National Gallery at Home: Create your own birds of a feather!

Follow these simple steps to create your own colourful bird!

Watch the video and then try it out yourself. You'll find all the materials and instructions listed below. Let's get started!

Watch the video!

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Materials and instructions

You will need:

• Some card
• Coloured paper
• A pencil
• Colouring materials, such as crayons, markers, colouring pencils etc.)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• A stick or twig
• Some ribbon or twine

Instructions:

1. Begin by looking looking closely at Edward Murphy's painting Paroquets, above. Notice the different colours of feathers, the various body shapes, and how some birds have large crests on their heads, while others have long tails. You can also look up different species of birds in books or online.
2. Sketch the outline shapes of the birds on your card and cut them out.
3. Use your crayons or markers to colour in your birds.
4. Use your coloured paper to create dramatic tail feathers or crests to decorate your birds.
5. Glue these feathers and crests to your bird.
6. Attach ribbon to your birds and then hang them on the twig.

Share your artwork!

Would you like to see your artwork featured on the Gallery's website? Take a photo of your artwork and send it to us by email ([email protected]) or using this online form to upload your picture. We'll feature a selection of pictures in the Creative Challenge Gallery, so check back to see if yours is included!

Upload a picture of your artwork using this form

Inspired by ...

Edward Henry Murphy (c.1796-1841), Paroquets, c.1830. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland.

This activity is inspired by this colourful painting by Edward Murphy called Paroquets. The birds in this painting are a scarlet macaw (top), a white Moluccan cockatoo (bottom) and, in the background, a green ring-necked parakeet. Notice the different colours of feathers, the various body shapes, and how some birds have large crests on their heads, while others have long tails.

Credits:

This video was made by Brina from our Education team and her sons Aedh and Nevan.

About our Gallery at Home videos:

Inspired by works in our collection and exhibitions, our creative activities encourage families to work together to create their own artworks. They are specially produced videos for babies, older children and for those who require sensory input. You can find all the workshops in this series here. Enjoy!