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Watch the Horse Painting Demo of ‘River’ | Stage 2

February 6, 2015 By Carol McIntyre

In stage two of this commissioned painting, I am building layers in the background while simultaneously surrounding River with paint.  I am sure you can see River popping out.  My diagonal and sweeping strokes are more obvious to convey that he will be coming out of something (we are not sure what yet….stay tuned!).  Let me know if you like the direction this is going. Also, do I have the gold colors in the correct location? The strokes in that area were quite intuitive.custom horse painting demo

This custom horse painting demo continues with applying paint onto River.  I am starting to make him look three-dimensional or have some volume.horse painting demo of commissioned work

Now it is time to start adjusting River’s ears, location of his eye and the action of his legs. I am also wondering if his head is too narrow.Specific input from Beth is welcome and needed at this stage of the game. Though it is not obvious in this photo, I continue to add thin layers of paint on the background.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Pet Portraits & Custom Paintings, Step-by-Step Painting Demos & Commissions Tagged With: how a painting develops, pet portrait artist, step-by-step painting, Works in Progress

Watch a Custom Hand Portrait Develop

November 30, 2014 By Carol McIntyre

When I create a custom hand portrait painting – watch it develop here – I always begin with a thorough interview. After that initial step, I schedule a photo session. I take a photo of every conceivable angle, all the while keeping in mind what we discussed during the interview. commissioned hand portrait

I then draw 2 or 3 sketches that reflect the information I collected in the interview and approximate the final painting. The client chooses one or makes suggestions to develop the concept further. These sketches convey the hands of a chiropractor holding a model of vertebrae.

hand portrait commission

Which hands would you have chosen? It is a very personal decision, which is one reason why I love collaborating with people in transforming their inner visions onto canvas. This chiropractor wants his hands to convey his strength, his many years of experience and his ability to heal with compassion.

He chose Sketch #1, which is the one in the upper left hand corner.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Step-by-Step Painting Demos & Commissions Tagged With: Colorado artist, Commission a painting, how a painting develops, step-by-step

The Challenges of Painting Bones | The Pelvis

August 22, 2014 By Carol McIntyre

Have you ever tried painting bones? It may have been something you did in art school or in studying the human form. Bones are not a typical subject because of they can carry emotional content, which can be different for everyone.

Painting bones the pelvisHaving created a large body of work entitled, “No Time for Idle Hands,” that featured the hand as the subject to communicate my visual message, I drew and studied the hand/arm bones many times. This was necessary for me to learn how to ultimately paint the hand correctly and with feeling. I created this series of paintings from 1994-2000.

Recently, I have decided to return to the subject of bones but with a twist. This series is entitled “Your Inner Core.” My focus for this body of work is on the important role our skeletal system plays in our lives, despite our tendency to forget them because they are difficult to see and feel. We often do not give them the attention we should until something breaks or we are in pain.

Where and how did I begin to learn about painting bones that I had not drawn, painted or studied previously?

First, I did some preliminary research on the internet, which is full of images of bones. Photos of bones taken be other people does not tell the story. I needed the real thing – a life-sized human skeleton. Hence, I began calling the offices of my doctors, asked anyone I knew and even posted a request on Facebook. Through a circuitous route I was able to have access to a skeleton that was in a local biology classroom. After several hours of sketching and many photographs, I had my first group of resources. I was jazzed!

Next I had to tackle the artistic problems and my goals in painting bones. They are listed below. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Inner Artistic Journeys, Step-by-Step Painting Demos & Commissions Tagged With: an artist's musings, artistic process, Color Theory, how a painting develops

“Lunar Glows” A Step-by-Step Process of A Moon Painting

May 2, 2013 By Carol McIntyre

Where to begin when creating a moon painting?

moon painting

Underpainting

As I have learned, a moon painting needs a warm underpainting. Why? To help make is glow and to create depth in the painting. This does not initially make sense, but it seems to work for me.

