Blocking in the Bluebonnets

Trees along the back of the field have been painted with various mixes of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. Cadmium Yellow Medium is added into those mixtures to make the large Live Oak at the right. Next some of the color from the sky is used to indicate the warm light dancing across the tops of the distant trees. You may click on the picture to see it larger!

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Blocking in the Bluebonnets

 

Now the Bluebonnets and their foliage are carefully worked around the Morning Glories that were previously washed in with mixes of Magenta + Liquin and Dioxazine Purple + Liquin.

The White tops of the Bluebonnets are added with mixes of White + Ultramarine Blue. The ones in the distance have more Blue in the mix, those closer to the Rooster are made Whiter. I don’t use any Pure White because the early morning light is very soft, the tops would be too bright.

The tops of the Bluebonnets peeking through the lower part of the Rooster’s tail are made even more muted. Juxtaposed next to the dark feathers they would POP out at the viewer if they were too light.

We’ll work on the Proud Rooster next! Come watch as I paint the colorful tail feathers, there will be a video!

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Sunrise Sky!

The sky sets the lighting mood for the entire scene so it’s painted first. The other reason for beginning with the sky is I always “Paint Forward”. I start with the most distant element; in this piece the Sky. The mountains will be next, then trees, field of bluebonnets and finally the Rooster, flowers and fence. My color mixes for the sunrise are: #1. White + Cobalt Blue. #2. White + MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson). #3. A little of Mix #2 + Alizarin Crimson + White. #4. Some of #3 + Cadmium Red Light + White. #5. Mix #4 + Cadmium Orange + White. #6. A bit of #5 + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White. #7. Mix #6 + White. If you’d like to learn more about our Double Primary Color Mixing System that Jack developed CLICK HERE!

Streaks of Mix #1 are made across the portion of the canvas above the hills, white canvas is left where the darker clouds, Mixture #2, will be. I’ve begun to block them in on the left, behind the Rooster’s tail. You may enlarge the image to see this better, just click on the picture.

The clouds around the rising sun are made pinker with Mixes #3 and #4.

Mixture #5 is used to indicate the soft sunlight illuminating the underneath of some of the pinker clouds.

Directly above the sun mix #6 is used to rim the clouds with gold while #7 is used for the brilliant orb itself.

The most distant hill is a combination of White + Ultramarine Blue + MUD. The closest ridge is a darker shade made with the same colors. Sunlight warms the mist floating above the trees. A little bit of Mix #5 is dragged into the wet paint in this area to give the impression of the soft fog.

We’ll “Paint Forward” in our next session, I’ll be working on the Bluebonnets. I plan to have a Video so please come back to visit my studio and watch! With Colorful Smiles,

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Rooster with a Different Touch

Before starting on the new piece I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments you made on the big Poppy painting. And YES, I’m planning on doing more large flowers. But most of all I’d like to share this incredibly heartwarming email from Jenny, it brings tears of joy to my eyes each time I read it. Here’s an excerpt:

“It is STUNNING!!! It feels like home. I just want to run to it and hug it, like it is one thing that survived the fire and found it’s way back… really, I am just so thankful beyond words. It makes me want to be home and feel like it will be ok to go back. Thank you Mikki.”

This is why I love being an artist, it’s such a blessing to have been able to paint this for Jenny and her family.

OK, dry my eyes and let’s get to work! Starting on another Rooster with a little different touch. I’m adding some Bluebonnets in the mix! A quick pencil sketch helps me to determine the placement of this colorful fella on the canvas.

The composition is initially sketched up on the canvas with a brush dipped in a thin oil mixture of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin. Our boy is perched on top of a cedar rail fence, so we’ll begin there.

At this point I’m just getting the basic gesture drawn up. There are a few anatomical corrections that need to be made.

After repositioning the Rooster’s legs, the distant hills and trees are roughly outlined.

A Morning Glory Vine rambles along the fence rail. The blooms are washed in with oil mixtures of Magenta + Liquin and Dioxazine Purple + Liquin.

The tail feathers are covered with thin washes of Pthalo Blue + Liquin, Viridian Green + Liquin and some of the Dioxazine Purple + Liquin mix left over from the flowers.

Alizarin Crimson + Liquin is used for the Rooster’s comb.

A circle is made on the horizon where the sun will rise over the hills. We’re ready to begin applying opaque oil color in our next session. Hope you’ll come watch! If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to 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.

