A Workshop, Plein Air, and a Little Fun With Media




"Bolsa Chica Grebe" 16 x 20 Acrylic on Canvas

Original Photo "Reflected Dreams" by Bunny Clarke

Click here to view original photo:



Click here to view Bunny Clarke's RedBubble Profile:



A year ago, I would have been afraid to tackle a workshop like this: Solo Exhibition's Sojie 12, where artists
translate photographs posted by fellow group members. I've never worked on a collaboration like this before, and wanted to select a piece I had a genuine interest in so I could give it my best.


I took a class in wildlife painting a few years back, and although I loved it, I never focused too much of my art on painting wildlife in the traditional style (i.e. realistic!) I loved the reflections in this painting, and thought it would give me a good challenge: painting wildlife in acrylic, a medium I've been out of touch with for a while. Acrylic doesn't lend itself well to chasing a two year-old around the house, but now that my husband is home, I can get back into it while he does toddler duty.


For this workshop, artists must post at least two work-in-progress photos, so I am including mine here with a brief description of each step:

Step One: rough sketch on canvas with chalk pastel, to block in the composition and map out darks, lights, and a hint of the color scheme


Step Two: Bird still in pastel, with water blocked in using acrylic


Step Three: after getting a little carried away painting the water a lighter color, I had to redo it with the original blues and greens. The bird is also blocked in with the first layer of acrylic.

Step Four: see large image at top of post. This was the "details" phase, where I added in touches of brighter color, more texture on the bird, and highlights in the water.


To view the entire workshop and its progress, click here:



In addition to the workshop, I did a little plein air painting at the harbor in Oceanside, California:

"Harbor Pair" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper


It was a Friday night, and there was quite a crowd walking around. I had to smile when some of the parents shushed their children as they walked by me; I was tempted to tell them that I'm used to painting with noisy kids circling me on a regular basis. It was a warm, pleasant evening, and I'm hoping to return for another session soon.

"Le Chat Orange" 12 x 16 Mixed Media on Canson Canva-Paper

And, for something completely different: a mixed media cat on my new pad of Canva-paper. Sketched in with pastel, I followed with a layer of yellow acrylic, red tissue paper, metallic gold acrylic, and chalk pastel as a top layer.












































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inspired by Light (Pastels on Canvas)

Image
"Morning Glow" 12 x 16 Chalk Pastel on Flat Canvas Email nicolehilsabeck@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing Been trying to get back into the daily painting routine, which for me either means a small painting a day, or a larger painting spread over two days.  It's a bit of a challenge with the growing belly and a very inquisitive firstborn, but I was lucky enough to get a little extra inspiration from an odd source: Sunday's eclipse. We have beautiful views of the canyon and hills behind us, and I watched the light change on this hill as the sunlight waned throughout the course of the eclipse.  I noted how the normally stunning lights and shadows on this hill were blunted by the general darkening (as opposed to the usual sunrise or sunset glow).  I thought I would be a little more appreciative of those lights and darks and try a painting of the trees and hills the next morning. I completed this painting in several steps, having struggled a little recent...
Read more

Painting Cats

Image
"The Bookeeper" Click here to view auction After many years of painting cats, I've learned a few things.  Every time I start a new cat painting, it follows its own unique path, bringing challenges that I don't seem to face when I paint my more traditional material (landscapes, birds, floral and botanical pieces, etc.) For example, cats don't stay put for too long (unless they're asleep, and even then they'll often stretch and change positions when you're least expecting it).  To combat this challenge, I end up working mostly from photographs.  That means adjusting the proportions, since the camera angle causes some distortion depending on the position and location of the cat. "Eye Contact" Oil Pastel Not for Sale "Side Glance" Oil Pastel Available on Etsy  One of the reasons cats are enjoyable to paint is that they have strong facial expressions.  When I'm painting a cat, I get so focused on rendering the cat...
Read more

A Hot Mess of Water Lilies!

Image
"Balboa Water Lilies" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper Click here to view large or purchase So, every time I take great photos to paint later it turns into a learning experience for me. We took a little day trip in September down to Balboa Park in San Diego, California.  There wasn't much left of the water lilies after some recent vandalism (a bunch of geniuses decided to have a water gun fight and ended up destroying the lilypond).  It was a strangely hot day for downtown San Diego-- part of a series of heat waves that dogged me throughout the last months of my pregnancy.  I was thrilled to get some pretty photos while down there, particularly of the lilypads and turtles. I love to paint water, but I forget how time consuming it can be.  There are lots of layers involved, and I ended up using fixative as I layered in the lights and darks in this piece.  I also didn't anticipate how difficult it is to depict those peaceful, floating lilypads.  Af...
Read more