Fur In The Paint

For those of you who are distressed by this
visual, please invert. Then he looks like he’s
running happily, um . . . at high speeds and
with his eyes closed.

This is not something I’ve ever done. Paint a dead horse that is.

And by “dead horse” I mean a horse that has passed from this life into the next not (see artist rendering right.)

So this is my first go dealing with the issues that arise from doing a portrait of a horse that has left this plain of existence some 20 odd years ago.

Seriously, I don’t know how you portrait artists do it.

Step 1. Acquire as many reference photos as possible. In my case this was 6. Six very old, yellowed and definition-less photos from various ages and angles.

Step 2. Vent. How can there only be 6. She had the horse for like 20 years? Yes the horse died over 20 years ago but still . . . 6?

Okay maybe this is totally normal. I sometimes forget that I am a bit of a photograph taking freak.

Of these, two of them are impossibly blurry. Two of them are photographically distorted (see my drawing of Cisco to understand what I mean) and then the Two usable photos were shown in a previous post.

Step 3.Play with them in Photoshop to maximize the information that you can get from them.

Step 4. Look through mountain of my reference photo stash for horse of similar build to provide the missing information not available from incredibly old photos.

I want to clarify that what I mean is, I found a similarly built horse that I like the lighting and features of, and I plan too use it to help fill out my Buddy portrait. All the the reference photos I have of Buddy were pretty much without any definition. Basically the white is all blown out and the dark is completely dark.

Step 5. Begin.

Caran D’ Ache Neocolor II: I love them
Recently I stopped by a Dick Blick and bought some open stock of several different types of water soluble media, that I haven’t yet tried. I bought a few of these things (photo left) and fell in love.

They lay down pigment beautifully. They are not as soluble as I am used to, but make up for it with ease of application and pigment coverage.

Working on suede they seemed to burnish it down quickly. I imagine the wax (though they feel quite dry and sharpen nicely) binds the fibers down. So they may not be best suited for suede work or at least used sparingly on suede.

I’m going to have to pop over to Robert Sloan’s website to see what he might have to say about them. Robert is an excellent resource for this kind of information since he buys sets of things and tries them out. And then generously shares the info. I do that too mind you. But Robert is the mountain to my molehill when it comes to product testing.

No They’re Not Crayons. They’re A Fine Art Medium. (But yeah, *sigh* they totally look like crayons.)
Every time someone would look over my shoulder while I was working on my sheep painting at the last art event, and ask me what I was using. I found myself rushing to tell them that they are water soluble wax pastels, despite their crayon like appearance. I mean I felt a little weird, because I’m like “Buy my original painting for $2500. And oh by the way, did you see I’m working in Crayola.” I had to control the urge to hold one up and force them to read the description of the side.

Perhaps my issue arises from the “idea” of crayon as a fine art medium. Maybe had I had . . . you know like real artsy schooling I’d be totally fine it. I’m feeling a little better now. So yeah, okay they look like crayons. But it says clearly on the label “wax pastel.”

So I’m all good.

UPDATED I just looked online at cheap joes art supplies because I’m gonna get myself a set. And they have them listed as . . . crayons.

(Heavy Sigh) Awesome.

Here’s the latest.
His neck is looking a little weird and wrinkly here, which is how it is in the reference photo (which I will be posting as soon as I take the time to scan it in.) I will be making it more subtle once I get my mane in. Or eliminating it all together if it still bothers me.

I have somewhere around 20 different colors used in my horse’s coat color with very little black. The majority of my base coat is done in Ink Tense Deep Indigo and Dark Chocolate with a little Derwent Rexal Blue Gray. I’m not really relying heavily on any one brand of WC Pencil here. I’m using Ink Tense, Derwent Rexel, Faber Castell and Prismacolor.

His coat is made up of various shades of violet, indigo, and cocoa-y earthy colors. I’m using the browns to offset the unreality of the violets. Mike says I should leave my horse purple and blue. He’s all “What’s that you always say? . . . Let’s not quibble over reality.” I think the deciding factor in how realistic the horse gets portrayed will depend heavily on the background.

