March 4 - Work in Progress

This is a work in progress for a lesson page on how I do paintings, the lesson and commentary to be added to the elinart site soon.  The image you're getting tonight is the fourth in the series of instructional images, and shows the painting at the point where I'm finding edges to fix and define.  To get the painting to this point, I went through four major steps--1. division of space--the relationship of the figure to the background space and rough lay-in, 2. Large color shapes to define mass in the figure, 3. defining shape to create the illusion of three dimensions, and 4. beginning the details and finding edges.  It shows how I paint big to little, and don't overwork areas.  The boots and lower third are the most unfinished at this point, and I hope you can see how I work into a painting by comparing that section to the upper areas. To get to this phase, took about 50 minutes.  Please write if you have any questions about the procedure.
  This is a 20 x 10 oil, and hopefully will be good enough to take with me to Cattlemen's, April 7, in Paso Robles, CA.  I sure enjoy painting these re-enactment men who seem to have eyes that bore right through you...