WIP - 16x20 Centaur Braiding - Part 7

Now I'm starting to paint!  I have been putting a little time into this here and there as time allowed over the holidays and have done some decorating on the pillars and just in general cleaning up edges and defining the objects and shadow shapes.  On the 29th Dec.  I started painting the face and hair of the mother centaur.  Faces tend to be very absorbing and require several seperate sessions using dry brushing  techniques to build up opacity and detailing.

These two images show most of what I was working on on the 29, detailing the pillars and starting the face of the mother centaur.  Sorry for the glare on the painting.

 I also spent most of my time yesterday painting the same face and today, I also worked the stone floor, the rug, the side table and the legs and values of all three centaurs.  I do a lot of skipping around when I paint, LOL!

Here's a close-up of the mothers face.  This will get a bit more work, mostly on the details such as eyes, lips and jewelery, ect.  I'm just starting to lay in the daughters features here.

This side table was just a bit to plain, lol!  OK, I really had planned it to be a carved and inlaid table all along...I just wasn't sure what was going on it until I did it.  Notice the dragon carving with taloned foot on the chaise.

This last image shows some of the flooring detail and the rug.  Much more to be done on all of this, but, it is starting to get there!  

Season's Greetings!

I'd just like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season, whatever your beliefs, and, however you choose to enjoy them! 

We are going to have a white christmas!  This will be the first in 14yrs for the dfw area of texas!  Here's the view out back.

New Work - Winter Stroll

Finally something new to show!   This is my first winter piece of the season...where did the time go!  I had planned to have a whole series of winter scenes done this year, but, it just has not happened yet, and now, it may never get done...at least not this year!  I'm dreaming of a white christmas, and this little painting may be the closest I'll get to that living here in central texas!  Oh, it does snow here... usually 2 or 3 times each winter, but, I don't recall having a white christmas as long as I've lived here!  So, I'll just paint a wintery scene instead...less shoveling to deal with, ha!  This is an 8x8 oil on panel. 

"Winter Stroll"

WIP - 16x20 Centaur 'Braiding' - Part 6

I have spent a few days working on this and it finally has enough to show some progress.  I spent most of this painting time working those columns, over and over again...why, oh why did I subject myself to not just a single pillar, but, to TWO matching pillars!  Painting precise geometric shapes in oils, freehand, without masking is about as difficult as it gets, as far as I'm concerned.  It is just so hard to get it right!  Well, these pillars have come a long way, but, they still need a lot more work just to get the base shape and values right.  After I am happy enough with that, I'll decorate them!  Same goes for the archway and walls.  I am starting to block in the colors now and some of the details.  I won't get into the figures  too much more until Iget the background closer to being finished. 

Sorry for the wet paint glare.

I promise I really will give that poor child and her cat faces! 

New Work - Lone Rangertaur

This young centaur lad loves to play the good-guy with white hat, silver star and six-shooter, and, his favorite character to play; the lone ranger!  This is an ACEO oil painting on birch. 

New Work - Eat My Dust!

Finally, a new one!  I love the drama and excitement of horse racing, so, this is an ACEO of a thoroughbred kicking up a dust storm as he streaks to the front! 

New Work - Three Amigos

Here's a fun new ACEO of three black and white paint horses, one a tovero pattern, one tobiano, and the youngster an overo. 

WIP - 16x20 Centaur 'Braiding' Painting 5

Here's a brief update:  I didn't get a lot of painting time on this and there is not too much to show yet.  I did work the backroom and worked the color of the colums and walls.  Made a change to the mothers arm, and, added a wall oil lamp with silver reflector.  Over all I just did a bit here and there. 

Sketchbook - More Centaur Sketches

Here are two new ones in the centaur sketchbook. 

WIP - 16x20 Centaur 'Braiding' Painting 4

Today, I made a few changes to the background.  I spent part of the day studying photographs of ancient Italian architecture and egyptian relics to get some ideas for the structure and decor of the rooms in this painting.  It is not my intention to mimic any one culture, rather, to create a plausible sub-culture that might exist if centaurs were real and living among human cultures of the ancient times.

    This family is obviously well off with a palacial estate and many luxuries.  Here, the mother is having her eldest daughter braid her mane and help her with her dressing for a night out with her husband when he returns home.  The youngest daughter entertains them with chatter and play.  She and her pets find the occassion very exciting and festive and as a result is always getting underfoot.

   I changed the doorway columns and wall structure and also changed the table and pictures on the right side.  I thought they were just too modern looking.  There will be a tapestry on the wall instead and an oil lamp on the wall behind the childs head.  In the back room I added a fireplace with a cooking pot, and, will have a brick wall mantle above it.  Floors are undecided, yet.  I'm leaning towards brick and stone floors similar to ancient Roman architecture, or, my original idea of woven rugs...have to wait n see.  Lots more details to be worked out on this .

