Take a few minutes to complete the survey, then include your email address to be entered into a drawing for an original ACEO. The winner will have his or her choice of any of the ACEOs currently available, equine or landscape, oil or colored pencil.
Click here to take survey and enter the drawing. Drawing closes May 31, 2012.
There’s only one thing to say about Frankel’s win in the JLT Lockinge Stakes 2012 on May 19, 2012 race at Newbury.
Wow.
He’s even more impressive at four than he was at two and three. Here’s to wishes for a successful 2012.
Click here to see today’s race.
ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2″
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White
In this session, I continued work with Verithin pencils, building as smooth and even a color layer as possible throughout the horse. The texture and softness of Rising Stonehenge paper definitely assists in that effort.
I used Terra Cotta, Goldenrod, Orange Ochre, Dark Brown, and Crimson Red to build coat color. With each layer, I worked around the highlights on shoulder, neck and face. Black and Indigo Blue were also used to begin placing the very dark areas: muzzle, eye, mane and forelock.
Each layer was applied with light pressure (2 to 4 on the scale of 1 to 10, with ten being the heaviest pressure) and directional strokes with well-sharpened pencils were also the order of the day.
I also shortened or lengthened strokes according to the area I worked on. Longer strokes in the forelock and shorter strokes in the neck and head, for example. Around the muzzle and eyes, very short or circular strokes were used.
I added Prismacolor in those same colors to add a little vibrancy to the painting and begin building color saturation.
I felt the need to add more color layers to the background at this point. To accomplish this, I went back to the same colors I’d used in early work on the background. Dark Green, Olive Green, Indigo Blue, Apple Green, Dark Umber and Yellow Chartreuse. Lights were applied in light areas and darks in dark areas with enough overlap to avoid “pasted on” value patterns.
I then used Yellow Chartreuse, Chartreuse, Light Green, Apple Green, Deco Yellow and French Grey 30% to burnish. The result was a deep and rich color field that looked almost like it could have been an oil painting. It remains to be seen whether it’s finished or not, but I think it is. Again.
Related Articles
ACEO Horse Painting in Colored Pencil, Step 1
ACEO Horse Painting in Colored Pencil, Step 2
ACEO Horse Painting in Colored Pencil, Step 3
The small format colored pencil painting I’ve been working on, Zipper in Colored Pencil, is almost finished. The neck was completed by the end of the week and I was very close to finishing the head. Another hour or two and it should be complete. That was very happy news, since I’m planning a two-part article based on the process with this mixed media piece in June.
With Zipper so close to completion, I went through the other small format paintings awaiting attention with the hope of selecting the next subject. Doing so reminded me that I had a couple of interesting experiments with unusual background treatments in the file. One with watercolor that’s actually pretty standard for a lot of artists, but will be new to me and another with a background created with a stain of black tea. You read correctly. Black tea. The colored pencil study of Muscle Hill is also waiting and with the oil painting progressing through the dead layer, working on the study would be a good thing.
Speaking of the portrait of Muscle Hill…. I think (I hope!) I finally have the bike and driver figured out. Studio time on the portrait was dedicated to those two areas and by the end of the week, I was enough satisfied with them to move on to the horse. Muscle Hill’s tail and off side hind leg have been painted. Work next week will focus on the horse, the last part of the dead layer to be painted.
I also brought out a long-neglected oil painting and began work on the first round of the dead layer with it. That happened on Friday, when I finished work on Muscle Hill with paint still on the palette. I’m spending a little more time on the details with the first round dead layer on this painting, so it wasn’t finished, but it’s very close. My goal for next week is to have both paintings finished at their current stage. Sounds like a lot of work right now, but we’ll see.
On the administrative side of things, I put together an entry for the first juried art show I’ve entered in several years. It’s a national show, too. Top level. I can’t tell you much about it at the moment, but I’m excited.
There is also the possibility of an exhibit at a national level auction this fall. A road trip! And horses! Oh boy!
ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2″
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White
Work began with a few final layers of color on the background. I used many of the same colors used in previous sessions, but in the softer, thicker leaded Prismacolor line. Apple Green and Dark Green were used in the light and dark areas respectively, then I began using some lighter colors to blend and burnish a little bit. Peacock Green, Chartreuse and Light Green.
