Nearly Done!

I have been working on this and forgetting to post so will follow up with where I am right now. I have begun to deepen the values and define alot of the details. The picture was quite dark and also when otters are wet they are quite black...but I chose not to make him so dark because I felt there was a unity in the shape of his head with the shape of the furry angora hat. Similar shapes are always unifing as long as they seem to differ somewhat and do not become boring. I am hoping to keep the oval shape of her face and the otter's face working tightly so the eye stays there and wants to remain there. I want the water line to lead the eye of the viewer into the painting and make that circle. There is also alot of interest with texture throughout the painting so hopefully the viewer still has enough to look at to remain with the painting for awhile. I hope to be done soon...and will next show the professional photo of it...Yipee!

Otter continuation

I have been working on this quite abit and got behind in posting so will do a post for each step. Here I am blocking in the shapes still and finding the surface or area color starting with the lightest shades mostly. I always like to get the white covered most places to get a sense of the values. I am also trying to get the glass from the aquarium wall completed so that I know the values there. The texture turned out quite well using the salt but now I have gone in and glazed over parts of it and deleted some. I also have made some into the droplets of water that are running and condensing on the glass.

Otter Painting

This is a picture of my daughter at the aquarioum in Newport, Oregon. The photo is very dark because we are in one of those underground areas...darker outside than inside the tank. I maybe do not have enough information to really do this correctly...but I have decided to continue working outside my comfort zone for awhile and do what is not easy for me. So bare with me....perhaps it will make you try something new too!
In this beginning stage I did a salt layer to add the texture for the glass. It was full of water running down, bubbles etc...and so this is how I am going to begin solving that area. My next picture will show what I do with that to lessen it in areas.
The tank has an odd glow in the water so I tried to capture that too. I am leaving out any areas on the glass that show squares of light from the windows behind as I think that will detract. Soon I will post where I am now.

Sprinkler Final

I am calling this done as I just cannot take it much further without losing the small details in all the cogs. You might not be able to see all of that detail as it is truly very small but I do not want to put too high a resolution up here because of theft. Hopefully you can see it well enough. There were many problems to overcome in this painting. The biggest for me was that the sun was overhead and I was not going to have much for shadows...usually I like very strong shadows. I could not have them on the wall behind as it would have been too dark and I would have lost all the mechanics on the sprinklers. I decided on this and hope that it works well enough for everyone. I have UND and North Dakota on one license plate as that is where I gradutaed from college. I have one showing Minnesota with a "B" for Bemidji where I am from now. I have a small tag hanging down which is 3=20 which is my birthday. I usually try to add things that make my paintings more personal. Now I can move on and start a new painting which is already to go!
This painting is 9 x 30, watercolor and is titled "Waterworks" Thanks so much! Janie

Sprinklers Continued!

I am finally closing the gap. I took a good long time thinking about the background and not knowing photoshop I had to guess and hope it would work. I really had some wonderful suggestions but in many cases if that area was dark it would have been impossible to see the workings of the sprinklers so it had to be light...or a mid value to work. I have been wanting to add license plates to a painting for some time...but have never taken pictures of any. This was out of my head and now I love what is happening I will take some pictures for future reference. Most of you realize that when I post a picture in progress, obviously all the darks etc are not in. At this point I have established the mid values and lights and so can now go in and finish off the details and really get in some good darks. The direction of the sun is not lending itself to shadows and I think if they were places on the wall it might be distracting in this particular painting so I am steering away from that. This picture is 9 inches by 30 so I am not working with alot of space and the tiny cogs etc are really like trying to paint a miniature...it has been a test of patience!!! Also, you will note that yes, it is crooked again! Hopefully you can over look that and wait for the final professional picture which will be straight! Thanks so much for following along and for all the nice emails I have received!

Sprinkler Update!

I have been just staring at this painting trying to decide what to do for the shelf or bench that the sprinklers are sitting on. I had taken the photo on a wooden outdoor bench but looking at that strong horizontal line that would go across the entire page seemed wrong. Finally I started doodling and decided to break it up like slats of wood to give it more interet since this area was closest to the viewer...it needed that. It is not done in this area but now I can leave it and start to consider what will go behind the sprinklers...that really has me wondering. If I paint loose it will contradict the tight part of the painting. I do not see how I can paint a single color because there is so much to paint around...unless I try to mask it and there is just so much detail I am not sure I can! So I need to put my thinking cap back on! The picture wa staken quickly because it was -30 today and I had to take it outside...so ignore the slant. Also as priviously stated, this is not done, nor is any part of it done until I get the background in and can then adjust the values of the different areas.