Robin Cornice In progress

These are the 'in progress' photos I promised. As you can see, I start out by simply washing in color. I allow that to dry and then start building up the values and adding additional color. I do this primarily by adding stronger washes. Next I break out my liner brush and start picking out the shapes I want to bring forward--those are highlighted. I then go back and reinforce shadows where necessary. I'm using a lot of light blue as my highlight color for the nest. I just like the way it plays off the pink flowers.

Robin Cornice continued

Here are some more images of the cornice I am painting. As always you can click on them for a larger view. I'm sorry about not having some "in between" shots to show more of my process. Sometimes I get so "into" the painting the rest of the world fades and I forget about the camera. I'll keep the camera on my desk tomorrow and hopefully be able to do a better job of posting some 'step by step' shots for you to see.

One thing that popped into my head today. Remember when you were a kid and you laid on your back looking at the clouds.......imagining the different things you could see.....flowers and animals.....remember?? Well, I find the same thing in my painting process. I try to forget the whole, what I mean is I focus on the shapes, shadows, and highlights. I try not to paint a "bird" I paint all those interesting and wonderful shapes and textures that make up the bird....make any sense...give it a try next time you are at your painting easel.........

This is the next stage of my painting. I first painted in a mottled back ground using a wet into wet technique. By the way, in case I forgot to mention it, this is acrylic on canvas. I spray the canvas with a fine mist of water to slow the drying time and use broad stokes in an "x" motion. I usually repeat this process at least 2 to 3 times until I'm happy. I like to let the background dry overnight before applying the sketch. I almost always do my sketches on tracing paper and than apply them with a good quality transfer paper. By doing my sketch on tracing paper, I can
always overlay the pattern on the painting. This is especially helpful when things start to "grow" and need to be pared back.
I have begun to work on one of the blossoms and a couple of leaves. At this point, it is kinda trial and error method. I apply soft washes of color and build up the layers. Questions, comments always welcome

Cornice Robins and Blossoms

Here are the sketches for my first window cornice. I'm doing one of my favorite subjects---Robins and flowers. This cornice measures about 50" long and about 7"tall. It is a
fairly narrow band to work with in but I didn't want to block my view to the outside anymore than necessary.
I'm using a medium weight canvas, and doubling it. I'm using contact cement to bond the two sides together. I found I need to prime the back side before applying the contact cement. Otherwise the unprimed canvas just soaks up the contact cement. Wow, is that stuff stinky. If you do this, make sure you have good ventilation. As always, you can "click" on the photos for a larger version.

I know this is not my "Sadie Girl", but I just had to get started on my window treatments for the fiver. I know
they are a bit different. I love stripes, I love pink/green, and I love checks. Soooo, I combined all three into one luscious look. LOL!
After I complete all the panels, I will start on the painted canvas cornice. They will hang in between the panels. Each one will have a different scene---something with nature I think! I have 3 window panel pairs done only 7 more windows to go---LOL. Then let the painting begin!
As always, questions, comments, or ? always welcome......