May

5

October Skies Part 1

Filed Under Carrie Lewis 

This is my May project.

This is the second go-round on this painting.

The subject is October Skies, a Thoroughbred who passed across the river in 2007. Also known as Buddy, he was a beginner or novice eventing horse. He was also his person’s first horse, so will always have a special place in her heart.

The portrait is 24 inches wide by 20 inches tall and is being painted on Raphael Linen in a panel form. This is one of my two favorite surfaces to paint on.

The portrait as shown above has been transferred onto the toned surface. I used M. Graham Oils for the toning and will also be using them for the painting, so lots of time is required for drying. The toning was completed with Yellow Ochre and Titanium White on March 14.

On April 10, I painted the sky above with Titanium White and Cerulean Blue. The paint was mixed on the canvas and left partially unblended for a random pattern of lights and darks.

The second stage happened on April 14 and was basically a repainting of the skies. In addition to being a slower drying paint, M. Graham Oils are more transparent (at least the colors I have been using most are more transparent) than other brands. While that transparency allows for lots of interesting glazing affects, it also means I sometimes need two layers of color to get a good, opaque passage of color.

The first layer of color was a bit on the ’see through’ side, so I wanted to repaint the sky before going any further. So I used the same colors (Titanium White and Cerulean Blue) and repainted the sky, pulling color down a little further into the body of the composition. There are still a few warm areas showing through in the sky, but not many.

I also began to suggest the trees that will forest the background and the river that will flow across the foreground.

While this portrait is officially the May project, I began work on it during those times when I was waiting for the portrait of Duncan to dry. That has helped me get a major jump on work for May and has also allowed me to give the painting as much time to dry completely as it has wanted. With spring (and spring rains) in the Kansas air, that can sometimes be a week or two!

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.

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