In last year’s December ARTicle, I showed how easy it is to use modern design software to prepare images of my paintings for printing and turning into Christmas cards for family and friends. It was quite a popular ARTicle, as producing cards from watercolour paintings is not just a Christmas thing, but can be done all year round, as we love to use cards for sending our good wishes on birthdays, to celebrate a great achievement or just to say thank you; the list of sending others our good wishes can be endless!

After last year’s December ARTicle, I was asked how would I go about painting a suitably themed Christmas card, and so in answer to this question, why not follow my step-by-step guide and paint a cute Robin Redbreast yourself? 



In my painting of the Robin siting in a holly tree, I used Cadmium Lemon Yellow (a green shade yellow), Anthraquinone Crimson (a blue shade red) and Phthalocyanine Blue (a green shade blue), along with Cadmium Yellow (a red shade yellow), Cadmium Red (a yellow shade red) and Ultramarine Blue. These single pigmented watercolours can all be found in the A J Ludlow 3 primary cool and 3 primary warm tones gift set. Using single pigmented watercolours will help keep the painting bright and giving it a cheerful look, making the Robin Redbreast look even more cute!

Step 1: Drawing out the Robin in the Holly Tree.

You can use the sketch I made as the basis of your painting, by hoovering the computer mouse over the image, right clicking and in the dialogue box select “Open image in new tab”. This should then open a new tab in your browser, open this tab and press down the “ctrl” and “p” keys on your computer keypad, which will open the print option (I am using Microsoft software, so to do the same using other software may require a different set of instructions). Once you have printed the image, draw the sketch onto a premium quality watercolour paper, as we will be using masking fluid, which can tear lesser quality papers.

Step 2: Preparing the drawing for painting, by blocking out the small areas that need to be kept white.

Cover the eye area with masking fluid, along with small areas on the tree and the bird’s beak. Because these areas are small and difficult to keep white, I am using masking fluid, other larger areas are easier to paint around. Even with good watercolour paper, it is still good practice to avoid using masking fluid to block out large areas, as the possibility of tearing the paper surface increases with the amount used.

Step 3: Wet the area of the Robin drawing, wait for a couple of minutes. And then, paint a thin layer of Cadmium Lemon Yellow to the top and middle of the Robin.

Step 4: Paint a thin layer of Cadmium Red over the Cadmium Lemon Yellow. The colours will mix together to form orange on the paper.

Step 5: Create a mix of Ultramarine Blue with Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red to create the greyish blue colour and paint onto the wings, top of the head and tail areas.

Step 6: Mix Ultramarine and Cadmium Red with a little bit of Cadmium yellow to create the reddish-brown colour for painting the claws. After that, paint a thin layer of Cadmium Lemon Yellow on the green tree branches, followed by a thin layer of Phthalo Blue (GS) on top of the yellow. The two colours will mix together on the paper to become green.

Step 7: Paint the berries with Anthraquinone Crimson, but before the colour is dry, use a clean brush to paint a little bit of water on a side of a berry to create the look that the berries are covered in snow.

Step 8: Remove the masking fluid around the eye, mix Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow together to create black to paint the eye of the robin and the sepals in the berries

Step 9: Add more details and then, don’t forget to sign your name to finish the painting and add that special personal touch to the future Christmas card. 

Step 10: Photograph the painting and upload the image to a card printing website. Using their design software, add your message, select the quantity you would like to print and complete the order. Here is my finished design, which will be “wing-its way” to all my family and friends, this December.