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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

"Live and Learn" Tuesday .. or ... Another Case of Win Some, Lose Some

Portrait looked like it was starting out well ...

When I started applying the flesh tones, the orange in the shadows was apparently too much.

I tried lifting it with a sponge, but it left the paper surface too grainy and roughened. I played with the hair , but that didn't inspire me too much, so this will be re-cycled as a color-testing swatch.

The bird seems to be all right. I wanted to play with a technique I read about a few years ago, gradually masking small areas and then painting.


Initially, I used aureolin, quin. burnt orange and cobalt blue. It wasn't quite intense enough, so I did some sectional washes with mixes of aureolin, quin. burnt orange and phthalo green[YS].   

It came out all right, but may need some tweaking.


As always, I welcome your comments!

11 comments:

  1. At least you hadn't got too far before calling it a day like I once did! And like you say - it's always another lesson learned! I'm sure the bird will be beautiful! I can't wait to see it :0)

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  2. I have fallen so far behind, Kathryn - but didn't want you to think I was ignoring your work...will try to catch up soonest!

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  3. Ohh, yes, I have messed up miles and miles of canvas and just consider it all part of the learning process. In fact, I went through my inventory a month or 2 ago and made a major contribution to the local landfill!
    I think your little bird will turn out beautifully. I love how his head is turned rather inquisitively to the side.

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  4. I have a feeling the bird will be magnificent when its all done.
    love
    tweedles

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  5. I'm sorry the portrait did not work! But the bird is great so far! I tried to have a close look at the background, I like it very much!

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  6. What a bummer, Kathryn!! The portrait looked like it was coming out nice BUT let's focus on the bird...love him and think its going to be amazing...I love the background as well.

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  7. The portrait looked ok to me, but you're the far better judge, since it's your own. I know it's far better to start a new one than to fight forever with one you're not satisfied with.
    The bird is looking good!!

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  8. Hey, win some, lose some. The background for your bird did really turn out well. Looks like it has lots of depth to it and interesting colours. Too bad about the portrait but hey, it's only paper. And challenges always lead to learning new things. Have fun with it and keep us updated.

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  9. It's always good to experiment. I do love the way the bird picture is progressing...beautiful background colors!

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  10. Kathryn I can't see the lady so good but I do know I throw paintings out.We all do if we will admit it.. Your work is beautiful..keep it up! love,Diana

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  11. Sorry about the lady, Kathryn.I never succeeded in lifting the paint,either.For me,its best to turn it into an experimental painting,may be use some different techniques which involve using more pigments and deeper colors...wouldn't that be exciting!

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