Buried?

Have I been buried for the month of October? Not literally - but - I'd pledged to finishing a commissioned triptych this month - so - I have been totally WITH PAINTBRUSH.

I'd done a pencil design and presented it to my patrons several months ago. It looked pretty much like this black and white image. So early in October I emailed it off for approval and we did make some small changes in the third panel . . . just dropping in different "items" in exchange for what was already there. Then when we'd worked that out . . . I worked up a value study. When I was happy with it I began enlarging this black and white to the actual 20 x 13 inches to transfer to my watercolor paper.

Next, I began to apply my resists to save my whites. Using both my liquid frisket and wax crayons I imagine where I don't want ANY pigment and then, come my washes of pale aureolin yellow, thalo blue and carmine. Once these are dry, I begin developing my darks and layering to create colors that glow from underneath one another.

Here you can see the beginning of my painting process. I'll be back soon to keep you updated. Now, I'm onto the big juicy, rich colors and on and on . . . the artists paradise :)