Black horses are rarely black. (But then nor are they all that often purple.) About the only time a horse stays black is if it is kept in the barn, sometimes for the express purpose of doing so. (Which I have serious problems with. But perhaps if I were a breeder I’d think differently.) Otherwise they fade in the sun (just like everything else.)

Photo Right is of my tracing. (It shows up better than my drawings in photos) I included it so you could get an idea of where this is all going. The plan is to have the mane flying every which-a-way,

I am so glad I discovered this tracing off my drawings. I may have not figured it out for doing suede had I already not been doing it for the handmade paper.

I’m not sure this really needs a step by step but there are a few things I’ve learned that may be useful to someone. I perhaps should have waited to do this on something other than a black horse. But here we are.

This painting is done a crescent matboard C7101 Perle.

Step 1: (Photo Left: Bottom of jaw) Color is lightly scribbled in DRY. If you press too hard you may mar the suede. You can apply color densely, just do it with minimal pressure.

Step 2: Apply water. (Photo Left: bulk of face) I’ve been using a Q-tip to do this, since it holds more water than a brush and yet no too much. Work quickly to allow for a smooth absorption so when it’s dry there will be no hard edges.

Remember Suede absorbs and pulls (wicks) moisture and color onto dry areas. So apply water to outline areas carefully.

Step 3: Wait until area is completely dry. (bottom right photo) Then you can begin working the area with either another layer of wash or the dry detail work. Since this is a black horse. I tried to keep my color mid-range so I could go lighter and darker with ease.

A Question
Something I’m considering doing for this painting is creating a covering for the background part. WC Pencil does dust some and will transfer. Again since this a dark horse I certainly don’t want it to dust onto my negative space, which will eventually become a soft blue/green background. I’m thinking some sort of low tack paper to create a mask to protect my negative space.

Has anyone ever done this? I’m thinking CP artists working on velour paper, but anyone who may have tried this or something else. (I pondered a workable fixative but I’m dubious)

I’d love to hear if anyone has created a barrier and if it was successful.

Just so you know, today was supposed to be a no post day for me. I was supposed to be tripping through pony muffins at this very moment. But alas it was not to be.

You see Carol Herden, my very talented sculptor friend had invited me to go along to the Iowa State Fair to deliver the awards she had created for the Percheron competition and then we would just play. I imagine we’d look at horses exhibits, look at art exhibits, eat fair food, ride fair rides, loose our lunches from too much tilt-a-whirl. You know. . . the usual. Plus we haven’t seen each other since our trip to the Kentucky Horse Park last year. And now she’s moving to MN so I’ll see her even less. Well maybe not less, but not any more either. So I was really amped for a day of frivolous play with a friend I rarely see. And yes, this is where the Fates stepped in.

She had called a week or two back and had told me all about an artistic catastrophe she was going through with a big order for a big client. Well this catastrophe landed physically back in her lap this very morning. And so she, being the conscientious artist she is, wanted to get right on resolving the problem.

Okay so your thinking well that’s an interesting coincidence but you can’t really blame the Fates can you? Well get this . . . her neighbors just happened to be going to the fair today and just happened to stop in and tell her. And upon hearing her story, they offered to deliver the awards for her. (sigh)

She apologized profusely and hoped that I understood. Which of course I said that I did (and I do) even though at that moment what I was really thinking was “Oh crap on a cracker!”

At any rate I am here at the gallery, so I thought I should make a post since I’m on some sort of freaky post-a-thon with like 10 days in a row or something. Which for me, is like some kind of Christmas miracle . . . or at the very least a record.

So ahem . . . here’s actually something to do with art
I got a new color shaper last time I was at Wet Paint in St. Paul, MN. (the all time best art supply store that I’ve ever been in. That may be more about my living in the boonies than anything. But I think on the whole it is an awesome art supply store, regardless.)

The photo above left shows my new shaper compared to one of my old ones with a penny thrown in for scale. I bought my old shaper set through Cheap Joe’s (my all time favorite on-line art supply store) but since I couldn’t see them I had no idea how big they were. I love my new one, as in I haven’t touched the old shapers since I got it.

