Long Island Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker

Long Island Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker Painting.

The Northern Flicker painting inspired by this unusual bird— often called the Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker for the bright golden underside of its flight feathers — it is an extraordinary woodpecker. Unlike most woodpeckers, it forages on the ground hunting for ants rather than working tree bark. Its striking coloring includes golden-brown wings with yellow undersides, a white, tan, and black spotted breast, a chestnut-brown face, grey head feathers with white tips, and a bright red chevron on the back of its neck. Spotting this bird in flight or on the ground is always a thrilling sight.

Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZES: 8×10 — 11×14 — 16×20 — Custom sizes may be available. Click CONTACT to inquire | ORIENTATION: Landscape | TOOLS: Procreate, 13″ iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, Giclée Fine Art Archival paper and ink | AVAILABILITY: Prints available | CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ARTIST’S PROCESS:

Long Island Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker was painted in Procreate on a 13″ iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. This technique replicates traditional painting’s depth and texture through layered digital brushwork. The process began with careful structural drawing, followed by multiple rounds of color blocking, value refinement, and detail work on feather texture to capture the species’ appearance and temperament. Shadow and light were built up using multiple Procreate layers and specific brushes, and the environmental details were drawn from the original reference photograph of this bird.

CHALLENGE:

This flicker’s plumage shifts dramatically across just a few inches — golden-brown barred wings, a black-spotted white breast, a solid chestnut face, and a bright red neck chevron all meet with almost no transitional blending. Each region was built as its own layer set: a structural sketch, a color-blocked base, and a final shade pass, so the sharp edges between patterns stayed crisp rather than muddying together. Once each section held its own distinct color and value, the layers were merged into a single cohesive bird.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Wildlife — Nature — Northern Flicker — Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker — Woodpecker — Ground-Foraging Bird — Long Island Wildlife — Birding — Procreate Artwork — CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION