Winterlude Part 3

"Winterlude" almost there!

I keep adding colour and detail throughout the entire scene.  I want to maintain a balance so that I can judge each new brush stroke against the overall look of the painting.  If you concentrate too much on one area you may find that it doesn't work so well after the rest of the painting is completed.  You also run the risk of 'falling in love' with how that particular area of your work looks and you may not want to make necessary changes as you go forward.  By working more or less equally across the painting, you can maintain a healthier and more impartial perspective on your work.

Here I have painted in the distant trees using a mixture of sap green, ultramarine blue and titanium white.  Ultramarine blue dominates to create an illustion of distance.  Now the local colour of the barn is introduced.  I decided on a soft yellow to promote the feeling of bright sunlight on a cold winter day. I add snow to the branches of the spruce tree in front of the barn and generally add more detail to everything.  I introduce a slight hint of warmth in the sky on the right side of the painting, again to establish a feeling of bright sunlight coming from that direction.  Now I embellish the soft shadows in the snow and on the snowy branches in the foreground using a mixture of ultramarine blue and titanium white.

"Winterlude" 9 X 12 inches acrylic on board

I work fairly consistently over the entire painting as I go along, so everything comes together quite nicely as I near the finish.  I add small details and highlights as necessary, such as brightening the snow on the barn roof, spruce tree, fence and middle ground to suggest bright light in these areas.  I add bits of snow in the forks of tree branches beside the barn and I strengthen the blue shadow areas.

The last area to concentrate on is the foreground.  Layers of detail and colour are added to the birds to make them appear close to the viewer.  The pine needles are finished off with darker and more detailed brush strokes using a combination of sap green and lamp black,  The tree branches are painted in quickly with burnt sienna and lamp black in the shadows.

In order to increase the contrast between the sunny background and the shadowed foreground, I add a glaze of ultramarine blue and mat medium over most of the pine branches and the birds until I see a clear division between the two areas.  Once the signature is added, the painting is finished!

Winterlude Part Two

"Winterlude" a work in progress

Now I begin blocking in a few colours to create an underpainting on my illustration board.  The sky is roughed in with a combination of cerulean blue and titanium white acrylic pigments.  Because the light is coming from the right side of the painting, I transition from a very pale colour on the right to a darker sky on the left.  I block in the shadows on the barn roof and in the snow.  The snow surfaces that are directly in sunlight are blocked in with titanium white.  I use cerulean blue to add a few contours to the shaded, snow laden boughs in the foreground.

"Winterlude" one step closer!

I keep adding more colour and more detail, gradually establishing my colour scheme and mood of the painting.  I use cadmium red to wash in basic tones on the male and female cardinals and slowly build contours of light and shadow as I go.  The plumage of the female cardinal is primarily drab and somewhat olive, so I use a combination of cadmium yellow, titanium white and ultramarine blue to create this colour.  The spruce tree in the middle ground and the pine boughs in the foreground are quickly blocked in with sap green.  Next, I introduce burnt sienna on the fencing and bare deciduous trees in the middle ground.  I also build a little more shadow contour on the male cardinal with this colour.  Finally, I paint the sky again with more colour and detail in the blending.  My painting is starting to take shape!

Winterlude

"Winterlude" sketch

I thought I would do a demo of how I paint this Christmas image for licensing.  I do a fair amount of illustrative art for licensing through Porterfield's Fine Art Licensing.  A winter scene is the perfect choice, since the art that is most in demand for licensing is usually a Christmas theme.  These images are often used for greeting cards, puzzles, gift ware and paper products as well as many other possibilites.  A prospective client will review the work I have available for licensing in a given catagory, choose what suits their project and purchase limited rights to use the image for a specific purpose and for a specific period of time.

The first thing I do when producing this type of art is to brainstorm an idea that will appeal to a maximum number of buyers.  Quite often, as in this case, the idea includes a number of similar images that may evolve into a series of finished pieces, all on the same theme.  Once I feel I have enough inspiration to proceed I come up with reference material for my idea.  I file all types of reference and I take digital photos everywhere I go, so I have a lot of material to draw from.  Now I create sketches to work out my design and create any additional parts of my picture from a combination of memory and imagination.  When this is done  I proceed to do a finished sketch on board or canvas to begin my painting.

"Winterlude"

The next step begins by spraying my drawing with a workable fixative to seal the graphite and prevent smearing.  Now I cover the drawing with matt medium that contains a small amount of acrylic pigment to tone the board.  Usually I will mix one muted colour and cover the entire surface evenly to provide a ground instead of glaring white.  Warm earth tones are my usual choice, but blue-gray is an alternative for a cooler, more subdued look.  

