Gaggling Along with the Geese ... Feathers, Beaks and Orange Feet

I started with some feathering and shadows on the geese, using a mixture of quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone. The feet I painted with quin. sienna. 

More work on the feathers, using a warmer version of the orange/violet/blue mix.

They are starting to look somewhat like geese. I have done more shadowing and feathering, and placed a thin wash of indanthrone on the bills. I wanted to get color on the birds/muses before I returned to the background. My thought is to have the geese appear to be emerging from darkened mists. We shall see ...
Meanwhile, I just heard a loud neigh from the paddock - His Highness wants to play!

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Just the Beginning ...

My reference photo, taken two years ago

The sketch

First wash - I painted a wet-in-wet wash over the entire paper, and then did some gentle lifting on the geese.

I would like to create a soft, nebulous background for this, so I am using three colors here - quin. burnt orange, permanent rose and cobalt blue - applying them in a scrumbled manner.

I have always enjoyed Greek mythology and ancient history, so I think this idea was simmering in my head before I realized it. I wanted to create more paintings of geese, so I was going through my reference photos, and this one leapt out at me, along with the title. I am calling it "The Three Muses". They are Aglaea, Euphrosyne and Thalia, minor goddesses who celebrate the beauty, joy and richness of life.
To be continued ...

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Slowly but Surely with the Paper Mache

I did some painting last night and this morning on the possum and Basset hound. As with watercolor, they went through a very ugly stage, when the paint was flat and had no texture. But the more I work with the acrylics, alternating thinner and thicker glazes, the better they look. Being a fussy watercolor painter, I find the acrylics to be somewhat like painting with mud, but it's coming ... I'm learning ...

These two still need a lot of detail work and facial features, and the other three figures are waiting their turn. But, first, it is a GLORIOUS day, and I am going out to play with Bruno. :)

WHY?????

WHY does the cat insist on drinking water from the toilet and puddles outside??? She has fresh, clean water in her bowl daily.

Froggie - after several glazes with a plaster gesso, and an initial glaze of shriek yellow.

Owl - glazed with a red/yellow/blue mixture of acrylic.

Basset hound - first glaze

Mr. Przewalski 

and Awesome Possum

The paper mache figures have been much more work than I anticipated - fun, learning process, but a lot of work. They were all glazed several times, and sanded between glazes, with a home-made gesso consisting of plaster of Paris, white glue, water and vinegar. And now they have had a base- coat glaze with a heavy-body acrylic thinned with water. Next, the real painting begins. Here's hoping they look better when finished!!!

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Trying to Gild the Lily ... or ... Another Class Project

I left this painting for a few days, as I couldn't decide what to do with the background.  Considering the ornate style and rich color of the bloom, I thought it best to do as little as possible. So I sketched light pencil lines to get an idea of placement, and applied paint w/w.  As with the rest of the painting, the only colors used were aureolin, quin. sienna and phthalo green.

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Auction: Dry Hydrangea Study

Dry Hydrangea
9 x 7 inches/ 23 x 18 cm.
Artist quality transparent watercolor pigments on Arches 140 lb. CP
I offer for auction this unframed and unmatted painting.  I am setting the bid to start at $65.00 Cdn. and that includes shipping.

Every day,  I will check my blog here, and let you all know what is the latest offer. I will keep the auction on for one month. If you wish to make a bid, please leave me a note here, or on the facebook post.

Thank you very much for dropping by. Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Another Class Project ...

I started with an overall wash of aureolin, applied wet-in-wet.

I masked out the stamen and pistils. Then, again w/w, I dropped in quin. sienna. I also put down the first wash of the base of the petals, using aureolin, quin. sienna and phthalo green.

I stroked some alizarin crimson on the petals, and painted the stem with the yellow, orange and green mixture, adding shadows w/w with just the green and sienna.

At this point, I am trying to achieve an appearance of depth to the petals, using alizarin crimson, w/w.
Long way to go yet. This demo is more advanced, but I hope not too much so.
I'd like to put a background in, but I'm not yet sure what I want to do ... not too dark.

I thank you for dropping by. Your comments and questions are always welcome.