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Well getting ready to have a big storm, hear it thundering outside so want to get this posted and off the computer.  Might be the final posting for this week.  Have overpainted the dark areas with Tuscan Red and that started to get the neutral grays, enhanced it again with Indigo Blue and Black and think the shadow area is coming together pretty well.  Did the layer of additional solvent and will have to add back in more color but think it is slowly getting there.  Hopefully when I burnish it with white I'll get the wet look.  Again this is a very different technique and lots of layers but do like the rich colors that still show back to the white of the paper.  Still have a lot of work to go on this but it is at least pretty much out of the ugly stage and hopeing I can get itin the home stretch.

Well, one of the best things about this challenge is that I am painting something that I would have never tried and also using colors I would not normally use.  Who knew what you could do with a little lime - other than freshen a gin and tonic. As you can see I have roughed in the main portion of the kiwi and will start to work on the finishing touches and darkening up the shadows.   Not sure what is the right way to go after this, doing complementary colors or putting in blues/blacks or greys to get the color down, still want to retain the greens - so will continue the experiment.  Also need to fuzzy up the skin. Have already realized that in the future I will be much more judicious as to where I put in the marker for the base block ins as it usually tends to provide too dark a color for the colored pencil to overwork.  Still at a pretty ugly stage, but starting to come around so more hopeful than before and think when I get the correct values on...

Well, not to get shut out with a week of not posting.  Here is the beginnings of my kiwi that is part of the PADT challenge for this month.  First I edited the drawing a bit (you can see what I ended up with on the upper right)  and moved the front piece closer into the whole section so I could do this painting as a smaller footprint since I knew it was going to be mostly colored pencil and that is slower.   But it is going to end up being a combination of media - started some areas with a marker base, then added colored pencil and topped it off with pastel.  You can see the one piece is pretty much on it's way to completion but over all the picture is definitely in its ugly stage.  Since this is pretty much an experiment it will be just as interesting to me, as I hope it is for you, to see what I actually end up with and if I can salvage this.

Title:  Orion Size 11"x14" Media:  Graphite Been a rough week as I have been battling some bug - so didn't get a whole lot accomplished.  But this weekend went to an art show and got pumped back up.  So many people are so creative and are doing such nice work and more than willing to share what they are doing.  So got kind of charged up and thought I'd get Orion finished up today. Down the road I do think I am going to try getting him done in color but first I am going to try to get started on this month's PADT challenge.  Give me a respite from all this fur - but I have selected the next picture I think I am going to try so will see how it goes and I have to have something to do when I am watching the tv with one eye!

Yes I am Sexy and I know it! Colored Pencil/Light Pastel on Bristol Board Size:  14"x17" Well here he is pretty much completed.  Rosco, his actual name, is one homely looking dog - but truly so ugly he is cute.  I don't think he is completely finished, but I am tired now, and I am sure that I will want to dabble about on him, but have put him up on the easel for now for me just to critique during this next week.  I don't want to do something now that I will regret.  I have been calling him a bull dog, but actually he might be a boxer, not sure which, and I probably should look up the difference and make a definite call.  Again this is a reference picture from Paint My Photo and I hope I stayed pretty true to his picture which you can find in the first post of Sexy. I still have a long way to go on the fur technique and capturing the directional changes and coloration more smoothly.  That's probably what I will continue to dabble with...

ORION My friends were kind enough to give me some pictures of their three dogs.  Most of the pictures are difficult to use as reference photos so I've asked for more.  But this one of Orion was a great place to start.  This has been my tv project for the last week, was traveling for most of it so this is only a couple of hours into the picture.  I took this with inside lighting instead of outside, so it kind of has a funny tint that isn't there in reality. The nice thing about posting these pictures while in process is that it allows you to see it in a different way or angle I guess.  I notice now I need to rework the right side of the nose and muzzle as it needs more room than I've given it, good thing I see it now as once I put in the darker lead work I wouldn't have been able to erase it without leaving a shadow. I showed it to David yesterday and he recognized Orion which made me happy as I hoped I caught his spirit.  Stephanee, his wife, still ne...

Think this will be it for my weekend work on my bull dog.  Have basketball and Super Bowl games this afternoon and have to get ready for my busy week to come.  Today's progress began laying in the top of the head, don't want it to get too dark as that is where the most light is hitting, but need some color to indicate the fur texture.  Also started roughing out the jowl lines.  I think I will do the eye last to try to keep my head in it.  My favorite parts are the eyes, nose and mouth area as that is the expression and alive areas, and the rest just feels like filler.  So will try to save that and the final lip/muzzle area as the treat for finishing the rest of the fur areas.  Got lots of loose skin ripples that I will need to indicate and lots of dark areas, so that should keep it interesting. Thank you for watching this come together and have a great painting week.

Ok, just got back from my run and it's so nice outside it's porch sitting time with my hubby and a glass of wine.  Here is what I got accomplished today, the rest of the nose and the chin area.  I hope to get in a good part of his upper head tomorrow as I won't be able to work on him for a while and don't want to forget my color combinations.

Morning, still Spring here this morning, everything is confused from the trees starting to leaf out to the birds gathering to go North.  It is so warm most everywhere in the US that when we get another cold blast we are going to lose a lot of plants and animals.  So weekend forecast is another foggy, rainy couple of days - but it is Super Bowl weekend so party!! This has been a busy week so not a whole lot of progress, but I am pretty excited, so thought I'd post this morning and then again tomorrow night and then I know next week, based on my schedule, won't be a lot of progress.  Sexy has really wanted to come down on paper this week, so we've gotten along a lot better. What you see is mostly colored pencil with a little pastel smoothed over; bit surprised at how well they seem to work well together.  The waxiness of the pencil, I guess, creates the binder for the pastel as it doesn't seem to be dropping dust like a normal pastel painting. I am prett...