To add to the variety to the underpainting, I vary the colors from a very warm yellows to a cool reds using diagonal brush strokes. Prior to this underpainting, the panel had been textured with 3 coats of gesso that I apply organically with a large palette knife. This texture is quite subtle and adds to the intrigue of the painting.

moon painting

Second layer of paint

At this stage of the painting, you can see that I have designated the “window” in which I am going to place my moon scape. Abstract shapes and textures are added around this window. “Lunar Glow” will be included in my “Windows Within A Window,” series of paintings. Notice that by colors are analogous to maintain color harmony in the painting. They also seem to convey a Hawaii feeling. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Art Material & Painting Tips, Step-by-Step Painting Demos & Commissions Tagged With: Color Theory, how a painting develops, step-by-step painting

How Do You Paint Your Canvas Edges? A Step-by-Step Process

November 3, 2011 By Carol McIntyre

Have you noticed the increased popularity of wrapped canvases during the past couple of years? Though the deeper canvases, commonly called gallery wrapped canvases, are slightly more expensive for the artist, they do save us the expense of a frame. Also, as the styles of painting trend toward more abstract, mixed media and contemporary, the gallery wrapped – sometimes called ‘gallery wrap’ – canvas conveys a more modern design that works well.

During the past year, I have learned that the expense is less, however, the time involved in ‘framing’ these canvases is no less than that of presenting the painting in a conventional frame. As I have wandered through galleries inspecting the painted edges of numerous paintings, I have been quite surprised by the wide range of care – from poor to exquisite – artists have taken in painting the edges of their gallery wrapped canvases.

Edges are painted a gray after 1 layer of gesso (click to enlarge)

After some  unsatisfactory research, I embarked on my own trial and error journey to figure out how to achieve the quality of presentation I wanted.  Because I do not like the manufactured texture of canvas, I gesso my canvases. After I applied the first layer of gesso with a brush and it has dried, I then paint the edges and overlap the front of the canvas with an acrylic middle-gray paint. See photo above. By the way, this middle gray makes it easier to paint the final color of the edges after the painting is finished, be it darker or lighter.

Drawing guide for tape (click to enlarge)

For this particular canvas, I wanted the edge to literally ‘frame’ the painting, so I wanted the gray to overlap the edge about 3/8th of an inch. To give my eye a guide, I drew a pencil line 5/16th of an inch from the edge using a favorite matting tool I have. See photo above. Why is the space wider than my desired 3/8th? Pencil lines do not always erase easily, so I wanted the line to get covered up with the next layer of gesso.

Here I am applying the tape. (click to enlarge)

Slowly, I apply the tape – a thin tape made by Nichiban – just inside of the pencil line. Once I know it is nice and straight, I rub the tape down several times to make sure it has a good grip on the painted canvas.

The canvas taped. (click to enlarge)

To protect the outer edges from extraneous paint and finger prints, I tape it with a wider tape. I am sure masking tape would work for this task, but I forgot about using it. When the painting is about completed, all of this tape needs to be removed and I don’t want the tape to take off any of the gray paint; this is why I use an artist tape or low tack tape.

Light layer of gesso applied where tape meets canvas. (click to enlarge)

To assure that no gesso or paint sneaks up under the tape, I apply a light layer of gesso where the tape meets the painted canvas. You could think of this as being a sealer. Once this dies, which does not take long, I then apply at least two layers of more gesso with large palette knives. These layers of gesso are due to my personal preference to create an organic texture and because I do not like to paint on the texture of canvas. Otherwise, if you do not want more gesso applied, proceed to paint!

Gessoed canvas ready for paint! (click to enlarge)

By the way, I have used this process for both wrapped canvases and deep panel boards.

Slowly and carefully remove the tape (click to enlarge)

Once you reach the stage when you think it is a good time to remove the tape, do so v-e-r-y slowly and carefully, because you do not want to rip the tape or paint. I prefer to do this when the paint is dry. As you can see above, a tiny white edge may appear between the painting and the painted edge. It is up to the artist to decide whether he/she wants to do deal with this  line. My line is more evident because of the layers of paint I apply. An added feature with my work, is that the painted ‘frame’ is a different texture from my painting and creates a soft contrast.

Now, I must determine if this middle gray is appropriate for my painting. In this example, it is. I will then go around the edges to do any necessary touch-up.

This step-by-step process of painting the edges of your wrapped canvases will work if you only want to paint the sides of your canvas and not overlap onto the painting surface.

How do you paint the edges of your canvases? Do you take the image around the edges?

Filed Under: Art Material & Painting Tips Tagged With: artistic process, how a painting develops, tips for artists

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