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First Ray of Sunshine!

 

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Blocking in the California Poppy!

While blocking in the flowers goes quickly, painting the details takes quite a bit longer. Highlights are added where sunlight illuminates the highest part of the petals as they gracefully curve over.

The paper thin edges of the petals are accentuated, then the stamens in the center of the California Poppy are delineated.

Our California Poppy is complete, just one more flower to go! Please remember, you may click on this or any of the other images to view them larger.

Pink petals are blocked in with several combinations of White + Permanent Rose. The White ones are covered with different shades of White + Ultramarine Blue, White + Dioxazine Purple, White + Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange and Pure White.

Edges of the Pink and White petals are tipped with Red mixtures left over from the Red and White Poppy.

Deep Pink petals cradle the White ones guarding the center of the large, crepe-papery bloom.

Stamens cast long shadows onto the surface of the petal next to them.

ALL DONE! The only thing left to do is pull off the blue tape protecting the Senkarik/White Signature Frame. But first things first, after cleaning up my brushes and palette it is OFF with my shoes! A friend stopped by to see the painting and took this picture, she said I matched the art!

First Ray of Sunshine    44 inches x 58 inches

I actually decided on the title of the painting when initially speaking with Jenny, just days after their home burned to the ground. She mentioned that when she received my email reply saying I would be happy to repaint her Poppies it was the “First Ray of Sunshine” in all of the charred darkness of their lives. I immediately knew that was what I would name her special painting. What is interesting is she’s also used the very same expression in a couple of emails since. Just reaffirmed my decision! I feel honored to be able to do this for Jenny and her family to help them get started on their new life. They are amazing in how courageously they’ve dealt with everything. I’m very blessed they are a part of my life! With Grateful Hugs,

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Blooms and Buds

The next bloom has a combination of White, Red/White and Pink/White petals. The first petal is blocked in with some of the white mixes remaining from the Poppy in the upper right of the painting. The Red edges are made with Cadmium Red Deep and Cadmium Red Light.

Red streaks form a “Racing Stripe” on the lower side of the flower!

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Painting the Red and White Flower – Part A

The next petal is White and Pink so I can use the mixes of Permanent Rose + White left over from the blossom in the upper right of the composition.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Painting the Red and White Flower – Part B

To visually balance the flower a petal is extended on the right side.

Stamens in the center of the Poppy are now added.

The buds of the California Poppy, or “Caps”, are painted with mixes of Phtalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. Jack always liked to call these “Cone Heads”!

We’re moving right along as Kermit the frog would say! We’ll work on the remaining two flowers in our next session. There will be another video so please come watch. Thanks to all of you for your kind comments on this painting. With BIG HUGS,

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Pink and White!

The first thing to do is paint the stems holding up the Poppies. It’s amazing how those thin, little stems can support the huge blooms! The Flanders, or Shirley Poppies, have tiny hairs on the stems. Those are delineated with my fine liner brush. The flower in the lower left corner is a California Poppy, she’s not hairy!

Here are the color recipes for the blossom I’m going to work on in this session. #1. Two shades of Permanent Rose + Magenta + White. #2. Three mixtures of Permanent Rose + White. #3. White + Dioxazine Purple. #4. White + Ultramarine Blue. #5. Pure White. #6. White + Cadmium Orange + Ultramarine Blue.

The different colored petals make the Poppies even more fun to paint. Mixes #1 and #2 are used to block in the Pink ones; #3, #4, #5 and #6 for the White.

Covering the large surface with lots of thick paint, brushstrokes of light and dark shades are dragged wet-into-wet over each other. The petals aren’t a solid, flat plane. Sunlight streaming through the thin, rippled petals causes lots of variation in their basic color.

The edges of some of the petals are almost ruffled, the texture is made with heavy strokes of paint.

One down, three to go! Hope you’ll come follow the progress in our next session. I’m planning on having a Video for you! With Happy Hugs,

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Behind the Poppies

The canvas is now taped, it was a challenge to work around the flowers where they break into the frame! The tape job isn’t real pretty but as long as it is well stuck, masks off the frame and keeps it clean we are good to go. When the painting is complete the tape will be pulled off and thrown away so who cares what it looks like now? Please remember, as you read through my blog you may click on any of the images to see them larger.

My colors for the background are mixed. All are combinations, in various proportions, of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. They are numbered in order of darkness, #1 being the darkest and #5 the lightest.

