Sheep and negatve painting

The painting of the sheep is done... for now. I’ll be tweaking a few things on this painting before I sign it. This is normal for me – most of my paintings are at about 90% done when I park them on the wall or my table. If I knew what I wanted to do it would be simple. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and I’ll know, but probably not. I used to push until I finished TOTALLY – something I learned to do as an accountant. But, I don’t have to do that with paintings. I can let the back of my brain think about this while I do something else. This has been a huge learning for me – it’s true about paintings (for me anyways) and it’s true about life. I’m much more relaxed knowing that everything does not have to be finished today. And it’s a good thing too because sometimes life isn’t predictable, is it?

As I said yesterday, I want to make a bigger version of this painting sometime soon. I’ll take what I’ve learned on this little painting and, I hope, apply it on the larger one. Look for it here over the next weeks.

For those interested in the “how-to” this is what I did today... I painted the backs and rumps of the sheep by painting either the grass or the dark bits of the sheep body behind them. This is called negative painting... There are a few terms that I use in my posts that require definition. “Negative painting” is one of them. And no, it does NOT mean painting with a bad attitude. I had a hard time with this concept (maybe just me?). It’s as simple as this: the leaves on the left are positive and those on the right are negative. I painted the left leaves positively. Those on the right I painted around and I defined them by what I left white. We end up painting around lots of things to make them show up. Today I painted around grass and around sheep. I also dry brushed (dry paint onto dry paper) some grass areas in front of the sheep. And, that’s a wrap... I'll be sure to post the absolute final painting... but now I must get back to trees.

Blue Mountain Pottery and more Sheep WIP

This little painting is 5"x5" and was completed last year. I'm including it here as I'm currently side-lined from my usual painting time and I thought you'd enjoy seeing a painting as a reward for your "click".... This pottery was given to my paternal grandparents by my parents a LONG time ago. About 5 years ago Grandma M gave it back to my folks for one of the grandkids... I'm fortunate to have this tea/coffee set. Of course it reminds me strongly of my grandma who is still living in Fosston, Minnesota at the age of 102. And now... the sheep. As discussed yesterday I reworked the top right section and I like it quite a bit better now. In order to clean off the mess I made yesterday I wet the area I wanted to lift with clear water and then I took my dampened elephant ear sponge and gently agitated the paint until most of it lifted. I did a couple of rinse/repeats and by then I had removed the amount of paint I wanted from the paper. In this case it wasn't necessary (or possible) to lift all the paint... leaving the faint stains provides an underpainting and hasn't detracted from that area (IMO). I let that dry while I had another rest (back trouble, long story).



Later today, I repainted the top right much more loosely than before. Then I had time to round out a few sheep bodies... which has begun to define my centre of interest - the little male with his head upright. I hope to finish this tomorrow... this small painting (~10"x8"), if successful, will be one of the learning steps on the way to a larger painting. I might even try a half sheet (22x15") if I'm feeling brave. This is my first painting of animals... so, we shall see. Ciao!

Work in progress - sheep

Hi all... after several hours reviewing medical records today I came home exhausted. After the obligatory rest on ice I decided I'd better do some art therapy - I needed it! And what a gift it is to putter with photos and sketches until I get an idea for a painting. I enjoy it so much b/c it reminds me that I have just oodles of ideas to explore in the future. For now I'm working on sheep.

I transferred my sketch to watercolor paper & decided to get one round of paint on it today. So you are seeing a WIP here... I based this on a "failed photo" that I took of the bighorn sheep herd that hang out at the head of the Columbia River in Fairmont, BC. I call it a failed photo because only one little sheep had his head raised above the herd - in a photo I want more. but in a painting, especially one for the purpose I have in mind (check later for more info), he's all I need.

I started out with a pinkish wash diagonally from left top to right bottom. As I watched this dry I softened it in places, lifted out some sheep rumps, and put down the first darks for the tree trunk and rocks in the right foreground. Next I (over)did the tree area in the top right - I can see that's going to take some work to fix tomorrow. Finally, I washed in the grassy area and the shrubs on the left and puttered darkening the shrubs. Stay tuned and have a good night!