This time I wanted to suggest an extreme contrast between the extreme sunlight on the right and the cool shade on the left of my painting, so I toned the matt medium with cadmium yellow on the right and cerulean blue on the left.  I hope to create the illusion of a winter day warmed by the sun.  These colours will influence the paint that I lay over top as I continue to work.

Painting Progression-Seasons Greetings-Step 6

The sky in the background is finished off and the afternoon setting sun is highlighted a bit more.  It is positioned near the snowman's carrot nose and sparkling eyes, helping to attract the viewer's eye to the center of interest of the painting.  The snow-laden tree branch, which also points at Frosty's face, also thrusts into the picture, drawing the viewer's eye back in.  The Cardinal is finished in with more color and detail.  The bird is positioned to keep the viewer's eye going back and forth between these two characters.  The Christmas tree and ornaments are painted in and white highlights are added to create a reflective shine.  I add darks and highlights to Frosty's mittens and make small adjustments throughout the painting, where needed.  A light scattering of new snow falling adds greatly to the feeling of depth and a sense of animation.  The signature goes on and the painting is complete!

Painting Progression-Seasons Greetings-Step 5

With all of the basic color decisions made, I can now work up detail in every area of the picture.  It is a simple matter to decide where adjustments need to be made once the picture has a complete color map.  The snowman's face is the main focal point, so I try to accentuate his kind, lovable expression. I add soft blue to his coal black eyes to create a luminous shine. Next, I add a sparkle to them with a white highlight.  A strong, bright red on the scarf and ear muffs give him a dashing, festive look.  I use warm yellow highlights on the mittens and a healthy bright orange on his carrot nose.

In order to liven up the snowman's body, I add strong blue-purple in the shadow areas, and I build a texture over the highlighted surfaces with a dry brush effect of heavy pigment.  Frosty is rapidly coming to life as the paint steadily goes on! 

Painting Progression-Seasons Greetings-Step 4

Now I begin to paint over the initial blocked-in areas of color.  The sky is refined and painted more heavily, blending the tones together.  The background trees are worked up a bit more, adding some detail and texture.  The old fedora on Frosty's head is painted in and the sprig of holly is added, too.  His features, carrot nose and colorful scarf get more hue, texture and detail added to them, and the picture begins to take on more life and a feeling of depth.  More color and contours are added to the woollen mittens and an initial layer is added to the tree decorations.  Each step taken is another building block in the structure of the painting.  The work is evolving as a whole, rather than one part at a time.  In this way, I always know how all the elements in the picture relate to one another.  My goal is to avoid painting myself into a "corner" along the way.

Painting Progression-Seasons Greetings-Step 3

Now I paint in all of the basic areas using simple colors.  I am working with acrylic paint thinned with water.  For the background sky, I create a  wash of soft blue which I bleed into the yellow of the late afternoon winter sun.  Care must be taken to avoid creating a sickly green where the yellow and blue tones meet.  Each area I add helps to create a map of what the finished piece should look like.  With the basic colors laid in, it is easy to decide what adjustments to make and to which areas in order to create the look that I want.  If I painted one area completely before working on another, I would probably need to change it later, in relation to other areas in the picture.  It is best to work over the entire picture, building a solid foundation first.

Painting Progression-Seasons Greetings-Step 2

When I begin to paint, I prefer not to work directly on a white surface.   I use a toned surface to help me see the colors I am applying more accurately.  The surface color that I choose will also influence the finished result by unifying the final colors that will be applied later.  I usually also allow some spots where this  base color shows through in the finished piece.  Here I have chosen violet purple which will be the basic shadow color in the painting, especially on the main subject, our illustrious snowman.  Violet purple is a warm color, which will make a nice compliment to a winter scene.

I mix my pigment into a generous amount of mat medium.  This makes the mixture very transparent, allowing my pencil drawing to show through clearly.  The white of the art board also shows through, keeping the ground color from being too dark or heavy.  By using a mat medium rather than gloss, I avoid creating a shiny surface to work on.  The acrylic paint dries very quickly and I am ready to start painting!

Painting Progression-Seasons Greetings-Step 1

Here is something completely different for a change of pace.  No horses in this one!  At one time, most of my work was illustrations done for advertising, books, magazines, posters and point of purchase displays, etc.  These days I do some of my art for licensing.  Companies pay me to use my art on commercial products such as greeting cards and puzzles.  This is a piece of art which I have created specifically for this type of application.  It is painted on art board and the image size is 9 inches by 12 inches.  I have painted the finished picture it in acrylic, which is a fast medium to use on a project such as this.

The first step is to produce a series of rough sketches to perfect the idea, building a workable composition that will attract attention and be pleasing to the viewer.  A jolly snowman must convey a warm and friendly personality, and the cardinal needs to be carefully placed in a natural pose.

When I am satisfied with the results, I  trace my finished drawing onto illustration board, clean it up, and spray it with workable fixative.  It is now ready to begin painting!