I have been in the new studio (yay!) for a couple weeks now and as soon as I moved in I knew I wanted to work on a large painting. I had taken some photos about a month ago of one of our gorgeous models in a red tutu, a little striped vest, and a black cap, keeping with the ballerinas and the stripes and the dancer motif I have been exploring!
Yesterday I started on a 30" x 40" primed panel, first sketching out the figure in charcoal. Then, I added a layer of primer - a mix of gesso, modeling paste and paint to seal in the sketch, put some color down, and build up some texture on the surface.
Yesterday I started on a 30" x 40" primed panel, first sketching out the figure in charcoal. Then, I added a layer of primer - a mix of gesso, modeling paste and paint to seal in the sketch, put some color down, and build up some texture on the surface.
Next I drew on top of that with some blue paint, working out scale and position of model.
I wanted to start with blue because I thought the red of the skirt, which is a really true red with cool undertones, would work best on top of blue rather than an olive green or brown.
Today, back in the studio, I worked with very thin layers of paint to block in the larger areas of color - the background wall, the cast shadow, the skin tones, the red skirt. I love the texture from the modeling paste!
I love this stage of the painting, where everything is loose and bright. My goal is to build up several layers of color, maybe sanding back to the blue primer in some areas, or rubbing in some dark glazes in the textures. It's hard to predict where I will go...but I always enjoy the ride!
