Bohan Art

Essential Colors for Your Watercolor Paintings: Birds, Wildlife & Just About Everything Else

Matt Bohan — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:20:56 +0000

With hundreds of options available, what are the watercolor paints you actually need? This video goes through the 15 colors I find to be essential. It also highlights a few other handy pigments that save time mixing—plus three colors you … Continued

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Camouflage vs. Contrast: Challenges in Painting a Fall Tennessee Warbler

Matt Bohan — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:20:08 +0000

Despite them being relatively common in migration, it took me a while to get around to painting a Tennessee Warbler. These birds breed in Canada and pass through our yard here in Michigan for just a few weeks in the … Continued

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Painting a Bay-breasted Warbler and Its Habitat in Watercolor

Matt Bohan — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:35:31 +0000

Warblers are one of my favorite birds to paint. I’ve painted Bay-breasted Warblers before, but only in their spring plumage. Many warblers become incredibly drab in the fall, which makes identification tricky. In central Michigan, two species can be especially … Continued

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Capturing an Olive-sided Flycatcher in Watercolor

Matt Bohan — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:47:33 +0000

I don’t see Olive-sided Flycatchers very often here in Mid-Michigan, so spotting one is always exciting. On the rare occasions when I do see one, it’s usually perched high at the top of a bare tree, surveying the area for … Continued

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Rendering Clouds and an Eastern Kingbird in Watercolor

Matt Bohan — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:23:19 +0000

Eastern Kingbird (7×10-Inch Transparent Watercolor on Arches 140lb HP Paper) I’ve seen Eastern Kingbirds countless times over the years, but this was my first time painting one. I usually encounter them at the edges of fields where they are hunting … Continued

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Painting a Gorgeous Waterbird in Watercolor: Gray-headed Swamphen

Matt Bohan — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 18:59:52 +0000

This Gray-headed swamphen was one of my life birds from my last trip to Florida. To bird-nerds like myself, a life bird is one that you have never seen before. We get pretty excited about things like that! These birds … Continued

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Painting a Nesting Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Matt Bohan — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 13:38:54 +0000

I’ve only painted hummingbirds twice before, and both were commissioned pieces. One featured five males of different species in Arizona and the other two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. All were fun to paint, especially with those with bright metallic feathers! This bird … Continued

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Painting American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts in Watercolor

Matt Bohan — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:54:13 +0000

I tried a different sort of background on this watercolor. All those dead mangroves and other trees made for a somewhat surreal background for these American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. I got a lot of photo reference for this painting … Continued

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Mendota (Bete Grise) Lighthouse in Watercolor and Ink: Painting + Time-lapse Video

Matt Bohan — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:26:30 +0000

I think I finally found a good use for that block of Arches Cold press Paper. Rather than trying to force it into doing detailed work, which it seems to resent, I’ll use the paper for looser ink and watercolor … Continued

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Royal Tern Watercolor Painting on Cold Press Paper

Matt Bohan — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 16:13:59 +0000

When Your Paper Fights Back: Painting a Royal Tern in Watercolor In my last post, which featured a Laughing Gull, I mentioned that I’d only painted a couple of gulls prior to that, and no terns. I’m happy to report … Continued

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