I have no idea what these things are actually made for. (If anyone knows, please fill me in.) A watercolorist friend of mine says she uses them for scraping away still wet paint before it soaks in the paper. At any rate, I use them to blend out the edges that I don’t want my oil pastels to blend out. (okay, that’s not so very clear)

So for instance the area between my bear and the background. I don’t want to muddy my yellows and I want crisp marks into the background. So I smooth with this thingy. The chisel tip is 1/4 wide and very firm.

Note: My Bear painting is done and will post completed image soon. Also I’m making progress on my rooster. At least I’m getting some art done even though I’d rather be eating corn dogs right now.

I thought I’d better post another work in progress shot, since apparently I gave the wrong impression when i said my last wip was at an “ugly stage.” (which it was)

But that didn’t mean I was worried that it wouldn’t work out. It just meant if I had my preference I wouldn’t let it be seen in an ugly stage. I’m working on pushing my comfort levels and so posting it in less than perfection is a good exercise for me.

I’m still working with the legs. And am not quite happy with them, I’ll continue to work on them. Of course I could ruin the piece at any time, but I am not worried that I will. I just gotta keep pluggin’ away at it.

A few things I’ve learned about suede.
Suede is far more durable than I would have thought. In it’s framing application it is rather delicate and the surface papers mark and mar easily. However, as an art surface it takes a great deal of punishment in regards to layering in color with sharp pencils. Because of this you can get a high degree of realism. Unlike paper though, you can’t wet the surface and push color around.

Color can be removed “lifted” with Q-tip. I did this gently but it worked as effectively as if I was lifting it off paper. In fact I worked a bit rougher than had I do when working on paper and surprisingly, it didn’t hurt the surface.

A Couple of Tips

A word of caution.
I would recommend using water sparingly. Matboard is nothing more than several sheet of paper adhered together. Too much water will cause the board to warp and cause the papers to separate.

Here is a brief post about how I went about applying layers and the watercolor pencil colors I used. I am finding photographing suede matboard eternally annoying. As the day progresses the light changes and thus, the suede never looks the same, no matter how much I play with it in photoshop. (sigh)

Watercolor Pencil guide abbreviations
Windsor Newton Rexel Derwent=RD
Faber Castell=FC
Aquarelle=A

The Base Colors
RD Burnt Yellow Ochre (the yellow color)
Followed by FC Brown Ochre. (more of a brown gold)
Then I apply FC Sanguine (the orangish color)
As always, my pencil strokes match the direction the hair runs.

After FC Sanguine is applied over entire surface (not completely done in this photo)
I begin to work in the medium tones and darks.

Midtone Range Colors
FC Indian Red
FC Venetian Red
FC Cinnimon
RD Terracotta
RD Venetian Red

Dark Color Range
FC Wine red
FC Caput Mortuum
RD Chocalate
RD Delft Blue
RD Medium Dark Violet
RD Black

I finish in with the darkest darks and the highlight areas.

Light Range Colors
FC Medium Flesh
RD Flesh Pink
A #429

That’s pretty much it. After the foal is done I will go in and adjust highlights and shadows to appear more uniform. Then again after the background is added.

I recently read an article about a couple of artists who work on suede mat board with colored pencils. I know several artists who use pastel on suede and I have always admired the effects they achieved. But I had not heard of colored pencils being used on suede. Apparently the artists used some turps to intensify the color of the pencils.

So I thought “Well heck. I should have a go with water color pencils. As long as I keep the water use to a minimum it shouldn’t affect the matboard adversely.”

Since I didn’t want to ruin the suede by trying to erase on it, I began like I do with my handmade paper pieces. That is, I drew out my image on a separate piece of paper and traced it over, onto the suede. This worked quite well.

It is way too early for me to develop any concrete opinions about suede matboard and WC Pencils, But so far I am liking it.

