1602 Pecking Order (Acrylic) - In 1602 Pecking Order, from the Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art PBS television series, Jerry guides beginning artists through a charming Impressionistic acrylic painting lesson featuring three colorful barnyard chickens. This beginner-level lesson is approximately 120 minutes and is painted on an 18 x 24 canvas. The finished painting features a reddish-brown rooster, a smaller gray-and-white chicken, and a magnificent black rooster with flowing tail feathers. The birds stand among loosely painted grasses beside a textured tree trunk, surrounded by a beautiful, softly blended background of warm pinks, creams, and subtle earth tones.

Jerry demonstrates how to establish the composition and develop the shapes, proportions, and positioning of the three chickens while maintaining the loose, expressive character of an Impressionistic painting. You'll learn how variations in value, color, contrast, and brushwork help distinguish the individual birds and create convincing form and dimension. Jerry also introduces fine art techniques for developing a soft, colorful background that complements the subjects without competing with their stronger colors and details.

As the painting develops, Jerry demonstrates techniques for creating chicken feathers, colorful plumage, flowing rooster tails, combs, wattles, beaks, and other distinctive poultry features. Special attention is given to capturing the rich reddish-brown feathers of the foreground rooster and the dramatic highlights and shadows that define the black rooster's plumage. This step-by-step acrylic painting tutorial also explores how expressive brushstrokes, broken color, textured grasses, and the rough bark of the nearby tree help establish a natural barnyard setting while preserving the painting's Impressionistic style.

Pecking Order is an excellent lesson for beginning artists who want to improve their skills in painting chickens, roosters, realistic feather shapes, animal proportions, Impressionistic backgrounds, and expressive brushwork. Jerry's step-by-step instruction brings these individual fine art techniques together to create a colorful and engaging barnyard painting that combines recognizable wildlife subjects with the softness, texture, and artistic freedom of Impressionism.

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