WIP - 16x20 Centaur 'Braiding' Painting 3

My next step is to paint a monochromatic underpainting to work out the values and lighting for this painting.  This is not a step I normally bother with in my smaller work, but, this large, complex composition is purely fictitious with no reference outside of my imagination to rely on, so, I need the value study to help me work out these details. 

This is painted in using just white and burnt sienna. 

I added a little ultramarine blue and burnt umber to create some deeper dark values here for the back room and for detailing on the centaurs. 

I am not finished with the value painting, yet...just had to quit for the day.  I am not so much interested in creating every little detail in the monochromatic study, but, I do want to fully establish the lighting/shadows at this point and make sure it works well in the composition before I start adding color. 

WIP - 16x20 Centaur 'Braiding' Painting 2

I finally got back to work on this one!  I don't have a name for it yet which is why I am using 'centaurs braiding hair', ha!  I'll think of something as I work on this.  I finalized the drawing (called a cartoon) by redrawing the various elements on tracing paper which allowed me to cut out and move elements around until I was satisfied with the composition.  I then retraced it on a full sized sheet exactly how I wanted the layout on the painting. 

 Next step was to prepare the painting panel.   I am using a new product by Art & Enns of Canada, a polystyrene panel claimed to last over a thousand years with no deterioration...like I'll be around to see if it's true, right?  Ha!  Anyway, I have been looking for a better painting surface for a long time and decided to try out a panel from A&E on this painting.  I like how they are made, but, they do have a pronounced texture on them.  It is not too bad, though, so I painted the surface with alkyd paint tinted with burnt sienna for a warm  golden underpainting to help fill in the texture.  I sanded that down and now am happy with the surface.

With the panel ready to go, the next step was to transfer the cartoon to the panel.  I taped the cartoon to the panel and used a red transfer paper between the cartoon and the panel and then drew over the drawing on the cartoon using a hard ball point pen.  Once finished I had a light red tracing on the panel. 

 It is very light and the fine detail was not transfered due to the panel texture.  I know that as it was, I would lose my drawing once I started applying paint, so, my next step was to redraw the tracing using a Sharpie marker to establish a bold, detailed drawing. 

 I will make numerous adjustments to this as I paint, especially on the figures faces and legs.  The background will get a lot more added to it also...I'm still considering how I want to decorate the rooms and the centaurs.  This is how it looks now. 

Next step will be to start applying paint! 

New Work - Spirit

Sweet natured and gorgeous, the arabian horse has a fire in its soul, yet unquenched and proud!

Life sized 2.5"x3.5"

"Spirit" oil on wood

Close-up images

New Work - Friesian Sky

"Friesian Sky, original version"

Lifesized.

I must have known this one wasn't really finished when I listed it the first time on ebay.  I didn't even finish this blog post for it, leaving a blank draft page instead.  Before the new listing was even half through its first week offering, and, with no bids in sight, I had to go in and make some much needed improvements.  The  head was too large and coarse-looking with an overly large roman nose, and, worst of all, the eye was flat and dead-looking!  So, I trimmed the length off the head and shaved down the profile some, then spent another half hour trying to put a spark of life in the eyes...not and easy task on such a tiny painting!   Then I revised the ebay listing and sat back to see how it went.  The auction ended and again, no sale, so I relisted for another week.  Two days into this listing, I decided it just wasn't done...again!  That head was still bugging me!  This time I fixed it.  With a straighter and more refined shape and a lot more detailing over the entire painting, it now is a painting I'm satisfied with...for now! Ha!  Sometimes, I can get them right the first time.  Other times, like with this little friesian painting, I have to keep coming back to it until it looks right! 

"Friesian Sky" Oil ACEO 2.5x3.5"

Life sized

Detail

New Work - Bay Quarterhorse

This is a new ACEO oil on Multimedia art board.

New Work - Red Unicorn

Like vision from a fairytale, with a wake of golden glittering magic dust, a pale red unicorn canters across a floral studded meadow on rainbow hooves.

This new oil is 4x6" on Multimedia Art Board.

The rainbows have been painted with irridescent paint and golden crystal glitter to add a touch of magic to this unicorn painting!

New Work - Dancing Skeletaur

This is a new centaur Halloween ACEO, oil on Multimedia art board. 

Sketchbook - Painthorse & Arab

These two are new in the book.  Those thunder-legs just kept growing and growing...sometimes these sketches are a real battle, and, I don't always win...note the erasure marks, ha!