It's the beginning of the week again (sort of), so in case yours is off to a bad start (or not) here are a couple of animal paintings to brighten your day.
First up is a monkey. Usually I'd be more specific with the monkey's species name, but for the life of me I can't remember what this one is. I worked from a photograph on this, so I know it is an actual species... Anyway, I painted it because I like monkeys. Add to that the fact that for some reason this particularly bizarre little monkey was chewing on a piece of volcanic glass, and it was practically screaming (to me at least) to be painted. Some day I'll find just the right place in my house to hang this one. Since he's apparently hungry enough to eat volcanic glass, maybe over the kitchen table would be appropriate. Definitely not the bathroom, though. I don't think anyone would want to have a wide-eyed monkey staring at them as they step out of the shower. Well, maybe some people...weirdos...
This next little guy is a scarlet ibis. I tried a different painting technique than I usually use on this. As opposed to most paintings where I start with a solid white canvas, on this one I painted the whole canvas black first (for other examples of this method, run an Google image search for "velvet Elvis"). The desired effect (which was achieved) was to give the ibis a stronger sense of chiaroscuro, or light and dark and, in doing so, gives the subject a stronger sense of three-dimensionality. A similar effect could have been achieved by using the "standard " method and painting tones and shades of the bird's natural bright scarlet by adding white, black, or even small amounts of green paint to it while mixing. That method, however, can easily make vibrant red into muddy pinks and dull reds if not done correctly.
There you have it, Sund...er...Monday's post. Hopefully I'll be able to get back onto some kind of normal posting schedule this week. Don't forget: Comments are always greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think about my art and/or blog.
Stay creative,
AH!
No comments:
Post a Comment