather direction to avoid clogging the carved texture. The gesso provides a tooth for better paint adhesion, and the paint will look brighter. Unlike the sponge-painted gourd carving, I use Golden Fluid Acrylics to paint the birds. These paints mix well and are highly pigmented. I have used other brands, but the art store near me carries this line and I’ve been very happy with the durability and quality of their paints.
ACRYLIC PAINTS
- Greens in multiple values (DecoArt Americana or FolkArt)
- Yellow green (DecoArt Americana or FolkArt)
- Brown (DecoArt Americana or FolkArt)
- White (DecoArt Americana or FolkArt)
- Ultramarine blue (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Light burnt umber (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Titanium white (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Phthalo green (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Primary cyan (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Primary yellow (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Black (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Interference blue (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
- Pyrrole orange or cadmium red-orange (Golden Fluid Acrylics)
OTHER MATERIALS
- Artist paintbrushes: pointed-rounds 000–1 and filberts #2 and #3.
- 16-gauge wire
- 24-gauge wire
- Epoxy sculpting clay, such as Aves Apoxie Sculpt
- Real cactus thorns (optional)
- Drill with ball bur bit
- Wire cutters
- Soldering tools
- Gap-filling superglue
- Lacquer sanding sealer
- Artist’s sea sponge
- Gesso
1. A real cactus is pleated in appearance, and the deepest areas are always darker. Begin with the darkest value and wipe on the first color. Work the paint into the carved grooves using the sponge. Next, without cleaning or rinsing the sponge, choose a slightly lighter color and dip the sponge directly into a small puddle of the paint. The two colors will mix within the sponge as you continue to paint. If there is an excessive amount of paint in the sponge, blot it a few times on a piece of paper.
2. Next, use a light blotting motion with the sponge to cover the unpainted areas and to blend paint over the darker areas, while still allowing some of the deepest tones to show through. Without rinsing the sponge, continue this process with sequentially lighter colors until you are using the lightest values. I usually use a minimum of at least five different shades, lightly blotting on layers while still allowing the shadowed areas to show through. Using yellow-greens, brighter greens, or even browns or whites will change the overall look of the finished piece. Depending on the variety of cactus, the lighting conditions, and the plant’s health, many different shades are appropriate.
3. At the end, add a small highlight line that runs along the highest part of each section and crosses the dimpled cut marks where thorns will be added.
4. Spray the gourd with a satin or matte finish before adding the thorns.
PAINTING THE FLOWER BUDS
5. Flower buds are optional, but if you are adding them, paint them at this point and add them to the gourd before adding the thorns (it’s easier). Cactus flowers come in many colors, including yellow-orange, all yellow, or red. The buds start out pale green; as they grow, they turn yellow, and the color intensifies as the flowers mature and open. After painting, finish with a light lacquer spray.
6. Drill holes around the gourd opening to match the size of the mounting dowels. The holes should be drilled at the peaks of the ridges. You can make a complete circle of them or just add a few for accents. On a real cactus, there are often multiple rings of buds and flowers. Cut the dowels down to an appropriate length for the thickness of the gourd, then glue them into the pre-drilled holes.
ADDING CACTUS THORNS
7. If using real thorns, separate the clusters by size, using the smaller ones near the top of the piece and the larger ones at the base. Snip the tips from each needle as they are all very sharp, even the thin ones. Each thorn clump base must be ground down to remove any excess material, and the hole where the clump goes should be enlarged with a ball bur so that the “glochid” (base of the thorn clump) fits snugly into the depression. When a snug fit is achieved, glue in the clump using a gap-filling superglue.
8. First row completed.
9. All rows completed. Note the graduated thorn sizes.
10. To create your own thorns from wire, prepare bundles of mixed 16- and 24-gauge wire, and solder the clump together at the base. Add them to the gourd by drilling a hole, then attach them using a small bit of Aves Apoxie Sculpt or a similar product. Bend and arrange the wires, then trim each one to a suitable length. The color of cactus thorns varies from pale ivory to gray and brown. Some are even red!
11. The final step of the project is to paint and mount the hummingbird. Congratulations on making it this far!
PAINTING THE HUMMINGBIRD
12. I use small filbert brushes to lay on and blend the base colors, and small round brushes to add fine details. I use a mixture of ultramarine blue and light burnt umber for the darkest values on the tail and primaries. Build up thin, transparent layers with light washes, adding the darkest values where the feathers overlap. Next, add a thin wash of light burnt umber to the underside of the wing feathers. Finish by adding a bit of titanium white to the blue-umber mixture, and use it to create some fine highlights along the edges of the feathers.
13. The broad-billed hummingbird has a wonderful mixture of iridescent greens and blues that appear to change colors depending on the lighting. Using a mixture of phthalo green, primary cyan, and primary yellow, I lay down a light coat of different mixtures on the head, breast, and back. The throat has more blue overtones, and some feathers by the eye and the belly are a bit yellow. While the colors are still wet, I blend them into each other. I finish with thin washes of cyan and phthalo to add shadows and to highlight the feather groups.
14. Add a bit of white as needed to blend the belly feathers up under the wings, and add a touch of white around the eyes. I rarely use straight black paint, but when I carve the eyes instead of using glass eyes, I paint them black and later add a white highlight spot.
15. The belly feathers only require a light wash of a very thinned-down blue-gray to create some shadowing. The under-tail coverts get a slightly deeper-toned wash.
16. The bill is a bright orange-red with a black tip. Pyrrole orange or a cadmium red-orange work well. The color of the bill varies toward redder tones among different specimens.
17. The blue-green feathers of a broad-billed hummingbird are highly iridescent. I use either Golden Interference paints or Pearl Ex powders. These products work differently and it is a good idea to experiment with them first to find out which works best for you. The Golden products have binders and may be brushed on as a final glaze or mixed into the last layer of paint. Powdered products have no binders to adhere them to the surface, so they must be mixed into paint, used with an acrylic painting medium, or set in place by a final finish spray. A little goes a long way; do not overdo the effect.
18. Next, add a tiny white highlight to the eyes and paint the feet black. I usually add a thin mist of flat lacquer or sanding sealer to protect the paint.
FINAL ASSEMBLY
19. The final step is to mount the hummingbird in place. I chose to drill a hole at the top of a flower bud and perch the hummingbird at a higher position, but you may also mount it directly to the gourd. Drill a hole that matches the diameter of the metal post. Snip the post to length, depending on where you mount it. If it is mounted to the gourd, it is better that the post does not protrude on the inside. Bend the feet out of the way and glue the post into the hole using gap-filling superglue. Once the glue has set, bend the feet as needed to provide stability.