Happy 2023!
When I started to write this, it was half-way through January, and I had already started another project as the new year dawned. I don't always do posts about my art; only if I feel that it is a particularly special piece I'm working on, will I take progress photos and share my artistic journey.
Over New year's, I was particularly inspired by a lovely striking photograph that a friend shared with me, and wanted to paint that moment captured in time. So, without sharing the original photograph, here is how I started...
During the past year, I really got into crayon sketching; like totally wax crayon, primary school quality! Just something about a fresh box that takes me down memory lane... Anyway, I digress.
I made my preliminary sketch with crayons, to understand perspective, shapes and colour relationships.
Understanding the colour of the sky was really important, because the blues added emotion with contrast to the brighter foreground.
Crayon sketch done.
I knew that the crayons wouldn't give me the exact textures and colours I wanted to portray in the final painting, so I sat and planned it out on the canvas, while test-mixing the blue paint that would make the sky.
A blend of different blues composed the sky in the background. As I continued envisioning the final scene, here's how it looked:
I mixed enough earth-pigment with my acrylic medium to get the right dirt colour for the ground.
And I layered the paint in the areas I wanted more concentrated colour.
I used a fine tip brush and to add the hint of texture to the path.
Then I added hints of golden to the background.
The path seemed to open up as tall corn plants became visible!
Mixing the paint here to create depth with colour.
The path becomes more realistic...
Here's some attention to the left side panel...
And the right side.
I added some more texture to the ground with acrylic medium mixed thickly.
It was the end of January, and I added a special person's name, almost hidden into the brushwork. She's the talented photographer who snapped the original photograph. Can you spot the letters?
Here's an overall shot of the progress so far... Nearing completion.
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These next two photos show the paint texture in the corn stalks from different sides.
Here's my signature in the bottom right corner in the dirt- purposely unobtrusive, because I was working from another artist's photo.
This is a quick video clip showing it from different angles:
