Buddy Study #1
2″ x 3″ on Unstretched Artfix Canvas

The under painting is getting close to completion.

So close, in fact, that every day when I finish work on it, I think it’s finished.

The areas I wanted to work on in this session were the ears, eyes, nostrils and jaws. Basically, the things that appear in pairs. Up to this point, they have not been balanced and while no animal’s face is perfectly symmetrical, most of them are better balanced than what this little painting showed.

For example, when I finished with this painting session, I thought to myself, “Next time, color!”

But in looking at the image now, as I write this post, I see that the nostrils and the ridge along the top of the cheek are still not quite right. Better, much better, but still not right.

And now that I look at it, that left ear isn’t quite the right shape. Neither is the left eye….

And so it goes!

Fortunately, the earth tones I’m using (Raw Umber in varying shades) dry over night so it’s entirely possible to finish this thing the next day. I hope so because I am chomping at the bit to put some color on this one!

I also am learning something else…this would make a great portrait to do large! Just look at that right eye, the one with the highlight in it. That’s what I mean when I say a horse’s eye should look back at me. Wow! Can you imagine that enlarged to 20×30? Or larger? Gives me goosebumps just to think about it!

I can easily see something like that being the centerpiece of art show booths for as long as I own it (I don’t think it would be in my possession very long). What an attention grabber!

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.