I Painted ALLLLL Day ... to Bruno's Relief

I left the monks/geese at this point last night ...

... then today I painted all day, save for breaks to feed beasties, and to vent my frustrations with 2 hours of guerilla weed-whacking in the back yard. When I looked at this in the morning, the background looked too anemic, so I wet the sky and added more color, then when dry, also wet the mountains and forest and ruins in front and added more color again. I did the monks robes both all over wet-in-wet, and with some dry bush detail. And gave them legs and heads - good to have!

This photo and the one above look very different as to background - I think if you can imagine a blending of the two of them, that will be close as far as color and value.
I did more all-over washes of their robes and satchels with quin. sienna, darkened their legs and heads, and now I am undecided. I do like the orange, but am wondering if it gives enough of an impression of their being back-lit by an early morning sunrise? I'd like to keep the focus toward their feet, because for me the painting is about a pilgrimage, and I see that as walking. Would darkening the bodies a lot take away from that idea? Anyway, I'll put this aside for now, and work on the calf ...

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Two New Paintings Off and Running ...

This is one of the photos I took while visiting the dairy farm - one of the very young calves. He or she [I didn't check] was very photogenic!!!

My drawing

A barely-there beginning ...

Sketch for the second painting

I've done several w/w washes for the soft and distant background - may still need more. And I have laid in some aureolin to start the robes.

Looking a bit livelier after dipping into the quin. sienna. I have a feeling many more glazes will be needed ...

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The Knight Is Done - He's Off to the Lists

"A Hard Day's Knight" ???
9.5 x 8 in.
24 x 20.5 cm.

I am reasonably satisfied with this. I accomplished what I intended. Painting large pieces of metal was part of the challenge.  Not getting tempted to paint every detail was another - that was hard with the horse. And painting wet-in-wet washes over a largely completed part of the image was the most important technique I tried. The focus of this painting was to be the armor, especially the face-plate on the horse, and I believe I was able to keep the focus there. So ... experiment done. Now onto some calves, flowers .... ????

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Addendum to the Knight ...

Somehow I managed to do a fair bit today - must be because I didn't feel the need to have a huge nap after my session with Bruno today. Here, I have darkened the entire background, and given it a rougher look ...

... and have  done some work on the armor. It needs to look more battered, and I may darken the entire knight as well.
Boy, do I need something light and fluffy to paint - getting somewhat morbid here.

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A Day with a Knight [work in progress] ... also a Bad Pun

My sketch

First washes - so far, all I have used are variations with quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone.

More glazing - w/w, wet on dry, dry-brush, scrumble - anything that works to give me the look of slightly battered armor.
I also did an application of aureolin, orange and alizarin, then let it dry and went over all the background with the black mixture, to give a semblance of a foul and dusty battle-field. At this stage, I might be about 1/3 to 1/2 way done. It's actually turning out better than I had hoped.

Meanwhile, Maggie sits outside. She is a very interesting dog, and I can now understand why she had been difficult to foster out. She is quite the guard dog, possessive of me [already], and has a lot of street dog behaviours. Whether she can be gradually "domesticated" more, we shall see - must be done sensitively and tactfully. 

And now there is Scruffy! One of my sisters adopted Scruff, and she has gone to Arizona for a month. She asked if I could take care of Scruffy while she was away. At the time, I had no idea I'd have a dog of my own, so now, there is quite a house full! But Scruff is no problem, other than she is 14 years old, and I think a bit blind. But she is spry, loves her walks, and digs into her food, so I think she'll be fine here. She makes me smile - reminds me of an old gnome, with those big ears and the long tufts of hair coming out of them.

And then there is Bruno, who right now at this level of his education, is demanding much from me, in the way of intestinal fortitude, discipline, balance and strength. Yup - he's a handful to ride. I must be calm, strong, believe in myself and what I am doing, and do it all with a good sense of humor.

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Lot of Glazing Going On ...

Family Outing
11 x 13.5 in.
28 x 35 cm.
Available for purchase via paypal
Leave me a note if you are interested.

I think I am finished, but knowing how I work, I could continue nit-picking on this forever!
Since the last post, I have done a lot of glazing on the shadows on the geese - both dry and wet-in-wet, alternating between pure pigments and a grey mixture. It seems to have given a nice depth to the geese, while maintaining some lovely, soft colors. I also darkened the shadows on the goslings.

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A MOO-ving Experience ... or ... a Short Morning Visit to the Dairy Farm

This is one of the younger calves - just a few days old.

These are a bit older. They are kept in such clean, well-maintained stalls - I was impressed.

Up close and personal - I think this is a shot of the calf licking my camera.

Another close-up. You can see just a bit of her tongue at the center bottom. She was licking my hand. 

This one is a couple of weeks old - getting solid food [grain] and lots of beautiful green hay.

Can you touch the top of your nose with your tongue???

This is another part of the barn, where the adult cows live. This particular cow is a Jersey/Holstein cross. I had no idea, but the Jersey is not the preferred breed of dairy cow - somewhat grumpy and aggressive, compared to the Holstein.

Here are some of the Holstein girls outside.

The gate to the field has been opened, and they are heading off for a day of pasture. You can just catch a bit of the beautiful rolling countryside of Langley.

Tara, on the left, and Mackenzie - they both work part-time at the farm.
A few days ago, a horsey friend of mine [Tara] posted some photos of calves on the farm where she works, and asked if I would like to come and take some photos. OK, that was like waving a red flag at a bull. I could hardly wait!!! So this morning, I was over there by 9:00 AM, camera at the ready. What a wonderful visit! All the animals are so very well cared for, the farm is immaculate, all the workers love the cattle, and the farmer is a sweetheart. I had a great time, and was welcomed to visit again - if I get there around 7:30,  they'll teach me how to milk cows. OH ... HEAVEN!!!
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