I begin with the darkest mix, #1, in the upper right corner of the painting. Moving to the left I gradually start making a transition to #2.

Mixes #2 and #3 are used in the upper left corner.

The original painting, done in 1997, only had 2 of the California Poppy “Caps”. After we had shipped the painting to our gallery in the Napa Valley I always wished I’d put in 3. With 4 flowers and 3 “Caps” there will be 7 elements in the painting. Design wise it’s always better to have odd numbers. So I’m adding a third “Cap”, I hope Jenny doesn’t mind! Mixes #2 and #3 are used here.

The lower left corner is painted with the lightest mix, #5.

Once the background is complete I go ahead and sign the piece in the lower right corner. It’s much easier to do the calligraphy of my signature into the wet paint. It would be almost impossible to make smooth lines if the underlying paint was dry. My brush would skip and hop over the rough texture.

The extra background mixtures are saved on the left side of my palette. This way I won’t have to try to mix and match the paint if I need any when painting the flowers. The globs of color will be usable for several days. Thanks for following my blog and I really appreciate all of your wonderful comments! With Colorful Smiles,

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No Measure Grid Technique

This is a step back in time for me, this piece of mine was painted in 1997. I was contacted by the collector in October 2017. Jenny, Mike and their two children were devastated. Their home in Santa Rosa, California had completely burned to the ground in a matter of hours in the horrible wild fires that had swept the region. She said this painting was the very first she had ever purchased and it was a treasure in her life. Then Jenny asked if there was any way I would consider re-painting a duplicate poppy piece for her.

I quickly emailed back to make sure all in her family were OK and did they have a place to stay? Yes, I would re-paint her Poppies but it was not about the painting to me. I just wanted to help them get through this huge storm in their lives. Soon after that we visited on the phone. Jenny said that my reply to her email was the “First Ray of Sunshine” in the darkness of what they were dealing with. What a special family!

The date for groundbreaking on their new home is quickly approaching so it’s time to begin work on Jenny’s Poppies. Fortunately we take pictures of every painting I do. This one was long before digital cameras so I just have an old fashioned photo to work from. The colors are not exactly true but it’s amazing how I immediately know the color mixes! In order to make the painting very similar to the original I use a grid to help me transfer the composition to the canvas. This very simple grid technique is one Jack taught me. The BEST thing is it requires NO MEASURING! I scan the photo of the painting and print out a copy on regular paper. The first step is to draw diagonals from corner to corner of the canvas on the picture. That establishes the center point of the piece.

Next a horizontal line and vertical line are drawn through the center point on the picture.

In the upper right quadrant the process is repeated. The rectangular box is transected; diagonals first, horizontal and vertical lines next.

The process is repeated in the other three quadrants or boxes. Our No Measure Grid is complete. If the composition were more complicated I could keep on repeating the process in each smaller box.

The same grid is then drawn up on the canvas. You may have to enlarge the image to see this better, just click on the picture.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Gridding Up the Sketch on the Canvas

I’m not sure how well you can see the pencil sketching in the video but play the video on FULL SCREEN and it will be more clear.

The poppies are drawn up on the canvas. We’ll begin painting in our next session. Please come watch! If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to 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.

Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The right one for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!”

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EMMA, MAX and TEANNA

 

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Blocking in Max’s Body

Max’s darker points are a deep rich brown. Pete said Julie described him as like a “Seal Point Siamese Cat” with long hair. After doing some research I found that Ragdoll kitties with this coloration are also called “Seal Points”! Julie is RIGHT ON! A mix of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange is used for his darkest markings.

After painting the white on his face, the distinctive widow’s peak is delineated. It’s what inspired the breeders to name him “Eddy” after the character on the TV Show “The Munsters”! Pete and Julie always wanted a cat named Max, so they renamed Eddy. I think Max is a much better name, don’t you?

Max’s eyes are darker blue than Emma and Teanna’s. A mix of Cobalt Blue + a bit of Ivory Black + White is used for his. The blue in the image appears brighter than the actual painting. Digital cameras tend to brighten and exaggerate the blues.

Emma, Max and Teanna

AND TA DA!!!!!! Emma, Max and Teanna are complete. I’ll be on needles and pins to hear what that Royal Lady Teanna thinks of the portrait! With BIG HUGS,

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

 

 

To ALL my Friends, THANK YOU for being part of my life. With BIG HUGS,

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