A Goose of Distinction

Himself

   I like him as  high key painting. I think if I went darker with the goose and/or the background, it would look like something out a real "Grim" fairy tale!

The Domestic Menagerie Is Coming Along ...

Miss Moo
7.5 x 9.5 in / 19 x 24 cm

Added some phthalo blue highlights and a grey "shadow map"
[ aureolin, quin. pink, cobalt blue] 

Intensify some areas, lift others

Photo taken outside - much closer to "real" hues


 Miss Moo is done, and I think she is quite sweet-looking. I took the photo this morning outside, and it gives a more better idea of the true color.
The goose needs more play with his shadows, and work on the bill and feet. I am wondering about the background. My tendency is to be quite dark and dramatic, but I think this will need something more subtle. It depends on how intense I get with his body shadows. What do you think?? 

Miss Moo Is Picking Up Steam ...

 

I left her here last night ...

I've done nostril, eye, and started inner ear
Indanthrone blue for wall shadow 

Skipped around with a grey to simulate stone wall
Did a w/w wash over her face

Background - very wet w/w wash with aureolin for trees & quin. gold for pasture


I woke up this morning very keen to paint.  I've been playing with Miss Moo for about 3 hours, and I think she is almost done. The stone wall needs work. And Missy needs more shadowing on the black and the white areas. Other than that, I am quite satisfied with this sweet Holstein face.

... and Now I Am Going to Pull a Rabbit Out of My Hat!

Simple-looking sketch [with all my notes scribbled around it]

   OK ... no rabbits today. I say that only because this effort is more than I bargained for. Yes ... simple ... only a goose. But the shadows are wild. The reflected colors on the left side of the goose are going to be somewhat of a challenge.

Graded wash of aureolin

Graded wash of cobalt blue

Some aureolin in reflected shadow area
Some quin. siena so I see something other than white

The model

Mooing Along Slowly ...

Fairly detailed sketch

Background of quin. gold + cobalt blue

Background = prussian blue on grass + indanthrone blue for trees
Road map of shadows on cow with thin quin. violet + indanthrone

Underpainting of brown madder + prussian blue

1st glaze of black [aureolin + quin. pink + prussian blue]

A few light washes on darker areas of cow

"Herself"





 I haven't felt at all like painting the past few weeks, but the urge is coming back  a bit. I did the sketches for both paintings on which I am working last night. Then this morning, I traced them onto wc. paper, prepped them, and started painting. They are both somewhat difficult; the Holstein I chose just because I like cows, and the goose is to cheer up a friend who is most fond of geese [she had to euthanize her her old friend, Buddy, yesterday]  So we shall see what I can pull off with the two works.As always, comments are MOST welcome! 

The Seven Links Project

   I knew it would arrive sooner or later - the invitation to participate in  the seven links project. I received a gmail from my blogging friend, Vinayak Deshmukh, who is an engineer by profession and an artist by passion. His blog, PENCILS AND BRUSHES, displays his beautiful portraits, landscapes, and still life paintings, done in both watercolor and oil.
   Being most curious by nature, I wanted to find out where this project originated. I traced it back to a travel blog, and it started in late June of this year. It seems to have been around for a longer time than that.
   I consider my most beautiful post to be the one of  Carmella, the yellow labrador. This post received a lot of feedback, but the backlit rose got even more comments.
   The most popular post, judging by the number of comments, was the backlit rose. I was a bit surprised, as it was only a small painting done as an experiment. Thankfully, the trial of a new technique went well, and all of you approved.
   I was sure I would receive some comments about a post I wrote on New Years Day; it was a bit of a rant about materialism, and the true value of just being YOU. But I must say, the most controversial post was about the process of a painting of an alley in Athens. I was really getting stuck with all aspects of the painting, and when I asked for advice, I received many answers ... ALL of them quite different. Truly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all artists  have their very distinct definitions of beauty and art.
   When I consider my most helpful post, I think there are several that fall into that category. Again, I base this on the number of comments, and the comments themselves. I have posted several "painting processes", in which I photograph and describe  the painting as it progresses; almost all of these have received comments about how the description is helpful.

   The post whose success surprised me was the backlit rose. I was trying to figure out HOW Jacqueline Gnott created those softly circumscribed areas of lightness in her floral paintings. And being too tight-fisted to buy a DVD, I experimented. That was pretty much how I learned watercolor, too - read the books, studied the paintings, and tried out some ideas.
A post I felt didn't receive the attention it deserved was one I did on the painting process of a carousel horse. I thought it was cool - bright, colorful, different. I think it was one of my early posts, and that is how it was ignored ... at least, that's my theory!
   As for the post of which I am most proud of, I must admit they are all equal in that regard. I have enjoyed presenting all of them, the painting posts and the "farmish" posts, and I am very happy that you have enjoyed reading them!
   I thought I would include my favorite paintings ...

Denise in Venice

Bruno

Little Red Hen

 

Daylily


I would like to thank Vinayak for the invitation to the seven links project, and , in turn, I would now like to invite  seven people:


Julie Hill   Capturing Life with Brushstrokes
Matteo Grilli    Wildlife Art - Watercolors from the Australian Bush
Melanie     Redhead Art 
Mary Sheehan Winn   Just Painting
Nolon Stacey   Leaping into the World of the Starving Artist
Jennifer MacNeill Taylor   Gypsymare Studio
Jane Minter   Jane Minter's Sketchbook 

Country Moments

A little mid-morning rester

Aha, he's spotted me

Hmmm ... should I get up?

Up, and having a shake to get rid of wood shavings

"Would you like to play, or maybe let me on the back lawn?"

   I am not producing very much with my painting right now, so nothing to post with that. But I still deeply love the beauty and quiet of the countryside, so I will share some rural moments. I was outside hanging up laundry, and saw Bruno having a siesta.  I tried to get to him quietly to take some photos. But he was up in seconds, ready for anything.

   And Sandy Sandy will like this - I rescued a hummingbird yesterday. It was caught in the main house, trying to get out the skylight, and only becoming more and more exhausted. I finally had to get a kitchen step-ladder and a soft towel [wrapped around my hand to give me more "height"] and very gently put my hand around him. They are so tiny, I felt nothing in my hand. I took him outside, opened the towel, and let him zip away! I felt so good doing that.