Ruby

We’ll start today’s session by painting Ruby’s body. The colors of her coat are made a tiny bit more muted so the viewer’s attention will be draw to the richer colors on her ears and face.

Now I begin blocking in the basic planes of her face.

The richest color is in Ruby’s alert ears. I can just imagine how she would perk them up when her name was called.

Her gray nose is made with mixes of Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. Then a few rosy touches of Alizarin Crimson + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + White are added.

Let’s work on Ruby’s expressive eyes. First the entire area is painted with MUD. Then the deep brown iris is delineated.

Light pours into the painting from the upper left; therefore the iris on the right side is highlighted at about 5 o’clock.

Next, the catch light is placed near the upper lid at 11 o’clock. You can click on the picture to see it larger.

Isn’t her purple collar pretty? I think it looks so nice with Ruby’s coat. Mixtures in several different proportions of Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue + White are used.

The final touch is to add Ruby’s name on the tag. What a beautiful baby, I’ve so enjoyed painting her. Please remember, if you have a fur baby that you would like me to paint please feel free to email us at senkarik@senkarik.com. And by the way, I really appreciate all of your kind comments and questions. Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

 

Working the Background

Since Ruby is a soft reddish brown I’m making the background a muted blue-green. Green is the complimentary color of Red, they are across from each other on the color wheel. By using this color behind our pretty baby her coat will appear richer. This follows a simple concept in painting, placing complimentary colors side by side makes each look richer and brighter. All of the large pools of color are mixed from various combinations of Sap Green + Pthalo Blue + White.

The light is coming into the portrait from the upper left, I make that side of the background darker to accentuate the light on her face.

Working around Ruby’s head I make the background on the right, behind her shadow side, lighter.

Her fur is made from combinations of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Burnt Sienna + White. Please remember as you read through my blog, you can enlarge any of the images by clicking on the picture.

I work the edges of Ruby over the wet background. Painting wet-into-wet allows me to make her fur appear soft and fuzzy.

It’s fun painting the curly strands of hair on her ears. The wet paint behind Ruby makes it easy to pull the squiggly strokes.

The fluffy hair on top of her head is blocked in with my large Bright (square) brush. The strokes are pulled straight up.

All of the edges are finished while the background color is still wet and pliable. That does it for today, thanks for following along. Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

 

 

A Sweet Puppy

Let me introduce you to Ruby. Sadly this precious little girl is now in puppy heaven. Her portrait has been commissioned by two sisters as a birthday gift for their father; Ruby was his special fur baby. Rebecca and Rachel asked me to use this pose for the painting.

But since the first picture is of Ruby in her later years the girls asked if I could make her more of the color she was at a younger age.

First the basic outline of Ruby is lightly drawn with pencil on my canvas. You can see it better if you enlarge the image, just click on the picture. Next I begin blocking in her eyes and the features of her face with an oil wash made of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

I love her fluffy ears!

The drawing of our sweetie is washed in. We’ll begin applying color in the next session. Hope you’ll come follow along. If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post you can subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!

http://www.senkarik.com

Everlasting Guardian

The bouquet of Sunflowers are first blocked in with several combinations of Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson), Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD and pure Cadmium Yellow Medium. I use thick brushstrokes so the blossoms will have lots of texture.

After leaves are painted with warm greens made of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium the dark centers are added.

Highlighting the blossoms with a mix of Cadmium Yellow Medium + Lemon Yellow finishes out the cheery Sunflowers.

Now for the Gladiolus. My color recipes are as follows. #1. Three mixes of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + a little Lemon Yellow. #2. Pthalo Blue + White. #3. Permanent Rose + Alizarin Crimson. #4. Mixes in different proportions of Permanent Rose + Cadmium Red Light + White.

The darker mixtures of the blossom color are applied first. Then I smoosh the lighter hues into the darker paint with a medium sized Bright (square) brush. Want to know more about the brushes I like to use? CLICK HERE to find out.

