Size: 20x26 inches
Medium: Watercolors
Prints and detail closeups available -here-
From sketches to finished painting:
Initial scribbles in my sketchbook. I've had this idea working around in my head for years, but finally got around to actually doing it. Here are some of the initial thumbnail sketches.
The fairy host spiraling up into the sky. Working out the perspective was an exercise that had my brain hurting. It's not like you can find a whole lot of reference photos of the underside of horses (or anything with hooves).
After the initial sketches, pulling it together in photoshop into a composition, based on the very scribbly initial thumbnail up above.
Redrawn, refined, ready for painting.
I rarely do this, but I started with the main figure on this piece, rather than the background. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to do a color rough. And I didn't know what colors I wanted, so I started with the known quantities and moved outwards from there. The problem with working this way is that although I skip the up-front frustrations and annoyances of doing a color rough, you pay for it later on in the process. The frustrations and annoyances are still there, just shoved further down the pipeline. So I did get to a point where I was really hating my color (lack of) choices and wanting to just discard the piece. But...you just keep on.
_.jpg)
_.jpg)
_.jpg)
_.jpg)
For more closeup detail shots, visit -here-
I'm glad you didn't discard it. It is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you feel locked in to that color scheme? Why could you not add whatever colors you wanted?
ReplyDeleteBecause of translucence, once you start down a path with watercolors, you have to stick to it. If you keep changing your mind, you just end up with a muddy brown color.
DeleteBut also, it wasn't the colors I was having difficulty with so much as values.
DeleteI see.
DeleteYour frustration and annoyance must've paid off... This is really stunning! And I like catching a glimpse of your work space. My desk would probably look like this if my writing brain went through an inversion, but I paint with static words and not pigments. Are you more proud of this one than others, since it was a little more frustrating to complete? Or was that negated with the fact that you finished it after having it tease your mind for years?
ReplyDeleteNo, pretty much every piece worth doing goes through that phase. It's a love-hate relationship I have with painting. I don't feel satisfied unless I'm painting, but I also hate painting. :)
DeleteIt is stunning, ma'am. Thank you for sharing with us your process.
ReplyDelete