Memory Portrait of Curly - Stage 4
by Carol McIntyre on 9/29/2009 5:31:32 PM
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Sketch transferred & beginning of background
It is confession time. I must admit that my rich red background, that I like a lot, intimidated me! Artists often talk about their fear of the big blank white surface, well I found myself not wanting to ruin the reds I had applied. But I could hear Curly "calling" so I dove in.
Before I applied any background colors, I transferred the sketch, which I posted earlier, onto the canvas. Light pastel was rubbed on the back of the original sketch and then I pressed that onto the canvas through the tracing paper with a pencil. Remember how we did this in elementary school? I do not like to use pencil directly on the canvas because it does not always disolve.
When I began applying the background colors, I re-read my notes from my interview with Suzie. She said that she saw warm colors surrounding Curly. He is also a real personality, so I used soft diagonal brush strokes, versus horizontal, because the diagonal line conveys energy. It was important for me to remember to not cover up all of the red in the underpainting. It will be interesting to see how the reds and background colors intereact with the horse colors.
Can you envision Curly the horse at this stage or is it a bit too strange? How much red do I leave coming through in the final rendition? Hmmm....
...to be continued.
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Memory Portrait of Curly - Stage 3
by Carol McIntyre on 9/18/2009 8:40:04 AM
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First layer of paint or underpainting
Where is Curly the Paso Fino horse?
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I was going to do some experimenting because Suzie had given me artistic license. So I took an artistic risk -- meaning that I did something I have not done before -- and I painted the entire surface of the canvas red. The fun twist to this phase of the painting is that I changed course in mid-stream. Originally, I was going to mix up a pile of solid red paint and brush it on, but then as I squirted out the various hues of red I decided not to mix the reds but to paint and blend them on the canvas. It is not quite as obvious in the photo, but I painted the full spectrum of warm to cool reds. Did it remind me of finger painting as a kid? Perhaps, but it did give me ideas for future paintings. (Hmmmm. The vat of ideas keeps filling up.)
Meanwhile, back to Curly. Once this red layer dries, I will transfer the sketch onto the canvas.
So what do you think of the red underpainting? I wonder if I will be able to preserve some of the reds or will I cover it all up with more layers of paint? The red underpainting will effect future layers.
....to be continued early next week.
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Memory Portrait of Curly - Stage 2
by Carol McIntyre on 9/16/2009 11:00:23 AM
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The red & green color palette - oils
Since Suzie gave me "artistic license" for the background of the painting, I have decided to do a little experimenting. (We artists love artistic license. It is most often used when we eliminate something, such as a telephone pole, or move something, etc. in a painting.) First I need to decide the palette of colors I will use. Since Suzie's answer to the question, "What are the first colors you think of when you think of Curly?" with "brown-black, red and warm colors," I received the direction I needed. She also mentioned that he has red highlights.
When I begin any painting, I choose a color palette that best suits the subject and my artistic vision. Most artists only use one set of colors for all of their paintings, whereas I choose between these three palettes: red/green, blue/orange, and yellow/purple, which are based on the color complement theory. I do this to assure more color harmony in my paintings. Changing my color palettes also keeps me from getting into a habit of using the same color mixtures in every painting.
In the photograph I posted here, you can see the tubed colors. In the middle I have a sample of some of the mixed colors I will use in the painting of Curly. Would you have chosen a different color palette? If so, why? Do you think these colors will express Curly's character? What questions do you have about color?
...to be continued.
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Memory Portrait of Curly - Stage 1
by Carol McIntyre on 9/10/2009 1:45:45 PM
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Sketch of Curly, a Paso Fino
What does Paso Fino mean? It translates into "fine step," which is appropriate for these horses. Paso Fino horses orginate from Columbia, South America, known for their people friendly traits and smooth riding gaits. Whenever I begin a Memory Portrait commission, I invariably learn something new; this is one of the many reasons why I enjoy working with people in creating a painting they want.
