Painting any type of animals has its complications. First cp,es my desire to paint in an expressionistic style which means the feeling more than the exact replica. Then there is how I paint with as few strokes of the brush as necessary to make the point. Add to it I don't really want my work to look primitive but I do want it to be painterly. If I made the livestock 'realistic' then I'd be left with more of an illustrative painting or a painting in two parts. I decided despite the fact that animals are not really my thing, they would be a good exercise in improving my skills. If I didn't try, I'd get nowhere with learning.
Last week I bought a new easel that will enable me to be more mobile and quit painting on the ground which as the fall sets in won't be nearly as comfortable as it has been. The easel has a box for me to store tubes of paint. The whole thing folds up into a portable case for transport. So far I am happy with it especially for the price.
When I began this painting of the livestock in our pasture, I had them all white which isn't really like our flock which are a mix of colors from white to black and brown. It also didn't work so well for the painting itself.
To check out a change I had in mind before I made it, I photographed the painting as it was, put it on my computer and played with the digital painting tools to see if what I was thinking of changing would be help. I liked it and went back out with the oils to change a couple of the sheep. I will lightly tweak it more and then probably do a different painting of them from a different angle. The sheep make for a handy subject as they are just outside my door most of the day although they don't stand still for long except when sleeping.
The oil is 8"x10" on canvas.
3 comments:
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Hi there
Awesome post, just want to say thanks for the share
Just making my first send at rainsgallery.blogspot.com, which seems to be a wonderful forum!
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