A Completed Piece!

By late Monday night (way to late for ”yours truly” who has to get up for work at 5:30 am – and yes, I paid for it in the morning but it was all worth it) I was able to get this piece finished and drying without much difficulty. This was a really fun piece with just enough challenges to make it interesting but none that left me struggling hopelessly… ie: I enjoyed it immensely. Sometimes working on a piece that feels this good to paint is needed to get my painting “mojo” back on track, and this one worked like a charm!  This is a 15″ x 30″ oil on canvas, still working on the title.  See below for a peek into the journey from photo to painting – and a couple close up detail images…

From Photo to Painting – an Epic Adventure!

This is the original reference photo I took… “as is” (aside from blurring out some faces out of respect)…
 

This painting is of a handsome paint owned by Rancho Bosque.  I’ve had the great opportunity on more than one occasion to visit this beautiful ranch in Tucson and I never fail to get a ton of great photos (for paintings – truly not a photographer) at this amazing desert oasis.  A personal favorite, I’ve had this photo earmarked for a possible painting reference for almost a year, but I struggled with finding a way to make it work as a painting.  On one hand I had the hitching post that blocked a fair portion of his face and front end to deal with, all part of the bigger problem of a lot of unclear detail that would be tough to ascertain, and finally there was some awkwardness to the overall pose. 

When I revisited it recently, I experimented with some fresh ideas and came up with a simple solution… crop the photo to it’s core element… the body of the horse.  It seemed to work, bringing out the best of this image and minimizing it’s disadvantages… NOW  this piece could finally happen!

Here’s some detail shots of the piece….

I worked on this most of the day yesterday, working my way left to right across the piece as is my routine (explained last post), and while I did get a couple photos during this, only the last one came out. 

I still have to go over the whole piece to refine some areas and build up more color in other areas.  Also, the halter was left fairly simple, there’s more detail work to be done there, but all in all, I hope to finish it today and have a final piece to post tomorrow!  Then to come up with a title… I’ll admit that can be the part I struggle with the most!

I recently had the opportunity to visit Hollywood Park, where I had the pleasure of watching the amazing Zenyatta acheive her 17th victory in a row.  Inspired by a weekend enjoying the races at such a beautiful track, I finished working on this piece called “Jostling for Position”…

This is one of two peices that will be on display at the Equine Art 2010 show held at Emerald Downs in Auburn, WA July 8-11, the other piece is ”The Sprinter“. 

Another recent piece is called “The Sunset Kid”, a simple painting of a horse bathed in the final burst of vivid sunlit brilliance before sundown… 

I will also have paintings in the upcoming WIld Horse Western Art Show and Sale in Rock Springs, Wyoming coming up July 9-10.  Peices that will be there include Natural Beauty, Buddy System, Heated Exchange and Makin’ Fast Work.   If you’re near either of these shows over the second weekend in July please visit!

Carole