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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Fun With a Reef Egret

I've accomplished a little more with this painting, mostly through the week, later at night when the working day and the usual activities that follow it are out of the way. If your TV viewing options are as dismal as mine usually are, there are probably few excuses for not putting in a couple of hours of painting before bed time! If there's a danger in painting at night, however, it's that my judgement of colour is skewed somewhat by the artificial lights I paint under; viewed in daylight conditions the following morning, there are noticeable differences.


Without really planning it that way, I find myself using glazing techniques almost exclusively, in much the same way that I've come to handle acrylic paints. As the photo shows, I'm painstakingly building up colour, tonal values and texture in the rocks, still using only ultramarine and burnt sienna over the initial raw umber underpainting. The daunting prospect of painting the egret itself is looming ever larger!    

Cheers
Pete

8 comments:

Colette Theriault said...

Your ability to paint rocks so realistically is stunning Peter! Can't wait to see the finishing touches on them and the egret!

Peter Brown said...

Thanks Colette - you're too kind!

Unknown said...

planing or not peter,i can only agree with colette that your technique in painting the rocks is very effective indeed.it's looking great so far!

Peter Brown said...

Thanks very much Clive. It remains to be seen whether I'm as effective when it comes to the all-important egret!

As I mentioned in a recent post, I tend to mentally rehearse each step in the painting process and I think the approach I adopt when it comes to the egret will make or break the painting - ultimately, it's all about the light and the way I portray it.

Anonymous said...

The rocks are phenomenal Peter. Love all that detail. Looking forward to seeing the finished work.

Peter Brown said...

Thank you Scott!

Gary Keimig said...

really coming together Peter. Great work.

Peter Brown said...

Thanks Gary. Not only is it a holiday weekend here to celebrate Australia Day, it's also far too hot outside (40C+) to contemplate working in the garden. Unless some other distraction presents itself, I plan on making significant progress on this painting in the cool of the air-conditioning!