With the background complete (for now), I turned my attention to Lockkeeper.
I went back to Verithin pencils for the initial layers of colors. Goldenrod in the lighter areas of his coat (around the eye and poll, for example. Orange and Orange Ochre as a base coat throughout the more medium range colors and Indigo Blue in the mane and forelock and in the darker shadows around his eye and muzzle.
Light to medium pressure was used with each color (3 to 6 on the pressure scale). Directional strokes mimicking the patterns of hair growth and muscle mass were also used, although in some of the darker areas, I hatched, cross-hatched and used whatever other strokes were necessary to get the right darkness.
It may be difficult to see above, but I worked around highlights as much as possible. Especially on the head and shoulder, where the highlights will be the most prominent. Goldenrod (the lightest color) defined the highlights the most. With each subsequent (and darker) color, I left a little more margin between the edge of the color and the highlight. By the time the painting is finished, that will create the range of colors often seen in chestnuts and red bays.
Related Articles
ACEO Horse Painting in Colored Pencil, Step 1
ACEO Horse Painting in Colored Pencil, Step 2
The kinds of surfaces suitable for colored pencil are nearly endless. If a surface will accept dry media of any kind, it will work for colored pencil, often with a minimum of preparation.
Click here to read more about using UART sanded pastel paper with colored pencils on EmptyEasels.com.
This was one of those weeks during which life took over, upending the best laid plans.
I spent Tuesday so far under the weather that it was the end of the day before I did anything creative and that was writing. Thursday was the funeral for a woman from our congregation who missed living to her 100th birthday by six weeks. No artwork was accomplished on either day and not much writing.
I spent most of the studio week on the portrait of Muscle Hill, working my way through the final stages of the dead layer. Problems with the bike were corrected and the bike was nearly completed by the end of the week. I don’t mind telling you that was the best news to come out of the studio this week. The technical art required of such a painting is the most difficult part of it, as far as I am concerned.
I began work on the driver and the horse where of they intersected with parts of the bike. Not much in either case. A leg here. A foot there. A tail somewhere else.
I also worked on the small format painting, Zipper in Colored Pencil. At the beginning of the week, I hoped to have it finished this week, but work on the oil painting and two missed days set me behind. By Friday, I was happy to get as much work done as I did.
With Zipper in Colored Pencil nearing completion, I began thinking about the next project. Thoughts of putting together a portfolio in response to the latest Call for Artists also took up part of the week.
I also added a survey to this website and hope you’ll take a moment to participate. Take a few minutes to complete the survey, then include your email address to be entered into a drawing for an original ACEO. The winner will have his or her choice of any of the ACEOs currently available, equine or landscape, oil or colored pencil.
Click here to take survey and enter the drawing.
ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White
Once the under painting was complete, I started adding colors. I am still using the Prismacolor Verithins in an effort to fill up as many of the paper “holes” as possible without filling up the tooth.
The colors I used are:
I didn’t use these colors in any particular order beyond working generally from light to dark. Many of them were used several times, alternating colors among the many layers I did throughout the day.
Earth tones were sandwiched between layers of green and blue to keep the green from becoming too aggressive.
For the most part, each color was applied in a random, quilt-like pattern. No color was applied in an even layer throughout the background. Multiple layers and varying strokes were used to create the look of sun-dappled trees in a soft-focus, distant background. Pressure was consistent; 1 to 3 on the pressure scale throughout the process, since I wanted as many layers as possible without producing the ‘slick’ look of heavy burnishing.
Keeping the pencils needle-sharp wasn’t the high priority it usually is. With this type of background, a slightly dull or even an angled point can be advantageious.
The pattern of lights and darks and colors was used to create a visual path through the painting and to create a center of interest for the horse, but that was as far as ‘design’ went for the background.
Due to the small size of the painting, I was able to finish the background in a series of sessions in one day. One of the many benefits of working with ACEOs.
Next? The horse.
Related Articles
ACEO Horse Painting in Colored Pencil, Step 1
Studio attention was given entirely to two paintings this week.
