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Now I know why so many paintings show people facing away from the viewer. I was trying to make the farmer in "Milking Heidi" look more like my brother-in-law. After 3 hours of revisions on that one inch square of the painting, I decided Leonardo was brilliant: "What! You say the face does not look like the Duke? Who will know in 500 years!"
I am not even going to post the photo of how "Milking Heidi" looks now. Even Heidi's other end does not look as good today :( Maybe I will call this picture a 'study' and start over on the real one.
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   Maybe getting better. When I started today, the painting looked kind of dull coloured. I wanted to change the lemony yellow trees and dull grasses to a richer gold with more texture and darker shadows.
Oops - now improve the highlights in the trees, get the autumn gold tint back, make some variation in the vertical green line between the grassland and poplar grove. Try not to wreck the painting when it is almost done. Now let it dry and see if it is finished yet ... I am trying not to over-blend the colour patches this time. Better, but faces are really difficult. The slightest colour change or dot makes a huge difference to the expression and mood. This guy might never look like my brother-in-law. However, the cow thinks 'the more colour changes and dots and smudges the better.' One more layer needed to bring it closer to the reference photo (1st image below): - darker and skinnier cow, - shading on the guy's face and back. Tomorrow.    
First colour layer for Heidi  Hmm, too much blending takes the interesting lines right out.
Note to self for next layer - minimal blending. Paints used: Mussini translucent yellow oxide, Mussini translucent red oxide, Mussini ultramarine blue dark, M Graham titanium white, Gamblin 1980 mars black., M Graham Walnut Alkyd Medium. Corrections to do: - lower and relax the man's left shoulder and tilt his head more so he is looking at the milk pail - correct the top of Heidi's left hip so she does not kick the milk pail - add a hint of the milk stool and pail, texture the wall and floor (hay, etc.) , floor should be lighter on the left side to show light coming from the open barn door Well, that was Life giving me a reality check. Three trips to Kelowna for medical activities and many other detours took up most of the last 10 days. I am the same as I was 10 days ago, but I know more anatomy now. Hearing, balance and tinnitus are my areas of specialty, and none of them are helpful in painting. :( On the other hand, all my expertise in allergies is now useless - apparently I aged out of all of them! I did not even know that was possible, but I accomplished it anyway. Sell the shares in the antihistamine companies, I am no longer a full-time customer. Now getting back to that painting I was planning to do - paint the 10x8 "Milking Heidi," - finish the 24x24 "Monarch Migration" butterflies, - tune up 36x48 "On a Clear Day", and - find my photo reference for 12 x36 "Caribou Moving On" "Swallowtail Heaven" is hanging in my living room, too small and high for the location, but a placeholder until the big painting returns to its place.  |
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