Work in Progress, Day 2

Work In Progress
Medium: Acrylic on stretched wrapped canvas
Size: 10x8
Genre: Fantasy

Started it out with a live model, and now am completing it with photos taken at the modeling session. I will be adding other elements, such as the column in the background, possibly some flowers in the front. Maybe a creature in the background, and some trees. We'll see! I'll post it even if it doesn't come out to meet my expectations.

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Work in Progress, Detail

Work in Progress. Acrylic on stretched canvas. The finished art will be 8x10; this is a detail. I started it from a live model and got the head/shoulders done. The rest of the figure will be finished from a photo.   Working from life provides visual information that a photograph doesn't; while a photo simplifies shapes and values, so each is useful to work from.

Treasure Map WIP 3

"Treasure Map" Work in progress, Day 3
Size: 10x8
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Genre: Fantasy

So far so good. Background needs to be pushed back; it's encroaching. The right side background especially needs something, because it's kind of "dead." I'm happy with how the frog turned out. Not too sure about the butterfly. Tried it with a brighter color, but it definitely should be light. Anyways, from here on out it's mainly work on the background.

Dragon Stack WIP #3

I know this looks like I'm going backwards, but really it's progress. After completing the underpainting, I covered the painting with several layers of a translucent white glaze called a velatura. Zinc white is best to use. The velatura diminishes contrast, lightens up the whole painting, and brings the darks down to mid tones, so that when you glaze over them, the colors will still show.

Then the fun began! The yellow glaze is transparent yellow oxide. There is a very faint red glaze over the clock tower. Also the dragon's eye and nostril have been touched up to darken again. 

I want the sky to be orange as before, but to be a transparent, glowing, orange. The dragon will be turquoise, as before.

The underpainting is in pthalo blue and titanium white. The glaze colors are transparent yellow oxide, cadmium red medium, pthalo blue, and titanium white.

Click on the image to see it enlarged. Acrylic on 12x16 canvas.

WIP Back yard underpainting grisaille

This is what I've done so far:

1. I put a "velatura" over the entire painting, of zinc white plus glaze medium. This this translucent layer of white pulls the darks up into medium value range, making the contrast very subtle. Use zinc white, because it's transparent. Do not use titanium white. It's too opaque. In some parts of the painting you can still see this, such as the cat's face.

2. Then, a faint green glaze over the entire piece, wiping off parts of it like the bird, the cat, and the little dragon.

3. I started in on the tree trunk, glazing greens and reds over it, and darkening parts of it. I also put some highlights on the tree trunk with zinc white, impasto.

4. There is a very thin glaze of magenta on the bird. Also the squirrel has been lightened up with some white/gray impasto.

You can go back and forth with thin glazes and impasto. For glazing with acrylics, I use

Matisse "Flow" acrylics (the Jerry's house brand) or Liquitex soft body. I like the Golden glazing medium because it dries slowly and allows you time to smooth in and wipe off an over-all glaze. I also like the Liquitex glaze mediums for glazes that don't have to be smoothed so much or wiped, because these mediums dry fast.

NOTE: Acrylics dry darker, so I add very little color to my glaze medium.

For more about velaturas, read "How to Paint Like the Old Masters" by Joseph Sheppard. He's talking about oils, so you'll have to translate it into acrylics. But it works the same way, to put a velatura over the finished underpainting, and also paint back and forth using impasto for highlights, and thin glazes.