Encounters with Nature

I have a small goldfish pond in my backyard and on my day off, I go out early in the morning with my cup of coffee. It is so peaceful there. This morning I am sitting quietly and saw motion out of the corner of my eye. I slowly looked up to find a buck with button antlers standing between my two Blue Spruce trees at the patios' edge. Not more than 20 feet from me. We both froze in place and stared eyeball to eyeball for what seemed like an eternity. Yesterday, a rose breasted grosebeak landed on my porch rail outside my kitchen window while I was eating breakfast........I don't think I could ever be happy living in a city.

I really need a camera class.

Snakes & Arm

Wow, I have really made progress in the last two days. I have most all of the snakes blocked in and her arm and hand. I hope to add three or four more snakes in the lower part of the painting when I return to work this week.

Snakes & More Snakes

I don't know why, but I started the snakes on the right side of the painting instead of my usual method of working from the left to the right, just like we write.

Oh well, must have been something subconcious going on there. I am finding I really enjoy doing the snakes. Tip: Use a cheap and flexible piece of garden hose to simulate the snakes under a stationary light source. The cheaper, the better.....they seem to be more flexible. You can produce most any bends you want and all under the same light source which is very important.

Medusa Continues

Here is the progress so far. I will start the snakes tomorrow.

Transfer Methods

When I looked for my graphite paper at the studio on Sunday, it was no place to be found. So instead of waiting to go to my local art supply store, I used a centuries old method of getting my drawing onto my canvas. On the backside of the tracing paper that now has Medusa reworked, I took some hard charcoal and rubbed it all across the back of the tracing paper. I then shook off the loosest pieces of charcoal and laid the tracing paper over my canvas board, affixed it in place with some tape and then proceeded to trace the outline of the drawing with a stylus or ballpoint pen. I was careful to apply enough pressure to push the charcoal onto the canvas and yet not leave any indentations from applying too much pressure. This leaves a delicate tracing, that you must be very gentle with so as to not smudge or remove the drawing until you can permanently get it drawn onto the canvas with a grisaille. I like a blue grey oil paint thinned with odorless thinner to do my grisaille. For this grisaille, I am using Gamblins' Torit Grey.

You can see in the photo that the tracing paper hand is now raised and very dark....I did smudge it a bit, but not enough to ruin it. You probably can't make out the new expression on the face, but in the next step, you will be able to see the changes.

Sketch of Bronson

My model Jennifer, is such a good sport. And so I did this little sketch of her dog, Bronson, as a way to thank her for all the free modeling she does for me. Models are hard to come by in the country. Bronson is done in Conte and pastels on blue Canson paper. Behind him is the original sketch of Jennifer as Medusa. I have since redrawn her. New Medusa photos are coming up soon.

Medusa Changes Already

No pictures today, but will take one later of the revisions I have already decided to make to Medusa. I allowed my husband to see the original drawing and told him I was thinking of changing the expression in her face. He agreed that she was not mean or surprised enough looking. We also agreed that the upraised hand was too relaxed and needed more tension, maybe even a different position. I had Jennifer come back into the studio for a few more poses and photos. I think she is very good at getting the expression or poses I am searching for and we now have a winner. I laid tracing paper over my original drawing and changed the face and hand only on the tracing paper. Today I will place transfer paper under the drawing and get the parts I still like onto the canvas and then do the same with the revisions. Tomorrow I will post a photo of the revised Medusa.