Skip to main content

In Process - Brittany Portrait



FROM TOP : in process and bottom completed painting. "Cody," commissioned 8" x 10" portrait of a Brittany Spaniel.
 
I love my wet palette box - it works wonders with acrylics. The setup is a shallow plastic box with a sealed lid. A thin sponge rests across the base of the box, and you lay a piece of specially prepared paper overtop that, upon which you can then lay out your acrylics and mix your paints.
 
The beauty of a fresh palette is inviting, with the neatly lined up rows of color waiting to be introduced to each other. But there's also an incredible lure to a palette that's hosted a wild party, with hues and tints racously lying about.
 
It's hard for me to roll up that piece of palette paper and say goodbye to the remnants. I can see the next 12 shades I'm going to mix right in front of me. And I don't want to waste the paint. Yet I should have done that tonight.
 
My paint was forming a skin on it, and while the puddles of flesh and violets were indeed gorgeous, they were also gummy. Of course, by the time I consciously realized this, I was also in the flow of the process, and had to choose either to break that rhythm and build a fresh palette or tough it out and make the most of a poor situation.
 
I tried to tough it out, and almost had the painting done, but realized the eyes were uneven. I fixed those and then the nose didn't match the center of the face. Then one ear wasn't the right value. I began fighting with the painting's surface. So after rubbing this poor boys face out multiple times, I'm going to call it a night.
 
I'll toss the gooey mess inside my palette box, let this painting dry, and start anew in the morning. 
 
For every nice painting I do there are at least 5 like this. It's just that those 5 usually happen earlier in the day, and I don't have to share them on the blog. And they almost always happen when I try to extend my palette's life a little.  Serves me right for playing hookey today and then trying tonight to rush through things in the studio.
 
But it was worth it!! It's nice to get out into the real world every so often.
 
And I'll get this painting fixed and looking gorgeous in the morning.
Thanks, as always, for looking at my art!
See you tomorrow,
Kim

PS NOTE FROM 4-22 Can you see the things I fixed? the color is softer, the nose and eyes aligned properly, and a number of other minor shifts that take the piece from ho-hum to a stronger likeness. Now to see if the client likes it......
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Katie’s Moustache,” 6x12, pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, $90. Inquiries to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com . One glimpse of Katie’s face, and I was hooked. Not only did she fall into my beloved “black & white” category, but she came with a full moustache and doe-like eyes. I first covered the canvas with a variety of blues and purples, using a (mixed) light green and pink for the highlights. (Right now my palette has been expanded to include the following: pthalo blue red, azurite hue, cad red dark, alizarine crimson, cad yellow dark, and then for graying/hazing out I use light green yellow and ultramarine purple.) I lighten with titanium white and darken with one of the blues and a touch of one of the reds. As a side note, at this time last year I was really struggling with my limited palette (I went from about 60 pots of paint to 3), but I have lived the benefits – I am so much more familiar with what I can mix given just this handful of colors. My paintings are also m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dear Copyright Thieves

Dear Copyright Thieves,   Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's free for the taking. So let's just stop pretending the internet is a free-for-all.   Don't play the card that you didn't know - that's insulting. And don't also tell me that you meant to follow up and get permission but never got a chance to. That's insulting too. And by the way, don't you have a copyright protection notice on your own site?   And don't even try and point the finger at a third party who commissioned you to make a copy of my painting - again, an insult - you and I both know the difference between a reference photo and a painting.   And don't tell me that I asked for it because I share my artwork on the internet. I share my paintings and ideas and the stories behind them so as to encourage others to pursue  their own passions . I do not share so that those lacking integrity and morals can copy and market the images as their own...
33 comments
Read more

Golden Open Acrylics

I get all sorts of process oriented questions. Most recently I've been getting asked a lot about my paints and palette, which made me realize what a nice blog topic this would make! I use a Masterson Sta-Wet Premier palette box . This is comprised of a box (think Tupperware) with a sponge liner and a slice of palette paper that work together to keep my paints wet. This setup allows me to work with the same palette for about a full week, having the box open for multiple hours every day. You can see what the palette looks like at the beginning of a new session above - below the exact same palette after this week's work. For the last 25 years I have used Golden brand acrylics, mediums, and varnish. I love the overall quality of these paints and the fact that, when I have a question, their customer service department is made up of artists who actually use the products. Until last year, I used their Heavy Body paints exclusively. They have a buttery consistency, a little loose...
11 comments
Read more