WIP - 16x20 Centaur Braiding - Part 9

Almost Done!  After being forced by a bad modem to stay off the internet, I managed to put quite a bit of time into this and have it very nearly completed!  Whoohoo!  There are a few things that still need finishing off and a few touchups here an there, but, the majority of this is done!  I really had a blast painting this!  Trying to come up with the interior of thier home, with all the decor and furnishings was very challenging and has been an evolution with many changes along the way.  That archway and the pillars was by far the most difficult part and is still not quite where I want it, so, I may yet make more changes to the upper archway and the uppermost walls before I call this done.  I replaced the framed painting and the oil lamp from the back wall.  The painting was just too modern-looking and the lamp was too distracting by appearing to sprout from the littlest girls head.  Finally, the mother is now holding a hand mirror and sporting the latest in upper class centaur fashion and accessories.  Here are a bunch of close-up images.  Click on the images to see enlarged photo images!

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!  

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!