Hee'zzz Baaaaaack !!!!




"Perigord Pasture"
oil on canvas panel, 12" x 16"


Take a deep breath, Mike, and exhale! Again. Now, once more.


Whew! It has been toooo long! So, after posting my new year greetings this morning, I fired up the new computer (with the big jazzy monitor) and pulled out a 12 x 16 canvas panel and painted this piece! I can hardly stand still, I am so excited!! If you are painting in a studio from photos, then this is a tool you cannot be without! There is so much one can do to the photo to stimulate a great painting . . . .well . . . .at least it'll get you excited and raise your hopes!! ;-)


Today, I began this with a size 12 flat brush and didn't put it down until I was ready to begin highlighting with higher key values. Keeping the paint thin while I blocked it in, I kept my darks transparent and thin so I could layer those juicy highlights over them. Having never painted a cow or four legged creature in my life, this was a challenge I had been avoiding. So, true to the stuff I teach, I decided that it was NOT a cow. It was just a combination of shapes of color. Having talked myself into that, the number 12 brush skipped along with no problem.


I tried a few 'cute tricks' too. Palette knife work with some broken color in the tree, branches, and a few little lines at the base of the painting. Also, having painted a warm, medium value orangish color where the lit grass is, I scumbled over it laying a big dry brush on its back. All sorts of wonderful stuff happened with just a light touch and effortless pass just grazing (that is an intended pun) over the canvas.


What a way to welcome myself back!!! I am dancing a jig!!

Labels: , , , ,