Dare to suck, post the first
I like painting, I like writing, I like a great many things I don't want to show other people because OCD mixed with a dollop (okay, an avalanche) of perfectionism means I'm much more likely to kill things off. http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/2010/04/27/ An author I've come to adore in the last few weeks, both for her YA novels I've read and for her blog, has a great rallying motto to kill of the inner editor: Dare to Suck.
Today, I used a couple of reference photos of a friend's dog and got started on a painting.
Sodai stands under a pine tree overhang, his yellow coat a contrast to the deep greens and white-blue snow.
A line drawing/tracing of Sodai
A started canvas, pale blue sky, medium green grasses edging into brown, turned green side up (see also: I quit on myself when I think I suck) I would use a fresh canvas, but I have none. I'd use a lighter background color, but I only have those in oils. Which means it was this or the horrific attempt at a red barn. I didn't want red bleeding through.
Getting the white blocked out around the carbon transfer of the line drawing (in the future, I should *probably* paint it all white first, but I wanted to see if I could let the blue and green show through a little.)
I then got into the actual painting of things. I *HATE* the tree branches, until I remember it's my first time trying to paint evergreen boughs, and then I just dislike them. Intensely. Sodai is not nearly done, though I'm pleased with how I'm getting coat tones right in value, he needs to be brighter and more golds and reds, less... tan. He's a little cave guardian spirit, not just a dog.
I'm sore and tired and stopping there for the night (which probably means picking it up again next weekend), but I don't think today was a waste. Also, I'm doing this in acrylic, because I hate myself, and getting the colors down is kind of exactly like laying down layers of plastic. Watercolor may be more difficult because you only get a few layers, but oil takes weeks and weeks to set so I could do the next layer.
Today, I used a couple of reference photos of a friend's dog and got started on a painting.
Sodai stands under a pine tree overhang, his yellow coat a contrast to the deep greens and white-blue snow.
A line drawing/tracing of Sodai
A started canvas, pale blue sky, medium green grasses edging into brown, turned green side up (see also: I quit on myself when I think I suck) I would use a fresh canvas, but I have none. I'd use a lighter background color, but I only have those in oils. Which means it was this or the horrific attempt at a red barn. I didn't want red bleeding through.
Getting the white blocked out around the carbon transfer of the line drawing (in the future, I should *probably* paint it all white first, but I wanted to see if I could let the blue and green show through a little.)
I then got into the actual painting of things. I *HATE* the tree branches, until I remember it's my first time trying to paint evergreen boughs, and then I just dislike them. Intensely. Sodai is not nearly done, though I'm pleased with how I'm getting coat tones right in value, he needs to be brighter and more golds and reds, less... tan. He's a little cave guardian spirit, not just a dog.
I'm sore and tired and stopping there for the night (which probably means picking it up again next weekend), but I don't think today was a waste. Also, I'm doing this in acrylic, because I hate myself, and getting the colors down is kind of exactly like laying down layers of plastic. Watercolor may be more difficult because you only get a few layers, but oil takes weeks and weeks to set so I could do the next layer.