Deep centers are made with a mix of Alizarin Crimson + Liquin. Then the petals illuminated by the sun are highlighted.

I love hummingbirds and just had to let a few fly in!

The final touch is a crown of flowers for our angel. You can enlarge the picture to see this better, just click on the image.

Everlasting Guardian      14 inches by 11 inches

As soon as she is dry enough our angel will be off to the Czech Republic to become an Everlasting Guardian for Dominika, Terry’s daughter-in-law. I really enjoy collaborating with my collectors on special paintings. If you would like me to paint your dreams on canvas please feel free to contact me at senkarik@senkarik.com. Thank you for following my blog. Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

 

Wings……

It’s fun painting the angel’s wings. I’ve used pictures of doves I found on Google.com as reference for the plumage. My large Bright (square) brush is perfect for forming the individual feathers. The wings are continued over the edge and on to the side of the gallery wrapped canvas.

Next I block in the angel’s face. Several mixes of Terra Rosa + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + White in different proportions are used. A little Cadmium Red Light is added to the mix to make her rosy cheeks.

The details of the face are made with a fine liner brush. My wrist is braced against the mahl stick in order to steady my hand. What is a mahl stick?  CLICK HERE to find out.

The face is complete. Since her Daughter-in-Law’s hair is dark brown Terry asked me to make the guardian angel’s the same. Her glossy hair reflects some of the blue from the sky.

Now her arms and hands are blocked in with paint left over from the face. You can click on this or any of the other images to see them larger.

Flower stems are bundled with a bright red ribbon that flows in the breeze. The basic color is Cadmium Red Deep while the highlights are made with pure Cadmium Red Light. That’s all for today. Thank you for following along, hope you’ll come back again soon! Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

Gift of an Angel

Starting a new commission today……a birthday angel! I begin by sketching her up on the canvas in a thin oil wash of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin. Why do we call MUD, MUD? CLICK HERE to find out.

Here is the finished drawing on the canvas. A few hummingbirds will be flittering around the flowers. Please remember, you can click on any of the pictures to see them larger.

Painting begins with the sky. The color recipes are as follows: #1. White + Pthalo Blue. #2. White + Pthalo Blue + Cobalt Blue. #3. White + Cobalt Blue. #4. White + MUD. #5. Mix #4 + more White. #6. White + MUD + a touch of Alizarin Crimson.

The blue portion of the sky is blocked in first. The lower part is painted with mix #1. Moving upward mix #2 is used while the darkest mixture #3 is reserved for the sky at the top of the canvas.

The clouds (Mixes #4, #5 and #6) are painted wet-into-wet over the blue sky. The painting is on a gallery wrap canvas, the image will extend over the sides. The canvas is attached to a piece of double ply cardboard to make it easier to handle the wet painting. CLICK HERE to see how that was done.

The clouds are made soft and fluffy so they will drop back behind our angel. Thank you for following along today. If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post you can subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!

http://www.senkarik.com

 

Celebration of Love

The cheery California Poppies are painted in my usual sequence of Flowers First, Leaves Last. #1. The red orange blossoms are mixes of Cadmium Red Light + Cadmium Orange, Pure Cadmium Orange and Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow Medium. #2. Leaves are painted around the masses of red-orange, helping to give shape to the blossoms.

Highlights on the leaves, centers and buds complete the California Poppies. Now for the yellow Daisies dancing in the breeze. Please remember as you read my blog, you may click on any of the pictures to see them larger.

After painting the flowers with combinations of Cadmium Yellow Medium + a little MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson), Cadmium Yellow Medium and Cadmium Yellow Medium + Lemon Yellow the leaves are blocked in. The foliage is made of mixes of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Orange + White. A few brushstrokes of Pthalo Blue + White are made here and there to bring extra coolness to the leaves.

