ACEO Horse Portrait, Part 5
Posted By Carrie L. Lewis on September 23, 2008
ACEO Horse Portrait
3-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches
Time for color! This is when paintings really begin to come to life.
To begin the color phase, walnut oil was brushed onto the surface of the painting with with a sable flat brush. The application was kept light, since the purpose is to provide an ‘open’ surface for fresh paint. The excess oil was then wiped off with a clean, dry cloth.
The first color to be used was Titanium White and it was placed in the upper right hand corner, which will represent the light source. Cadmium Yellow Light followed that and was painted onto the rest of the painting except for the horse’s blaze and muzzle.
In the background, Burnt Sienna was blended into the left hand half of the background, then Ultramarine Blue was blended into the left hand side of the background, creating a wonderful gradated color and value range that moves from bright to dark in the opposite direction of the horse’s movement.
Ultramarine Blue was also layered over the dark portions of the mane and the deepest shadow areas of the horse and that was the conclusion of work for the day.
The following day, work continued even though the previous work was still wet enough to work into. The focus of the work the previous session had been the background. This time around, I worked the horse.
Raw Sienna was applied with a soft sable flat to the mid tone areas through the horse and into the shadow areas. The only places I didn’t paint with this color were the white marking and the highlights.
Burnt Sienna was then blended wet-into-wet into the Raw Sienna in most of those areas, but not all of them. That was followed by Burnt Umber in the darkest darks of the coat.
The mane, muzzle and nostril were then worked over with Ivory Black, which I’m using a little bit earlier with this painting than with the ACEO Morgan Portrait (search “aceo morgan portrait”). The reason is two-fold. I wanted to see what the effects were of earlier application of black in the overall painting.
This painting also has more dramatic lighting and needs sharper contrast. We’ll see if the black layered with other colors achieves that drama.
I am a self-taught artist for the most part. Lots of trial and error in the past forty years! Formal art training consists of a couple of years of high school art, a painting class at a community college, one semester in the Fine Arts program at Abilene Christian University and a couple of local workshops.
I am always looking for ways to better my artistic skills, so I am a permanent student in the School of Trial and Error. I love reading and have been known to spend hours online researching materials and techniques. As a result, I've painted in several different styles, including the direct method (which goes straight for the color) and Classical methods (which involves underpaintings, layering and glazing).
I have exhibited paintings in locations such as Lone Star Park Race Track, Grand Prairie, Texas and Remington Park Race Track, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Since the early 90s, I've worked with the Michigan Harness Horseman's Association, donating custom portraits to their annual benefit auction.
In the course of maintaining a growing art business, I have taught myself web design (a skill that will no doubt prove to be a continual learning experience).
I also enjoy puttering around the yard, chasing trains with my husband, Neal, travel and, of course, looking at horses whenever they appear on my horizon.
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