In the Studio

The last couple of tweaks that I’d been doing weren’t really noticable on a small scale digital, so I haven’t bothered posting them, but here is the panel as of today. I think it’s done, or darn near close to it. It needs to sit and dry a few days anyway, so in that time, if something comes to mind that needs doing, I’ll fix it then. Otherwise, she is done!!

Be sure to visit the Le Cadeau Du Cheval - The Horse Gift” Mural Mosaic webpage here:
http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html

Last night I spent more time developing the horse, it’s slowly getting there. His outside eye and side of face are still bothering me, so don’t worry, it will be corrected before I’m done. The paint got too wet to work with on it though (below that part that is) so I didn’t want to risk leaning on it to fine tune and smudge the paint on the lower part of the horse. (I need a maul stick!) I also couldn’t leave the clouds alone, they need a third dimension yet, I LOVE storm clouds and can’t wait to see our first thunderstorms of the season here. The weatherman keeps promising, but so far, hasn’t delivered any! *pouting* Anyhoo, here is the next installment….

Because I’m working in oils on this one, I can add as much or as little paint as I like to a layer, as long as it’s meant to be blended together. Seeing as I didn’t want the purple background paint to mix with the black horse’s paint, I had let the background dry before starting on the horse. But now that I have the horse started, I can go nuts on him as all his colors will blend together smoothly by the time I am done with him. Here’s this afternoon’s progress:

I have the beginnings of the horse now painted onto the panel. It took a few days for the purkle underpainting to dry, and now I’m ready to work on the horse! I’m working in oils for this project, a medium I haven’t worked in a whole lot yet, but am slowly building my confidence up in them. For this project, they are going on like butta’! I guess I just didn’t like working on canvas, the texture, blah yucky! Panels be smooth as a baby’s bottom, lets the paint glide on so easily and details can be nice and tight. Yep!! Here’s today’s installment…or rather, last night’s, but it was too dark to get a decent photo of it. This is just a rough in layer for the horse to establish his position in the painting, and some loose details. A LOT to do on his face, so don’t mind that.

I’ve been messin around with this panel in acrylics, and getting more and more frustrated at not being able to get a decent blend for the clouds, so said “screw it” and dug out the oils. LOL So I’ve painted over the whole surface now, in the purkle shades with stormy clouds. I hope to bring out a black horse from within the clouds, my little “storm chaser”.

But now I have to wait for this layer of paint to dry first. Dang, I knew there was a reason I don’t work in oils much!

Here is the panel before I painted it, color somewhat adjusted, there’s not much blue in it as there is purple/mauve and purple blue.

And my digital idea before I started painting…

And then where it is so far as of today, in oils….(I didn’t photograph the acrylic mess I had put down, ha! Although you can still see a bit of it through the oils where the sun rays are…that part sorta worked out for my benefit!

I am honored to be a participating artist in the upcoming “Le Cadeau Du Cheval - The Horse Gift” Mural Mosaic. To quote from their website: “Mural Mosaic is thrilled to have assembled some of the world’s finest equine artists together for this stunning mural project. Many of these artists have dedicated their artistic career to passionately focusing on the theme of equine art. The Mural Mosaic project is a very organic process. As each painting is completed the mural slowly comes to life. We encourage you to continually revisit the mural page and watch as the mural develops leading up to the unveiling in September of 2008.”

Be sure to keep an eye on their site for updates! MuralMosaic.com/Cadeau.html

For my part, I chose panel #164 - a one-tone purkle panel. (Yeah, that’s not a typo, I like to be goofy and say PURKLE for purple. hehehe) I envision a magnificent black stallion galloping headlong against a stormy backdrop sky. It will be titled “Storm Chaser”, after a personal passion of mine for storms and horses. Yep!

Here is the panel as it came to me:

Stay tuned as I post a work in progress as I begin painting on it!