The dark centers of the Black Eyed Susan Daisies are painted with a deep brown made of MUD + a touch of Cadmium Orange. Next we’ll plant the Nasturtiums in the front. It’s neat how you can make the distinctive round leaves with a twist of a medium Bright (square) brush. Would you like to know more about the brushes I use? Just CLICK HERE.

Donita loves Purple so I just had to add some Purply-Red Petunias in the foreground. The rich, jewel tone colors are mixes in various combinations of Dioxazine Purple + Magenta + White.

Our special anniversary piece is ready for the surprise presentation! It is so much fun to be part of the planning and anticipation. And I think Jack came up with a wonderful name, “Celebration of Love”. What do you think? HUGS,

http://www.senkarik.com

Curving Walk

The upper level of the walk is covered, establishing the light and dark pattern. Working forward I begin on the steps, making the upright plane darker.

The top, flat surface of the step is lighter because it receives more light from above. Now I cover the lower level of the entry walkway. The area, entirely in shadow, is made cooler or bluer at the far edge near the steps to make it recede.

Curved perspective lines are drawn into the wet paint of the upper level with a fine liner brush. Please remember, you can click on any of the images to see them larger.

After continuing the perspective lines on to the lower level I make the horizontal ones separating the individual tiles.

The painting, still attached to the cardboard, is taken off the easel and placed on my taboret. I just hold the wet art by the cardboard backing and don’t get paint all over everything! With the piece flat it is easy to continue the floor over the edge and on to the bottom of the gallery wrapped canvas.

Tile work is finished, we’ll be planting flowers in our next session. Why don’t you grab a pair of gardening gloves and come help? HUGS,

http://www.senkarik.com

Personalized Details

One of the most fun things about doing collaborations is adding my client’s special, personal details to the pieces. Jim asked me to work his and Donita’s initials into the backs of the wrought iron chairs. So I jotted a few ideas down in my sketchbook and came up with a design I like.

The background is still wet, making it easy to draw the “D” initial with a brush dipped in a mix of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

Now for the “J”!

A celebratory bottle of wine and two glasses sit on the bistro table. The bottle is painted with mixes of Sap Green + Liquin, the highlight is made of Sap Green + White. Alizarin Crimson is washed across the lower portion of the bottle to give the impression of wine inside.

As a little extra I’m adding a tile emblazoned with the number of years our collectors have been married.

It’s a treat planning all the touches that make this piece exclusive for our collectors. Thank you for joining in the fun today! I really appreciate your questions and comments. HUGS,

http://www.senkarik.com

Purple and Red

The building is “constructed” first, establishing the light and dark pattern on the wall. I have to imagine how the shadows of the Wisteria will stream across the rough, rock surface. Over the years Jack and I have gone to extra effort to study shadows in order to paint them convincingly. We have lots of reference photos of shadows cast by different objects. The gnarled trunk of the Wisteria is drawn with a mix of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

The color recipes for the Wisteria are shown above. #1. Pthalo Blue + Liquin. #2. Two mixes in different proportions of Viridian Green + Cadmium Yellow Medium. #3. A couple of shades of Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue + White. #4. Ultramarine Blue + White. #5. Two combinations of Dioxazine Purple + White.

The initial step in painting the Wisteria is to block in the mass of color for the blossoms. My large Bright (Square) brush is held sideways to make the dangling flowers.

Next the leaves are painted. The greens  are used to help shape the flowers.

After highlighting the individual petals on the wispy blossoms work begins on the door. Lacy curtains hang in the windows. Mixes of White + Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange are lightly dragged over the dark areas. They are now dry, I allow the brush to skip and dance over the rough canvas, allowing the texture to give the impression of the lace behind the glass.

The door is now painted, the shadows are Cadmium Red Deep + Alizarin Crimson. The sunlit portions are made of pure Cadmium Red Light.

Bracing against the mahl stick steadies my hand to draw the wrought iron handles into the wet paint of the door.

Purple and Red make such a striking combination! What do you think? Thank you for following along today! HUGS,

http://www.senkarik.com