Month: March 2010

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Splendid Wait

Splendid Wait -- SOLD
Splendid Wait -- SOLD

By the time I get to the final leg of a painting it sometimes seems to paint itself. That was true in this case. The egret is really only a couple of washes, the last being some finer details to denote feathers and definition of the wings. I added a little permanent rose to the blues to give the shadows a bit of warmth. There’s also a touch of raw umber in there that reflects some of the earth tones of the river this fellow is standing in.

I also went back to the water to add more shadows in the upper right and filled in the one floating leaf as a separate point of interest. A fun final element was painting shadows around the bubble reflections. Kind of squiggly loops.

This one’s photo went out today on a CD along with 5 others for the Bryn Mawr show. I’ll see if I can wait as splendidly as my egret for the answer to my application.

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The Egret Continues…

A beak, an eye, and a little color
A beak, an eye, and a little color
Today is a bright sunny day so I’m not sure how much of the blue I’ve added to the neck of my egret you can see. That’s the trouble with photographing a white subject in bright sun light, it tends to flatten out because the contrast goes away.
I’ve filled in the beak and the eye so he’s got some life to him for sure. Now I’ve got to give him a couple legs to stand on. The frilly feathers off his tail were once again masked out so that they remain white against the blue shadow of his left side. I want the white back and feathers to sparkle against the depth of the blue water beneath him. I’ll add more blue to his side and neck for more contrast and definition. He’ll become a three dimensional bird rather than the flat object he is right now.
Still very much a work in progress. All those little white dots sprinkled throughout the water are reflections of sunlight. They’ll get a touch of color here and there to give them definition as well. Funny how much color they have when you look at them up close. Your eye registers white, but there’s a whole lot more going on.
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A Fisher

Background nearly finished, maybe a tweak here or there left
Background nearly finished, maybe a tweak here or there left

I’ve had my eye on this guy for a couple years to find the right moment to make him into a painting. I love Great White Egrets for their elegance and dazzle. A boy do they dazzle in full breeding plumage like he’s wearing.

The painting is toward the middle of completion. I seem to get so involved in laying in the background that I forget to take pictures as I go. But once the water is on you have to go at it fairly fast and direct. I’d need someone standing over my shoulder clicking away to get pictures of the thing in progress.

If the egret looks a little ghostly and legless that’s because I’ve covered him in masking fluid to protect his white while I painting the background. The legs I’ll re-draw once I’m satisfied with the water around him. I’m not that concerned right now that they’ve gone missing under the paint.

Once completed, I intend to include this as my new painting for my submission to the invitational for Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital. The contrast and richness should make an impression.

Stay tuned for the next update.