A year or so ago I photographed this cute, Black-capped Chickadee on the coastal trail. I knew that it was only a matter of time before I incorporated it into a painting.
Last Wednesday I completed this 8x10" acrylic. Nothing fancy, but it will do. The tree is an Alder Tree. They do not achieve bright colors in the Fall, just brown.
On Thursday I came up with an idea for a Mule Deer painting, 16x20", that might have some real potential. It will be set in snow covered, sagebrush habitat. There were some technical details that I had to work out before I was satisfied with the basic composition.
I spent a couple of days gathering reference photos, then sketching, then erasing the sketch until I could get it to an acceptable state. The whole challenge was finding a balance between the desired horizon line, (closer to the top of the design), and the relative size of the deer with the bushes. I wanted to push the horizon line even higher but then I could not fit the antlers in without making the deer too small in proportion to the sagebrush. This design is the best compromise that I could manage.
It has been well over a decade since I have painted a 'Mulie". At least that long since I have seen one.
3 comments:
I love the shades of color around the chickadee as opposed to the harder colors around the actual photograph
Love the Chickadee painting! Now I'm looking forward to seeing how the Mule Deer came out.
Thanks for your comments Matt and Jeremy. The Mule Deer is progressing but like with almost every one of my paintings, I am not very satisfied with it. The limitations of the paint interfere with the pristine image that is in my mind.
Post a Comment