The first step of the commissioning process is an indepth interview. Suzie's husband, Rick, asked me to paint her horse Curly and after several questions and photographic references, he decided to get Suzie involved versus having the painting be a surprise. Rick thought the outcome would be more satisfactory, and I believe he is correct. Through the interviewing process, I learned that Curly is an 18 year old male, who is a bit of a trickster - will tip over a bucket for fun - yet kind and sensitive with a good heart. He also has a unique marking on his forehead. Suzie also gave me several more photographs and indicated her favorite picture of Curly.
Posted here is a sketch of Curly. You will notice that it is on tracing paper. I do this in case my first attempt at painting Curly is not successful - I still have a drawing from which to begin another attempt. My questions for Suzie and Rick at this stage are: 1.) Are his proportions correct? 2.) Is the location of eye approximately correct? 3.) In the photos, his nose/muzzle area seems narrow in comparison to other horses, is it correct? 4.) Would you like the background to be abstract or a fuzzy landscape or should I make the decision? and 5.) Is there anything else I should know before I transfer this skectch onto canvas?
I would love input from others as well as Suzie and Rick. Thank you!
...to be continued.
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Traversing the Continental Divide - Finished Painting!
by Carol McIntyre on 9/9/2009 11:30:37 AM
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"Alpine Glow" - oil, 16 x 20
With some trepidation, I covered up the deep 'V' valley and oddly enough, I like the results! It is sometimes painful to give up an area that I, the artist likes, but for the sake of the painting it was necessary. You will also notice that I created a purple-ish mist in the valley to diffuse that area even more. More pink colors were added to the foreground of the road and I darkened the shadows there. The photograph makes the background fade more than in the actual painting, which is unfortunate. You also cannot see all of the texture in the painting.
Hopefully, "Alpine Glow" captures a close proximity of the eternal beauty we experienced high in the mountains as well as the potential danger that is but inches away. What are your reactions to the painting?
Thank you for reading. Your comments are appreciated.
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Traversing the Continental Divide - Step 4
by Carol McIntyre on 9/8/2009 10:24:07 AM
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Establishing the foreground.
"The trees are leaning!" says my husband as he walks into my studio. Bummer. Don't you hate when that happens? Yet, I am grateful that he noticed and that I still have time to make the correction. I did not want to apply any more paint to those trees in the middle on the right, but I needed them to be straighter and not leaning.
I have been toning down the colors in the first hills of the mountains. This is not an area where I want to draw much attention though I want you to sense the steepness. If you look at the reference photo, you can see how I am down playing it. Thin layers of paint have been applied to soften edges and the colors. Meanwhile, I have been finishing the wildflowers and creating some texture in the road in the foreground. I am wanting you to feel the contrast between the foreground and the eternal background.
The deep 'V' in the lower right quadrant of the painting is becoming too distracting. I want to keep it because I love the drama of it and I had fun creating that area of the painting but it is not the focus of the painting. I am not sure how I will solve the problem. How can I have my cake and eat it too? What would you do? How would you change the composition?
...to be continued.
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Traversing the Continental Divide - Step 3
by Carol McIntyre on 9/1/2009 12:01:51 PM
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Early stages of applying paint
Creating technical challenges for myself is a constant. Besides changing my approach to painting, as I mentioned earlier, I am also attempting to apply the correct value and color of paint on my first try. This is not easy to do, particularly since I tend to go back and re-apply paint. The problem with doing the latter, is that the painting can look over-worked and/or muddy. In this painting I basically have one chance on the background mountains and I am happy with my results! 
In the photo, you can see that I have started to vary the colors in the grasses and that the trees in the mid-ground are a variety of greens. I have maintained some white areas because I want the pure colors of the wildflowers to show. If you compare this stage of the painting with the reference photo, you can see that I am not going to give the mountain areas a lot of detail, because I want to "push" them way back to give that feeling of deep distance.
At this stage I am still working with my 1" brush and a 1/4" egbert (very extra long filbert) brush.
Are you starting to see and feel the foreground, middle ground and backgrounds?
...to be continued.
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