Angel Can Fly - 16x20" - Oil on canvas |
This is a post about what not, of sorts, to do while painting.
I had an image taken awhile back from a local pow wow I'd attended which I have had in my "to paint" file forever. I decided I'd finally tackle it. Late last week I got started on it by sketching it out.
Stage 1 - Oil sketch |
Stage 2 - Darks |
When I did finally get back at it I was stressed. I had a lot on plate and was just cramming in some painting time during a brief opening. Company was supposed to be arriving the next day and then the rest of my week was gone, and my weekend too, so it was a now or ever proposition. I still had to clean the house and do some laundry, and, and.......but I tried to fit in painting time none the less.
Stage 3 - A Mess |
I just wasted the only four hours I was likely to have this week on messing up what had started off so promising. I quickly scraped it out.
Stage 4 - Scraped Out |
They had to cancel. It was snowing heavily and they weren't going to risk driving through the mountains. So I suddenly had the whole day free. So I headed to the studio. I was looking at the painting, and the pictures taken at various stages along the way. I still like Stage 1 the best.
I determined it was the light of the unpainted background and lack of details that I liked about it. So I abandoned my reference photograph and went to laying in a lighter background and suggesting movement and form without details. There's still a couple areas niggling at me, but overall I am much happier with the painting. Now it represents my original vision for it better, and I learned some valuable lessons.
Don't follow the reference photo to closely. Don't paint when I'm stressed and forcing myself to do so.
Stage 5 - Better |
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