Eastern Reef Egret - With Rocks!

It was interesting to read Linda Besse's recent blog post in which she discusses how her ideas for a painting evolve. In the example she's chosen, she talks about her plans to superimpose some bighorn rams onto a dramatic mountain background which bears no resemblance to the one in her photo of the rams. She also mentions flipping the intended background image horizontally and rearranging the group of rams for a more dramatic effect. These are skills I'm yet to develop fully and I know I'll have to work on this aspect of my art if I'm to succeed as a painter of wildlife.

In the subject I've chosen for my next painting, I'm relying to a large extent on a single photograph once again, but I've given a good deal of thought to the placement of the various elements within the image. With the work of Robert Bateman in mind (as it often is!), I've drawn up some thumbnail sketches in which I've echoed the shapes defined by the egret's wings in the foreground rocks. I've also suggested some linear flows through the rock to the left of the egret which continue on through the bird and into the rocks in the background. It'll be an interesting exercise; the trick will be in implementing these ideas with enough subtlety so as not to have the finished painting look too contrived.

Cheers

Pete

Life on the Edge

In calling this painting "Life on the Edge - Black-Footed Rock Wallaby", I'm most obviously describing this individual's vantage point on the cliffs. More significantly, the title reflects the species' delicate conservation status. Although I've been lucky enough to observe them in reasonable numbers at a couple of locations, their populations are scattered and they face serious threats from habitat destruction by sheep and feral goats, competition for food from rabbits as well as predation by foxes and feral cats. Let's hope captive breeding programs and fox baiting can go some way towards resurrecting their numbers and restoring them to their former range.

Life on the Edge - Black-Footed Rock Wallaby

Acrylic 28 1/2" x 14 1/4"

Experience has taught me that there'll never be a painting I'm completely happy with in every respect. This one is no exception, and I know I'll have to banish it to the back room for a couple of weeks before I'm able to look at it with any degree of objectivity. Verdict notwithstanding, it's the first painting I've completed in many years and I'm greatly relieved to have broken the drought at last.

However I feel about this painting after I've recovered from painting all those rocks, I know I learned a lot from it. I learned that I need to put more time into preliminary sketches to establish a pleasing overall design - my overreliance on photographic reference has got to change! I learned that sticking to a limited palette will help my paintings gel as a whole until I've gained more experience or been able to seek guidance from a more knowledgeable artist. I learned that I need to guard against rushing, particularly when the painting is large and I'm not progressing as quickly as I'd like; the best approach I've found with any formidable project is to break it into bite-sized chunks and treat the completion of each stage as a mini-milestone.

Now, it's on to something smaller with NO rocks!

Cheers

Pete

Postscript:

As I began this blog, I must say I wondered whether it could be of any real value. Now that I've posted for a few months, I've come to feel in some small way that I'm an active part of a community of online artists, all facing similar challenges and asking the same questions of themselves. I've sincerely appreciated the support and encouragement so freely given, and I've come to regard those who provide regular comments and feedback as part of a circle of friends, without whom the task would be that much harder and certainly more solitary. So, with painting #1 finished, it seems an opportune time to say "thank you one and all!"

Progress - At a Snail's Pace

You can see what slow progress I'm making when you compare the previous image with this one, taken after yet another day's work!

Cheers

Pete

The Finish Line

I think I can see the finish line. Isn't it that faint object off in the distance?

Cheers

Pete

Rocks, Rocks and More Rocks!

I like rocks. I like painting rocks. But I don't like painting imaginary rocks as I'm drifting off to sleep and again as soon as I wake in the morning. I guess it's to be expected given my chosen subject matter!

I'm making slow but steady progress with this painting and enjoying the feel of the textured paper and the way I can build up colour and tone gradually with heavily diluted acrylic paint. Speaking of which, the lesson I learned a long time ago is that acrylics thinned excessively with water may not adhere well to the substrate or to underlying paint layers. To avoid any problems in this regard, I always use a separate small jar to hold water for thinning into which I've mixed a generous squirt or two of acrylic binder medium.

Cheers

Pete

Back On Track

This is the first painting I've attempted since picking up the brushes again a few months ago where I've felt in control. Hopefully, it marks a turning point after I'd struggled with my first couple of paintings.

As I sat and conducted day one's post-mortem last night, my sense of satisfaction was overshadowed by enormous relief. After working on the painting again today, I have to say I'm cautiously optimistic, however, I won't tempt fate by declaring it a success with so much work remaining!

Regardless of the final outcome, I feel I've gone a long way towards rediscovering the techniques and style that had evolved all those years ago and had eluded me until now. It's the confidence boost I so badly needed and another step on the way to producing the kind of art I aspire to.

The lesson for anyone newly entering the world of art is that with persistence and dogged determination, your unique style will reveal itself. I'm not sure it can be rushed though; it will emerge - or in my case re-emerge - when it's good and ready!

Cheers

Pete

Black-Footed Rock Wallaby

Sandi and I encountered this black-footed rock wallaby a few weeks ago on one of our many forays along Yardie Creek. As is so often the case with these creatures, he seemed more indifferent than alarmed and we were able to sneak our kayaks close enough to take as many photos as we liked, one of which features a wallaby mid-leap which I look forward to painting in due course. In the meantime, I'm keen to begin this painting which I'm inclined to think is a little less ambitious.

With careful attention to the sharpness of edges and to colour and contrast, I hope to push the rocks on the left hand side of the image into the background slightly, the goal being to emphasise depth in what could otherwise appear to be a continuous flat expanse of rock wall.

Having flirted briefly with masonite and dabbled unhappily with canvas, I'm back to using watercolour paper, a support I've enjoyed working with in the past - this time it's rough 640gsm Arches. After spending the best part of a day and a half on the preparatory drawing, I've applied acrylic sealer to the surface in readiness for my acrylic paints. Tomorrow, before I make a start, I'll experiment with colour mixes on some offcuts and hopefully be well prepared when paint hits paper.

I made the mistake recently of relying on the digital image displayed on my laptop, with less than ideal results. As I came to realise, tonal values and colour can vary significantly depending on the angle of the screen. As you can see, this time I'm following the lead of fellow blogger Grahame Butler and have printed out two copies of the image on high-definition paper as reference, one in colour and one in black and white.

Cheers

Pete