Bay Horse commission

[KerryOriginals]

This is an 8x10 alkyd on hardboard panel. This is the first home-made panel I've worked on in a long while. It is a real pleasure to work on after the multimedia board and canvas I was using lately. The paint just glides on so smoothly!

I don't know anything about this horse, breeding, age, ect. but, my guess is he is an older animal and possibly a quarterhorse or QH cross. The photos I have to work from are pretty poor, and, I have had to flip-flop and play jig-saw puzzle to get this layout, but, my client is happy with the intial drawing and is aware that the photos are not the best quality to work from. This is a work in progress and these are photos of the intial sketch, and the first day of drawing onto the board and painting.

[KerryOriginals]

and a few more photos of the first day. More to follow!

[Southern Wind]

Nicely drawn, especially since you didn't have great reference material. Am watching closely to see how this comes along. Looks wonderful so far.
Yvonne

[Snuzin Susan]

Wow you work so fast! This looks amazing so far! I always love seeing your work!

-Susan

[stirling]

A very nice start Kerry,will look in again on this one.

best from mike.

[ArtsyLynda]

Really nice work! And so fast! If I may make one comment - in the drawing (sure wish I could draw that well!), the eyes are well-set, but in the painting, the horse's right eye looks like it's set a bit far to the outside and a little low, perhaps. It could be the colors that make it look that way, I don't know. I do know how difficult it is to get eyes set in the right place, at the right depth and straight with each other, so perhaps this point in your painting, like my sculpture WiPs, is still evolving enough that you may change the position. I've bene known to rip eyeballs out of nearly-finished sculptures to reset them - I just did that last week, ruining a very nicely sculpted head. But if it isn't right from every angle, it isn't a good sculpture, so out came those eyeballs!

Keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing the finished painting.

[Tazz]

What wonderful brush work Kerry. Is this oil or acrylic? Wonderful start!

[FaeLynn]

Kerry, that's a lovely start! I look forward to seeing this come along more. You do work fast! I envy your ability with oils! I love your background as well. Those clouds are awesome.

[PatrickHedges]

I'll enjoy watching you paint, but I really - REALLY like your sketch!!

[KerryOriginals]

thanks y'all! I got a pretty good start going on this, but, it has a long way to go and will involve quite a bit of layering of colors.

Lynda, " I've bene known to rip eyeballs out ..." Eek! You sound pretty scarey, Lynda! LOL! (but, I know what you mean...if it's not right, it's got to go!) Thanks for the comments on the eyes...yes, this is evolving and it will change a lot before I call it done. You'll see in these next pics that I have been playing with the head some more, and it will get changed again when I get back to painting on it. My horses tend to keep growing and shrinking and changing positions all through the painting process...I just hope that by the time I am ready to call it done that I have captured the essence of the subject, as well as corrected the worst of the anatomical flaws in my artwork!

Mitch, I'm working in Alkyds. These are a oil paint made with a fast drying akyd resin so they dry very fast. I work with the paint straight from the tube with only mineral spirits to thin. I also have various alkyd mediums and regular oil mediums that can be used with these, but, I seldom use them.

Patrick, lol! As you can see, I don't believe in wasting my time on elaborate preliminary sketches! Just the basic layout...I leave the work for the painting!

In these next pics, I have just blocked in the forground which will get another layer with more grass textures and colors. This underpainting just establishes the values to establish the depth perception of the landscape. This color will be the darker under layer. The horse is also mostly an underpainting. I am establishing the base color and mapping out the highlights and shadows. His anatomy needs more work, too. I think his near back leg is a bit short and needs the point of the hock a bit lower which means the lower part of the leg may need to be adjusted as well...move one little thing, and, something else will have to be fixed to make it look right again! The set of his head and neck don't look right yet, either. I don't have the turn in the neck right, so, I will study it a bit and see if I can't correct that in the next session. The colors I am using in this painting are: Titanium white/naples yellow mix, cad. yellow deep, vermillion, light red, magenta, thalo blue and viridian. The main body color of the horse is light red mixed with naples/white and varying amounts of thalo blue. Magenta is used for intensifying the deep reds and yellow for warming. Highligts will be a magenta tint.

[ArtsyLynda]

Originally Posted by KerryOriginals

thanks y'all! I got a pretty good start going on this, but, it has a long way to go and will involve quite a bit of layering of colors.

Lynda, " I've bene known to rip eyeballs out ..." Eek! You sound pretty scarey, Lynda! LOL! (but, I know what you mean...if it's not right, it's got to go!) Thanks for the comments on the eyes...yes, this is evolving and it will change a lot before I call it done. You'll see in these next pics that I have been playing with the head some more, and it will get changed again when I get back to painting on it. My horses tend to keep growing and shrinking and changing positions all through the painting process...I just hope that by the time I am ready to call it done that I have captured the essence of the subject, as well as corrected the worst of the anatomical flaws in my artwork!

Art isn't for wimps, that's for sure, LOL! You're right about "growing, shrinking and changing positions" as a piece evolves. My sculptures do the same thing. I just have to be careful that I'm not talking too much if I'm working on a piece in public that is something different than what I usually do. I was working on a large sculpture of a foal one time at Equine Affaire and talking to customers as they came through the booth and suddenly noticed that my foal was developing adult horse proportions. So I carved her body down to size, but her neck was about an inch too long. Her head was perfect, so I just cut into the neck, grasped the head and said "OFF with her head!" and heard GASPS behind me! I turned around and saw about a dozen people standing in the aisle in front of my booth looking at my poor decapitated foal in horror! (it was a CLAY foal, remember!) I explained what I was doing, cut the armature wire down to where it needed to be, shoved her head back on and went back to work. I had to cut another chunk out of her neck later (which involved "OFF with her head" again, LOL!), and mentioned that to someone who was in my booth. One customer stayed over an hour waiting for me to cut that foal's head off again, LOL! The foal turned out fine, BTW. She's in bronze on my site.

I'm looking forward to seeing this painting evolve! Lovely landscape! Keep up the good work!

[ARTMUTT]

The background is perfect!! Can't wait to see it completed

[Foxyheart2002]

Verrrry nice, Kerry! Sometimes your horses have that wimsical look like in your fairy paintings, but his one is spot on real. Good job!

[MrsG_SoCal]

So beautiful! Thanks for showing the close up shots!

[KerryOriginals]

Thanks everyone!

Lynda, I love the story of the foal sculpture! "Off with her head!" LOL! I just see it!


Sue, a lot of my work is very whimsical and that is one of the things I am trying to get away from in that equine challenge. I like the whimsical in some work, like the fantasy stuff, but, it is not a look I want in my more serious <lol! work and comes from not using reference materials.

I haven't been able to paint on this yet today, so, no updates.