This has been a day of almost finishing. I’ve added a little Iron Oxide Orange to the flames, making them look nicely fiery, and almost concluding the work on the Magician painting with the exception of a little lightening of the right arm. I added a light touch of the same colour to the right [...]
I’m not sure where to begin with writing about the changes I’ve made to the painting today, there have been a multitude of small alterations, while a few areas got a lot of attention. First, the Iron Oxide glaze work around the leaves is complete on both sides of the painting, making the vines much [...]
Iron Oxide Red lines the edges and warms the shadows cast on the legs and feet of the attendants, bringing the painting to the brink of being complete. In the foliage on the right side the same paint has begun to add some solidity to the upper part of the morning glory, while some Ceramic [...]
The sky is based in a light grey around the white clouds, which now have their counterpoint rocks on the ground, making the imagery of the painting clearer. The grey is a mixture of Foundation White (a mixture of Lead Carbonate and Titanium Dioxide) and a small amount of Raw Umber. My dog made it [...]
It seems strange to post a picture that looks so similar to the previous post’s image, but the work I did today makes a substantial difference to the solidity of the figures, bringing warm shadows to the orange girl’s legs and definition to the hands and edges of the dresses. I spent an hour or [...]
The golden colour of the skirt has made a big difference to the colour balance of the whole painting, especially noticeable now that the shirt has turned grey in preparation for its own turn to change. Now that the green is gone from the dresses the girls present an almost entirely warm palette within the [...]
The green skirt was irritating enough to deserve repainting, so it’s been replaced by a new version rendered en grisaille, bringing softness and gentleness where once there was a tweedy, rough surface. I’m considerably happier with this more balanced approach, with a design which is similar to but not a duplicate of the pink dress [...]
After a day of subtle change, now a day that brings a big difference: all of the hair has been repainted, bringing dark chestnut and red tones to the formerly grey locks. The girls’ skin seems extremely pale against the new hair, but that may just be because the hair looks shockingly dark after so long [...]
Although there have been no major changes to the body of the painting, there’s been a great deal of detailing done to both the Empress and the girl in the pink dress, controlling the edges of the dress and flesh. For the pink girl I’ve used a Silver Script brush to create lines on the [...]
Using Iron Oxide Red to re-establish detail and shadow into the fabric and flesh has really paid off around the yellow belt and the upper foot, where everything is looking far more substantial. I’m looking forward to continuing with the work to bring more solidity to the entire painting, as it has in the pink [...]