The highest priority painting is the oil painting of Muscle Hill, which is moving slowly through the dead layer. I applied a ‘rubbing’ of color to the oil painting on Monday and it was Friday before it was dry enough to work on again. I love oils, but unless I have multiple projects in the works all the time, it seems like little bits of work are sandwiched between long periods of waiting.
The second painting is a small format colored pencil portrait I’m using as the demonstration for a future article on using colored pencil with mixed media. It will come as no surprise that the colored pencil received most of the attention. In fact, I worked on it every day this week. Even those days when I was able to work on Muscle Hill, as well.
It’s been six weeks since I became a regular contributor to EmptyEasels.com and I can say one thing. Committing to an article every other week has forced me to take a closer look at managing time in the studio and at the writing desk.
It has also motivated me to thinking outside the box when it comes to coming up with projects that will also make good and interesting articles. Three articles have been published so far and only one of them features a horse. That article was about damage control on a water-soluble colored pencil background. The horse wasn’t mentioned at all!
Finding ways to make paintings serve double duty has also proven beneficial to time management and getting things done.
Here’s to hoping it continues!
ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2″
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White
This post begins a new project, an ACEO sized portrait in colored pencil. Some of you will recognize this project, which was first published in 2008. Because most of my current studio work is either portrait work or demos for art articles (neither of which I’m at liberty to post about), I thought I’d revisit a favorite project.
Before we get started, a little information on ACEOs.
ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. These trading card-sized paintings are also often referred to as Art Trading Cards (ATCs). The primary difference is that ATCs are designed for swaps and are not technically sold. ACEOs can be traded, as well, but are also bought and sold.
An ACEO/ATC must be 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches. They can be created in any medium on any type of support. They can be originals or reproductions. They may be painted in any style and of any subject. Since 2007, I’ve used oils, colored pencils, pen and ink, and acrylics to paint landscape, abstract and equine-theme ACEOs.
Colored pencils are my favorite medium for these tiny paintings because they allow a high-degree of detail and the process is fairly quick, though an oil ACEO can be done in 20 minutes or less.
I also like the size because I can use scrap pieces of paper, canvas or other material to paint on and because I have no compunction at all about wiping a canvas or tossing a painting that doesn’t work. That makes them ideal for trying new materials, new mediums, new techniques, or new subjects.
My subject for this painting is the Standardbred stallion, Lockkeeper. His official portrait was delivered earlier this year. I’ve also painted a colored pencil version of the official portrait, an ACEO in oil of Lockkeeper, and a couple ACEOs: this colored pencil and an oil.
From the photograph above, I developed a drawing. The original drawing is larger than the ACEO size, but that’s not unusual. Most of my drawings are worked up at a set size, usually 8×10 to 9×12, since those sizes of drawing pads are easy to carry wherever I go and I can work on drawings away from the studio. This drawing isn’t that large, but it’s still larger than an ACEO.
The drawing had to be scanned and reduced to size for this project. It would have been nice to be able to print directly onto the drawing paper, but the card had already been cut to size and I could just imagine the mess that would cause in the printer.
So I coated the back with a graphite pencil, positioned the reduced drawing where I wanted it and retraced the lines to transfer the drawing. The soft lead I used required some clean up afterward, but that was all right. I got a nice, crisp drawing without making impressions on the paper. At this size, that’s a plus.
The beauty of colored pencil is that I don’t have to prepare surfaces, then wait for them to dry. I went to work immediately with the under painting using a Prismacolor Verithin in Dark Umber. I chose Verithin because that line of pencil has a thinner, harder lead. It covers paper well without filling the tooth.
The background will be a textured green ranging from a nice mid-tone to a fairly dark color. Although I can do landscapes this size, the purpose with this portrait is to have the background play a minor supporting role. At one point, I considered using a colored paper and leaving the background untouched, but chose a white paper, instead.
I also worked on Lockkeeper. I’ve learned the hard way that if I don’t carefully save the highlights, I tend to work right over them. Unlike oils, where lights can be painted over darks, it’s impossible to recover those nice, clean highlights once they’ve been worked into when using colored pencil.
So I am working the background loosely and working the horse carefully. At this point, though, it’s difficult to tell the difference!
By the way, this is a variation of the classical painting technique I use for oils.
