We’re back to work and sketchin’ away. Getting the gate and building in helps in establishing size relationships for the elements in the foreground. The lanterns on either side of the gate were a challenge. I’m using a picture we took in Taos for my model. The first one was easy, the tough part was getting the second one to match! The one on the left needs a little adjustment, I’ll do that when I paint them.
Moving to the front porch the portal posts, corbels, door and nicho are drawn. Using a large Bright brush I wash in the ristras with a mixture of Alizarin Crimson + Liquin.
Fountains are a fun addition to a courtyard. The music of the water splashing is so relaxing. Sarah and Jim wanted a water feature with St. Francis. When I need to research for reference material I’ve found Google images invaluable. At a touch of the keypad I can travel the world. So I went on Google and found a neat St. Francis bird feeder. I like the bowl, it will be perfect to convert to a fountain. The water can cascade from it into a large round base below.
I design the statue for the fountain, drawing it up with a thin oil wash. After completing St. Francis I decided to add a couple of birds to the sculpture. I let the bowl of the fountain extend over the gate behind it, this helps to give the painting depth.
The distant landscape is sketched in and we’re done! Remember, you can click on any of the images to enlarge them. We’ll start painting in our next session. Hope you’ll come back to watch. Smiles and Hugs, Mikki Senkarik
Website: www.senkarik.com