WIP #3 of Jesse
7:23 PM
Here's our boy! The body is beginning to take form and now his head is beginning to fit his body! Yay! If you look on the left side of the dog, towards the middle, you will see blues, greens (not as visible) and brownish reds. If you look at the side in the shadows, especially his front leg, you will see a lot more blue, which is also a cooler blue.
By adjusting the color of black with the other colors, I am able to warm or cool the areas of the dog that are either in the sun or in the shadow. If you look down at his feet you can see the masking fluid. I also masked out the spiky hairs on his chest where the light was hitting it the strongest. Far easier than trying to paint around those clumps of hair!
One other trick I've learned - especially when working on a painting that has values as high as 9 or 10 - is to go ahead and put in the darkest dark to be found in the painting. This then gives me an area by which I can judge all my other values. It is sometimes difficult to do because it looks soooooooo dark against all that white paper, but that's where trusting your painting abilities comes in to play!
If you are really unsure of how dark to go, you can 1) go dark in just a small area 2) make a black and white photocopy of your reference and use a value scale to make sure you have the right value, or 3) chicken out and go darker in layers. The layers can be a very effective and beautiful way to accomplish darks. And that does it for today!
6 Creative Thought(s)
I'm so glad I found your website, Laure. I've probably seen you on Flickr (?), as your photo logo is familiar.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to show your progress on this phenomenal WIP painting! I'll keep checking in.
Hi, Krista, thanks for coming by and your kind comments! WIPs are a great way to keep yourself motivated, and it's also kinda cool to look back and see what you've been doing as well as the growth you experience.
ReplyDelete...exciting. Thanks for posting the how-to info on working with black. It very hard and your painting is so crisp. It will be so fun to watch the progression of this painting!!
ReplyDeleteGreat information!! Thanks. He is starting to look even more fabulous!
ReplyDeleteLooking good, Laure!
ReplyDeletewow this blows me away, what a sweet face.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for sharing the process - its always so interesting to see how other people work!
Let's talk!