Happy New Year!
Date | By · CommentsHappy new Year to everyone! I know that this year will be the best yet. I have lots of ideas to blog about and a new painting to begin the year with. Please comment and let me know what you would like to see and I will try to oblige you. I am going to experiment with different papers this year as well. The next painting I do will be on pastel mat. I am looking forward to painting on it. It has a velvety feel like the velour but not the same.
I invite you to visit my Pet Portraits site as well. Brand New! I think it looks great. Let me know what you think.
Follow along with the next step by step.
Press Release for Mill Show
Date | By · CommentsHere’s the link for the news release about Art at the Mill. Hope you enjoy it!
http://www.prweb.com/releases/wolf-artist/painting/prweb4596074.htm
Upcoming Show-October 2-17, 2010
Date | By · CommentsI will have 5 new paintings in the upcoming Art at the Mill show in Millwood, VA next month. Actually the show opens next weekend. I was very honored to have all 5 of my pieces accepted.
The Mill show is one of the premier art shows in our area. For more information click on this link to the Burwell-Morgan Mill. The venue for the show is an operational gristmill built in 1785.
All of my paintings are of wolves and I will post one here to let you see what I have been painting.
German Shepherd Dog Finish
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Here’s the finished dog. I was very pleased with this. I added more darks and a background also. I felt that some of the white areas were too bright so I darkened them after I finished the other dog.
Shepherds-Stage 3
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I have started to add some color to the painting. I think you have to remember to add the colors underneath that will show thru in the finished painting. For me I have to always remember to go dark enough so that the lighter colors that come later will really show up. I added some browns, sepia and more black. I also put pink in the dog’s ears. I finished his eyes and put some white in the muzzle. I have started the legs in this photo. He also has his legs crossed. A habit that was particular to him. That makes the portrait special. I think it helps to include those details when you paint. Please don’t hesitate to email me with your questions and comments.
Shepherds-Stage 2
Date | By · CommentsAfter the drawing is done , it is time to add a little more depth. I begin to emphasize the black and white drawing, deepening the black pastel and also adding white highlights. I am working on the dog located on the left first. I do that so as not to drag my hand thru the finished work. I will do the dog on the right after I finish the first dog. I also want to say that, the first dog is mainly black and the second is black and tan. A great combo for a painting.
German Shepherds_Stage 1
Date | By · CommentsI also paint other animals besides wolves and thought you might enjoy seeing how one of those paintings comes together.
I have selected a favorite of mine of 2 German shepherd dogs. They were wonderful subjects and I hope you will enjoy watching the painting progress. I have begun the painting, which is done on grey velour paper, with just a drawing of black pastel. I used a hard pastel that I sharpened with a razor blade to form a point. Soft pastel just doesnt work for this. It leaves too much pastel on the paper. The hard ones also make a great fine line.
At this point I am trying to just get a black and white drawing and some shading as well . This will help me in the later stages when I add color.
Come back to see the next stages!
Snow Day-Finished Painting
Date | By · CommentsHere’s the finished painting:
I continued to add details to the fur, finishing the wolf and then the foreground and just a suggestion of trees in the background.
Stage 3- Snow Day
Date | By · CommentsThis is Stage 3 of Snow Day:
I have continued to add dark, foundational colors to the wolf. The darks are the foil for the lights. If you do not get your darks in the lights will not “pop” and add that realism that we are looking for. I built the foundation in dark greys, sepia, some warm browns, ultramarine blue(especially in shadows) and black. Then I begin to softly stroke in the lights so that the fur begins to look real. I use mainly white for this but also some cream colors. Go easy-you don’t want to draw in every hair! I also started to add some snow to the background area. To make the nose come forward add a touch of warm color on the muzzle and then add white on top of that. I use more blue under the chin to push it back. Alternate your warm and cool colors depending on waht you want to come forward in the picture plan and what you want to recede. I think we may have a lesson on bringing attention to the center of interest and go into some design elements. Please don’t hesitate to email me your questions!
Art Lesson-Color
Date | By · CommentsI thought we would take a break from the wolf painting and talk about color and how you can use it to make a better painting. These are watercolors but the principles of color can be applied to any medium.
”Good Friends” ”Best Friends”
Here are two paintings. “Good Friends” was painted first and although I was pleased with the result, I wanted to paint it “more thoughtfully”. The result is “Best Friends “.
I set out to accomplish three objectives. First I wanted to achieve a better likeness. I missed something on the first try. Secondly, I wanted to use color in a more interactive way, using compliments to focus the eye of the viewer on the center of attention. Finally, I wanted to use more glazing in this painting in addition to my usual direct approach.
In “Best Friends “, I wanted to create a color vibration between the hair and the background, so that the viewer’s eye would be directed to the girl’s face first. The hair color is most intense on the left side of the face, at eye level where I placed the brightest purple background tone (purple is the compliment of yellow). In addition, I used more purple in the shadows of the hair to give a nice color variation, rather than using a brown or burnt sienna shade. I painted the skin tones in my usual manner using two or three washes, and then glazed over the shadow side with a purple wash to “push back” the face and allow the hair to come forward. I liked the result very much. As you can see, glazing creates subtle color variations that cannot be achieved with just using darker hues of paint. This process makes the painting more interesting to look at.
Compare the two paintings. In your own work, you may try using complimentary mixtures to create more interesting paintings
