Poppies A-Startin'

While the beginning process for this painting is not as involved as the process needed for the Bird Squares, I thought it would still be fun to document the start of Poppies!

This is being done on an 8x8" stretched canvas so laying down a charcoal sketch is much easier than on 3x3" squares.

The first image is the base: a mix of titanium white and sap green water soluble oils, blended and criss-crossed for texture. 

The second photograph is the laying-in of the basic reds and greens of the poppies, stems and leaves, over the charcoal sketch. You can still see some "extra" lines under the paint.

Will be jumping between the Bird Squares and Poppies, between everything else, of course! Stay tuned!

Bird Squares

It's time to try a little something different!

Through the last couple of years, I've collected various sized canvases along the way. I've puzzled over what I could do with a package of 4-3" square canvases. After doing "Cece's Window", there was no longer any mystery.

I've started by painting a basic set of colors in a simple pattern for the background. But, I've been trying more pragmatic ways to design my compositions.

Background Paint

In this instance, I made a colored print of the squares and, then, sketched the birds. Once the background paint is dry enough to work over, I'll transfer the images to the actual canvases.

Sketched Birds on Print

The painting of the birds will be in a looser style, but I like having the images detailed enough with which to really work. For this small a canvas, willow charcoal would be fairly useless.

I'll keep posting the steps as I go along...

Keep growing and flying, my friends!