CATS ... Continued ...

At the owner's request, I really darkened the entire face and eyes. So this one is done.

Started one of the Persians - an all-over wet-in-wet wash of quin. burnt orange with a touch of pink. While still wet, I dropped in some thicker paint of the same color.

Masked some highlights in the eyes, then wet the area and dropped in some aureolin, with dabs of quin. gold and cobalt blue.

I did the iris, and added some roundness to it by lining the outer edge and then softening with a damp brush. Then I lined the eye with a dark reddish brown, and did some dry brushwork in the darker areas of the face. This one still needs work, and I think adding pink to the orange wasn't a great idea - I'll do the rest of the fur with a more neutral orange.

This stage was one of those times when you look at a painting and wonder what you are doing, and even why you paint. I had wet the entire grey area of the face, dropped in some thin color [mix of aureolin, pink and cobalt blue] and then added some dashes of thicker paint where she has spots and streaks. 

Once I started the eyes, she came alive. I did a thin w/w application of cobalt blue, then dropped in some blue-grey [the cobalt plus aureolin and pink]. I let that dry then wet the eye again, and added the pupil. In the photo, she was in shadow, and the pupil was softer, not as hard-edged.

I repeated the same procedure on the eyes, then removed the bits of masking. For her markings, I mixed orange, violet and indanthrone to make a very dark brown, and then applied the color with a dry brush technique. I really like how she looks so far!

Here are the three models.

Thank you for dropping by!!!

Color Studies for Some Cats, a Second Run at the Seiner and a Class Quickie Demo

I started with the eyes - a  small w/w application of quin. gold, quin. burnt orange and cobalt blue.  The markings were done with a mix of quin. rose and quin. burnt orange.

I did a dry brush application of black [quin. rose, q.b.o. and indanthrone] for the dark markings, let it dry the did a w/w application of a grey mix [aureolin, rose and cobalt blue] for the rest of the coat.

I darkened the pink-orange areas and then ...

... dry-brushed the black markings again, added some detail to her nose, and glazed her eyes with cobalt blue.

This second cat is coming along much more slowly. I think it's all that expanse of black that is putting me off. I started the eyes with quin. gold and quin. burnt orange, and used some of that pink-orange from the other cat for some of the light markings.

Some pupils and a touch of cobalt blue for the eyes, ...

... and a w/w wash of black. She is a Scottish fold with, I think, some Persian, so no nose and tiny ears - not a lot of facial landmarks with which to work.

I wanted to try the seiner again - lighter this time.  This has had  a wash of aureolin, followed by a gradated wash of quin. rose, then one of phthalo blue. I am stalled, trying to figure out how I would like to represent the waves.

Started teaching another class yesterday. This was one of the demos.  I borrowed the idea from Thomas Schaller [love his work], as it was an elegant image, brought to life by the w/w application of colors. I definitely paint differently when teaching - faster, looser, always standing - and it shows in the work. I'll have to try painting like this more at home. On my own, I sit, and am very slow and methodical - sometimes good, not always.

On the horsey front, I haven't ridden for 3 weeks. I miss it, and Bruno does, too. But between being tossed off, and then the weather becoming very wet and turning the ring to a sodden mess, we haven't been able to do anything. Today is drier, I'm feeling much stronger, so off to the barn I go!!!

Thank you for dropping by!   

Taking a So-So Painting to Completion and Playing in Watercolor Class

My nemesis - the dreaded magnolia

First attempt

Further on with the background - it was at this point I realized it wouldn't work.

Second attempt - I just flipped the paper over, and re-traced the image.  I masked first, then started applying quin. pink, quin. burnt orange and indanthrone in a wet-in-wet manner.

Many wet ones later ...

Glazed stem and buds in pink, then started to paint with truer versions of their local color.  The stem was a mix of indanthrone, pink and orange.

The buds were done with lighter and a darker mixes of indanthrone and quin. gold. Quin. pink was used in the petal accents. And the shadows were a combination of pink, orange and indanthrone.
The paper was not very obliging as far as accepting color went; between soaking twice, using the "wrong" side and applying masking fluid, the surface was quite roughened up.

Last Saturday, the class asked to have some tree demos.  I like the opportunity to be able to paint faster and looser, but I'm not sure I could finish an decent, completed painting in this way. 

More of the class demo's - again I really like that tree on the left, but wonder if and how I could integrate it into a finished painting.

That's it for this week. I hope to get started on another seascape. I would like to give a painting to my sister's old boyfriend in thanks for finding me a very lovely car at an excellent price. [My Honda was written off in an accident last October.] Gary's dad worked on a seiner for years, and I know he would love a painting of the ship, which still heads out from Steveston to fish.

Thank you all very much for dropping by!

Wishing All of You the Best of New Years!!!

Gorgeous double daylily for a reference

I masked the flower, and did a w/w wash with burnt orange and indanthrone.

Re-masked the stamen and pistils, and started playing with the petals w/w, using aureolin and quin. sienna. 

Trying to take consistent photos is impossible at this time of year.
More w/w glazing with the orange for the flower, and quin. gold and indanthrone for the greenery.

I took this last summer at a neighbor's - I was taking care of her animals for a week. I don't think I'd seen hanging begonias before this.

The colors used so far were indanthrone, gold and brown madder. I masked the flowers, then wet everything and daubed on the three colors, then when dry, went back to work on the leaves and stem.
 

More detail on the leaves.

This gives a better idea of the actual colors, though I find with  multi-colored washes and glazing that the color is  very difficult to re-produce with photo and computer.

Just another example of how varies the colors appear.

Started to add more color to the flowers - alizarin crimson and quin. sienna - and glazed the fallen petals with alizarin.

This is where it stands now - almost done! I did want to create a moodier piece, focussing more on overall atmosphere rather than the plant. 

I finished up the chickadee, too, but somehow he looks like a stuffed bird to me.

It has been a difficult time for me. My aunt passed away Dec. 20. She helped bring me up - was around a lot. And for the past number of years, she was a strong supporter of my art. She had a good - no, great - eye, so was invaluable as a critic. She was my mentor and patron. I do, and will, miss her immensely.
Slowly, I am getting back to painting, pushing myself, because my heart is not really in it.

Thank you all for dropping by, and I wish you all the best in 2016!