Those of you that follow this blog have probably noticed I usually paint several scenes of new subjects. Recently, I finished the two butterflys mentioned in the previous posts and now starting two more. I thought it would be of interest to show some of the process and will post some of the stages during the painting. I was fortunate to obtain some wonderful pictures from my friend Janet to use for reference. Much appreciated.
Start by transferring the necessary parts of the image to the canvas. This can be done by drawing it freehand, using the grid method, enlarging and using carbon paper transfer, or by tracing using opaque projector. I have used all of these methods. I like to draw my images, but the biggest time saver is the opaque projector when tackling a scene of many lines and shapes important to the composition. I use a soft no. 2 lead pencil sharpened to a fine point to lightly trace the outline onto the canvas.Heavy pencil marks are more difficult to cover during the painting. Suggest only tracing the major boundaries to keep it simple. (The minor details can easily be found and put in once you start painting) After the image is penciled in, lightly spray the canvas with a fixative to keep it from smudging during handling and painting. The fixative dries fast so you can start painting within a few minutes of application.
As seen in the pictures, I started with the black parts of the image because it is the biggest area and will maintain the borders for the insertion of the other colors. Also, by working from one side to the other keeps your hand off painted areas. I worked from the upper left to right and downward. Some artists will paint in all areas with color as they go. Sometimes I do depending on the composition.
Now that the black is blocked in, I can work on another painting while it dries.
Your comments and questions are welcome. I would like to hear from you.
Let us pray before we paint,
jimmie@jimmiesart.com
Made some progress today on the larger butterfly painting by blocking in the color portions of the wings. (Scroll down the page to see the previous stage of the painting.) I did a bit of shading and highlighting which brought the painting into dimension. Nothing has been done to white portions of the canvas. Notice how the smaller whites on the wings stand out even though not painted. I will add shades of white later. Next step is to add the floral background. I will work on the other butterfly tomorrow and possibly finish it, but we did talk about going fishing tomorrow. Your comments are appreciated.
