Cowboy's Sweetheart

Cowboy's Sweetheart, 20 x 30, oil on linen

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Cowgirl Demonstration Final

Wishin' on a Star, 40 x 30, oil on linen

This is how the painting is finished on the 5th day. I "oiled in" the painting, that is I brushed the painting with walnut oil/mineral spirits and then wiped most of it off leaving just a thin layer, then I did the final highlights, darks and blending. Oiling in is a fairly new technique for me but I'm liking the results.

I hope you enjoyed this demo. Would you like to see more?

SOLD at Lovetts Gallery, Tulsa

See Day 4 of Demo

Cowgirl Demonstration Day 4

Day 4 Demo,

Ok. The face is starting to look the way I want it to. The shirt is taking shape.

More layering and blending. Are you starting to get the idea? No big changes, just layering and blending. Darken the darks, lighten the lights, and get a smooth transition

See Day 5 demo

Cowgirl Demonstration day 3

Day 3 Demo

Layer and Blend, Layer and blend

I'm still concentrating on the face but slowly expanding to the rest of the painting. I've worked on the hat, hair and shirt.

See Day 4 Demo

Cowgirl Demonstration day 2

Day 2 demo

I'm just going to show the work I've done on the face because it's easier for you to see and because that's what I concentrate on most.After all, if the face isn't 'right' there's no point in going on with the the painting.

I paint in thin layers, building up the lights and darks. I'm also trying to get each shape correct at this point.

 I'm also blending the edges as I go along so there are no harsh changes between the shadow and light. That was one of the challenges of this painting because she has a definite shadow from her hat falling on the light side of her face plus some reflected lights in the shadow area.

I let this dry and do another layer on Day 3

See Day 3 Demo

Cowgirl Demonstration Day one

Day one Demo

This is how the painting looks at the end of the first day. Not much to look at.

I start by doing my drawing on tracing paper the same size as the canvas. When I'm happy with the drawing I transfer the major details to the canvas with carbon paper or transfer paper. I spray the canvas with a  fixative.

I then block in the masses of color and let the painting dry. Since I paint in thin layers, this usually dries overnight.

See Day 2 of Demo

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Silver Screen Cowgirl Demonstration

I've had several folks ask about my technique in painting my sepia Silver Screen Cowgirls so I promised to post a demo.

First, let me apologize for the photos. They aren't great. I photographed the painting at the end of each day. I paint under Daylight florescent bulbs which makes the image a bit yellow. Some of the images were taken with natural light. Anyway, I think you'll still get the idea.

This is my palette. The top left is Permalba white, the bottom right is Winton Raw Umber. I've mixed the two together to get seven more values. There's nothing exact about this, I just want a range of values.

Next: day one - blocking in the values

See Day One of Demo

Pontiac - Work in progress

Pontiac, work in progress, 36 x 36

I dulled the white in the background so the figure would stand out more. I've also added more definition to the figure

Pontiac - work in progress

Pontiac, 36 x 36, work in progress

This American Indian painting in my 'Logo' series is slow going but I hope to finish it today!

Pontiac - work in progress

Pontiac, 36 x 36, work in progress

I have the figure blocked in

Pontiac - Work in progress

Pontiac, painting demonstration

This is another American Indian oil painting in my Logo series. The background will be a dark blue. I've found it's easier for me to get a smooth, dark background if I start out with a lighter color and work towards the dark

Cowboy's Sweetheart

Cowboy's Sweetheart, 20 x 30, oil on linen

I worked on the faces again. I think this is it. I couldn't decide if I should leave it as a sepia tone painting or if I should layer on some color.

What do you think?

SOLD

Cowboy's Sweetheart - Work in Progress 3

Cowboy's Sweetheart, Work in progress

I have basics down so now I just have to refine everything

Cowboy's Sweetheart - Work in Progress 2

Cowboy's Sweetheart , work in progress, day 2.
Today I continued working on the faces and hats of the left and center figure as well as applying the first layer of paint to the left figure's clothing.
When I do an underpainting like this, I start my mixing about 6 values of paint. These are not very precise mixtures. I do this just to make things go faster.