Today was a great day in the studio, actually kitchen. The piece I'm working on needed to be sketched out first, and my kitchen island is the only table-like surface in the house large enough to hold it. When finished sketching, I just left it there on the island and started working because the music was good and I didn't feel like dragging everything back down stairs. Who would have thought Van Halen's Greatest Hits could inspire me so?
Below is the photo I worked from, about a 6x9 photograph. The hardest thing about working form a photo when doing really large works is getting the dimensions correct. I don't want to have a horse with an over-abundant derriere. That might make for an amusing painting, not a very accurate portrait. I'm shooting for a monochromatic palette for this piece, my usual five or less colors. Today I used only three, which was truly a challenge. The shadows may all seem the same color at first glance, but there are variations.
My next full studio day won't be until Wednesday. Sorry for the long wait, but I think if all goes well, I'll have another blog up for you to see my work in progress.
Thank you for following along...
6x9 inch working photo...great shot by Kim Santini
48x72" "Saratoga Posterior" by Jennifer Wilkinson Rynbrandt (not yet finished!)