Sunday, July 25, 2010

Whirl [acrylic, 9”x12”]

DSCN4762Here’s a happy little painting based on a photo I took of my granddaughter Kiera on the tire swing in Bowness Park last year.  I chose to do this on a baltic birch panel.  This is the first painting I’ve done on wood. This panel had been primed with GAC100 & Golden Transparent Red Iron Oxide both to seal and to tone the wood.  I hoped the toned background would provide the warmth I wanted to convey, particularly in the skin tones. 

It’s been a long time since I used a photo as closely as I did on this painting.  I wanted to work on the paint application and color selection rather than drawing skills.  After I selected the right spot for the focal point [her face], I traced the tire and figure onto the birch panel.  The only changes I made were cropping and adding a few inches on to her swinging dress to emphasize the movement.

 bowness parkNext, I blocked in the main shapes paying particular attention to the highlights.  You can see the warm color of the panel on this first photo…  the orange/red.  

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I continued to develop the painting going back and forth between highlights and dark areas several times.  I used my fan brush for the first time in ages…  worked great for the grass.  Her hair was a challenge.  It’s almost white in the summer and with the sun shining on it in this setting, the top of her head was a halo of DSCN4759warm white.  I added the foreground grasses at the end.  I’m starting to get the hang of this new [to me] technique with heavy body acrylics. Lots of fun…  Enjoy!

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