I’ve been working on the tissue paper and newsprint today. This is when I turn up the music and, as my sister calls it, “noodle” – painting itty bitty details. Some artists find this tedious, I find it relaxing. It doesn’t require a whole lot of thinking, just a little bit patience. If I have some good music I’m good to go!
I’m using a mixture of pthalo blue (red shade) and violet oxide for the dark shadows and print. Working wet in wet for the shadowing and dry brush for the lettering, adding water in the areas I want the lettering to fade. I’ve also been adding more detail to Jack, deepening the shadows creating more depth. Ok, back to noodling!
I’ve been working on Jack for the last couple of days, so let’s catch up. When we left off I had just started painting the tabby lines on his face using Golden Burnt Sienna and Da Vinci Raw Sienna.
Next I began to bring in the coloring of his body, working wet in wet with burnt sienna, raw sienna and some Golden Transparent Red Iron Oxide (a favorite of mine) alternating these color glazes.
Using a light wash of Golden Dioxazine Purple, again working wet in wet, I begin to define the warm shadowing around his head and body and continue to build the colors in his coat. I’m slowly “sculpting” his head with very light glazes of color to build the shadows that will define the shape of his face. It’s a slow process but I love watching them come to life as the layers of paint build and begin to glow.
I spent the better part of the day yesterday, laying down glazes of color, sculpting his face, shaping fur and developing Jack’s “fluff factor”. Using Golden Paynes Grey I started to work in the cool shadows of his head and began to loosely develope the newsprint. For the warmer shadows I’m using purple and Golden Burnt Umber Light. To sculpt the fur on his body and under his chin I am using light glazes of purple. For his little pink nose and ears I used a mixture of Golden Yellow Oxide and Da Vinci Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone which makes a lovely flesh tone. For the finer fur details in his face I have found a 1/2 inch grainer brush comes in quite handy.
Supplies used:
Golden Burnt Sienna
Da Vinci Raw Sienna
Golden Transparent Red Iron Oxide
Golden Dioxazine Purple
Golden Burnt Umber Light
Golden Yellow Oxide & Da Vinci Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone = flesh tone
Golden Paynes Grey
Photographers Note: The coloring in these photos vary due to weather conditions, mostly cloudy with rain ……. maybe the sun will return soon and I can get a more accurate photo!!
“Mellinium”
25″ x 20″
Fluid Acrylic on Arches Watercolor paper
A year in the making and I can now call it “done”! Actually, it was 2 years in the making if you start counting when I took the photos….. but who’s counting. It was a long tedious project, not one you can work on continuously. However, there were lots of fuzzy butts painted in between to break the dizzying swirl of colors. I’m sure I will find something to tweak here or there but for now we’ll call it D – O – N – E !