I think that anyone wanting to go for that photo-realistic look would be pleased with it. (Which of course is common knowledge to pastel artists and apparently colored pencil artists as well.) The suede maintains a soft look no matter how many watercolor pencil layers I apply. It is almost effortless.

I should also say that after the initial few minutes at the beginning I haven’t added any water. The WC Pencils seem to have strong enough color without adding the liquid.

Tomorrow I will post the reference photo and talk a little more about size and matboard color used as well as any additional wip photos..

My favorite support for working with oil pastels, (other than handmade paper) is Museum Board. Awhile back, Angela Finney asked me what museum board actually was. So here is my reply, only with a few more facts thrown in, instead of stuff off the top of my head.

What is it?
Museum board looks like matboard and is made by matboard companies. It can be used for matting purposes, archival framing or as a work surface. It is 100% cotton fibers pressed into a board the same overall dimensions as matboard (32×40.)

Museum board looks like matboard and is made by matboard companies.

It comes is varying thickness’s like 2ply (similar to 140# hot press watercolor paper) 4 ply (slightly thicker than matboard) 6ply, 8 ply (very rigid, thicker than 2 sheets matboard) and also a 12ply which I’ve never used.

It comes in a several colors: grays, tans, beiges, white, off-white, black and rouge. Both Bainbridge and Crescent mat companies makes around 25 different shades. I’ve tried the rouge and grays, but really prefer the white. Because Oil Pastels aren’t completely opaque some of the board color effects the OP color. (Though I imagine color pencil artists would be more knowledgable as how to work on colored surfaces than I.) Unlike matboard the color is solid throughout.

It costs more than matboard. I think on average it costs me $12-14 per sheet, (for 4ply, 2ply is less and 8ply more) where acid free matboard cost me $6-9 per sheet. (I’m talking the cost or a retailer, meaning if you purchased it at your local artshop or frameshop, it may well be twice that.)

Why I use it.
I mostly use the 4 ply because the 8ply is a bugger to cut even with a matcutter. I prefer museum board to matboard because it is considerably more rigid (despite being a similar thickness) and to be honest it sounds sooooo much better on artshow applications. (Wordage is very important for these kinds of things.)

Which sounds better?

Oil pastel on matboard.
Oil pastel on Museum Board.

We had visited our neighbor last night, and on our way out she offered to let me take some peonies home. They had been storm battered and wouldn’t last much longer anyway, so I plucked one. (Yes only one, I had to remind myself it was not proper etiquette to scamper willy-nilly about the yard, gathering them up by the dozens.) This morning I awoke to find it had opened up into this lovely flower, and I couldn’t resist taking a few photos. The darker ones are from my garden. (In this instance the word garden is used in the loosest possible way.)

Now the number of flower paintings that I have created in my lifetime, can probably (meaning that’s all I can remember) be counted on one hand. (Yup, that many.) But for some reason I can’t quite stop myself from taking lots and lots of pictures. Hmmm. The inner workings of a critter artist’s mind. Maybe it has something to do with my complete adoration of Georgia O’keefe.

Back to the Lighting.
Anywho, good lighting can make the difference between an ordinary photograph (and thus generally an ordinary painting) and a stunning piece. Good lighting can bring much needed contrast between shadow and highlight. Most of the time when I am photographing critters, I have to take what lighting there is. But for this I get to play around a bit.

The first photo (above) is just using the overhead light as well as the natural light from the window. It offers an okay amount of contrast. It would probably give me enough information to make a passably good painting. (If I were so inclined, and if I used loads of artistic juju to bump up the contrast while in the process of painting.)

The second photo is the flower lit using a natural spectrum light bulb from my drafting table, as well as overhead and natural sunlight from the window. I placed the lamp at a 45 degree angle from the windows. It not only added contrast, but also a myriad of soft and subtle hues of pink, yellow and blue. Lovely! (Plus, it will require much less of the juju to make a great painting.)

Had I been really feeling the flower power, I would have spritzed it gently with a water bottle, to mimic dew. It’s almost enough to make a critter artist think about painting peonies. Or maybe I am just drunk on the sweet smell of flowers that is currently permeating the gallery.