Sunday, July 31, 2011

Jul 31 - Horse in Oils Continued

The 9 x 12 canvas is covered with more of the mid value colors, and I am keeping in mind the "inherent texture" (see sidebar) of the objects I'm painting. Bushes are fuzzy, horse's rear is not. 
I'm using my Color System to get the right colors for the distant trees and bushes, and then using it again to paint the shadow side of the horse's right rear leg. That's NOT burnt sienna (a warm color for sunshine sides) but is a mix of yellow ochre and alizarin crimson. Amazing how it always reads right in actual application.
I'd like former Color Boot Camp students to look at the potential value plan for this one. Could it go to large light, small dark in mid tones? Hmmmm.
 
Tech Tips:
I had a couple people ask me about the tech tips I shared yesterday, so I thought I'd clarify a bit.
When we paint, we have at hand a whole bunch of effects and methods for conveying three dimensions in two on our canvases.
One of the more powerful ways of painting objects is to think about the character of that object. Ask yourself, "Is it hard, soft, near, away, mostly moving, static, or..." In other words, what is the character of the object. Knowing the inherent character gives you the tools to paint meaningful subjects.
As an example of this, think of a field of grass in the breeze. Moving, shifting and alive with the wind! To paint static stems and leaves would not honor the inherent character of that field of grass. Does that make sense?
 
And on other news.... Vincent van Goat has been accepted into an MBA program in the hay business at the University of Riverside. Here he is with other business students for the required publicity shot. He's wearing the UCR colors and looks quite pleased with himself, don't you think? Mickey was too young to particpate, but perhaps another year.
 
Thanks for reading!

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