Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

Now that we have pretty much settled on the imagery and composition, I've started to apply 'real' paint.  I'm working on both paintings simultaneously to keep them as a working pair.  Then, a most unexpected problem occurred.  Perhaps you can see here the table line that is visible through the fruit.  Because I had taped off the ground and applied the paint so thickly with a palette knife I now have a raised area.  I will need to go in and scrape out that raised area.  

 

Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

 

The patron did not care for the center singing birds. He felt they were too long and thin.  I agreed and looks for birds that could sit tall for the pyramidal composition but not sing or be too out of proportion.  I removed the singing birds and then had to attempt to fill the ground with a matching color.  

Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

This slide show is of the ten working sessions, each approximately 3 hours, for The Rose of Sharon.  

Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

 

The two backgrounds were worked in order to created a mottled, textured surface and a complement to the birds and fruit.  This was applied over days with a palette knife.  It then took days and day for them to dry enough to work on.  I'm still short a few birds.  As I said earlier the format has created some difficulty with the number of birds and fruit agreed upon.  I will be sending images to the patron for input and approval.  

Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

This many male Northern Cardinals would probably not be hanging together.  They fiercely defend breeding territory from other males and do so with the most beautiful voice. The Orioles are more social.  They are seen feeding in pairs on the nectar feeder. These two paintings have been commissioned.  The upcoming posts will show the many stages that transpire as the patron and I collaborate on ideas. Commission work is different and somewhat more difficult for me.  This time for instance the patron wanted a particular canvas size and format that made it difficult to re-create a similar painting he had seen.  

He had seen this painting which is 12"x24" and wanted a similar composition but a format that was 16"x24".  That meant either a lot of empty space above and below the birds or really huge birds.  We finally compromised on 14"x24".  

Rose of Sharon, In Progress

Rose of Sharon

Working with this range of colors on the muted ground is very pleasing.  It is a challenge to keep within the hue of each flower and not become muddy when inputting the darks. This second stage of working is to establish the forms, the lights and darks and the color.  As I paint with a lot of transparency the ground is still influencing the color.  A third stage should bring the color out even more against the ground.  

In the south where I grew up, the Rose of Sharon is referred to as Althea.  It is in the hibiscus family and is related to okra.  Now, okra is a favorite food in the south and of mine.  In southern Louisiana okra is an ingredient in gumbo where it is used like corn starch to thicken the dish.  My mama always breaded it with corn meal and fried it.  Every visit to her home came with a request for her fried okra.  How I miss that.  So as I work on this painting I'm continually reminded of her and home.  

The Beguiling Heron

The Beguiling Heron

The Great Blue Heron stands and fishes in Mink Cove, the salt marsh that runs behind my house.  The water depth changes constantly with the tides.  This was a high tide on a summer day when the grasses were at their greenest.  One of the challenges of this painting was to create a sense of depth without an horizon line.  I may need to emphasize the diagonal movement of the water more.  Hmmmm.  The title comes from a friend who, when seeing the painting, remarked, "I'm beguiled by the heron".