This is an unusual painting project for me, a portrait! My collector didn’t want a full color oil painting. He asked me to do a drawing as a surprise for his wife. I had done a large painting of three of their horses several years ago, Lance liked the initial sketch. I thought it would be neat to do a sepia tone Oil Wash drawing, kind of like an old tintype photo. Lance sent the two pictures above, he wants the view of him on the left and the position of Godiva, their horse, on the right.
The oil wash is mixed with Ivory Black + Burnt Umber + Liquin. I had to hunt a bit and steal these from Jack’s paint box. They are colors I don’t normally have on my palette but are perfect for this piece. Remember, to see any of these pictures larger just click the image.
The first step is to paint the background. I make it darker behind Lance to highlight his light colored Stetson and white shirt. Then the color is lightened behind Godiva’s dark head.
The canvas was primed with white acrylic. This gives a semi-slick surface to the canvas, making it easy to go back and pull the wash off with a clean brush. I’m doing that around the edges of Lance. I need to do this because once the background wash dries I can’t change it. The white canvas will provide the highlights so I have to think ahead and make sure the edges are clean.
All the edges are finished and the reins and bit are “lifted’ out of the background with a clean brush. I’m going to let this dry overnight. Tomorrow I will be able to work on the main subject and not worry about messing up the background. See Ya! Hugs, Mikki Senkarik
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