Having jimmied my back this week from standing at the easel rather than exercising every day, I have been working on a wee portrait of a gorgeous miniature schnauzer pup named Khaleesi. She's a bundle of energy and a constant source of delight for Janet and David. They are good friends and I value them, so....this is the right week for a portrait I can sit down to do.
Now palette is one of the first things I think about when starting a new painting. You might have noticed that I adore blue - my mother's favourite colour, too - and that it finds its way into every painting. If you recall from "The Process" on my website, a burnt umber (red/blue/yellow) and white layer is always followed by a separate layer of each primary in every glaze oil painting. That means that, before I even start the final glazes, blue has already reported for duty twice. Moreover, to mix the blacks for my "darkest dark", I normally use burnt umber and ultramarine on top of all that. Blue and blue again. So Khaleesi, being black/grey/white, is largely blue, with the exception of her red collar and her transparent burnt sienna eyes. I simply laid out burnt umber, white, and ultramarine and played happily away until she returned my stare from the wood panel.
I might be ready soon to begin a painting in this same palette of our dear Skye terrier, Jewel, who passed away in January. I long for a limit to the blues. Rest in peace, dear girl.
Now palette is one of the first things I think about when starting a new painting. You might have noticed that I adore blue - my mother's favourite colour, too - and that it finds its way into every painting. If you recall from "The Process" on my website, a burnt umber (red/blue/yellow) and white layer is always followed by a separate layer of each primary in every glaze oil painting. That means that, before I even start the final glazes, blue has already reported for duty twice. Moreover, to mix the blacks for my "darkest dark", I normally use burnt umber and ultramarine on top of all that. Blue and blue again. So Khaleesi, being black/grey/white, is largely blue, with the exception of her red collar and her transparent burnt sienna eyes. I simply laid out burnt umber, white, and ultramarine and played happily away until she returned my stare from the wood panel.
I might be ready soon to begin a painting in this same palette of our dear Skye terrier, Jewel, who passed away in January. I long for a limit to the blues. Rest in peace, dear girl.
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