Friday, May 18, 2007

Friday's a good day for Onion

Friday is here and, as promised, I’m going to finish up Onion’s ACEO today. So let’s get to it, shall we?


As you can see above I’ve gone over my darks and lights and, as I mentioned before, I went over the background with Warm Grey 90% to give it some more drama. I’ve also put in more of her markings with Dark Umber and Warm Grey 90% at the darkest points (like under her chin) and emphasized the highlights more. As for her eyes, I went around them (she was in need of some eyeliner) with both Dark Umber and a touch of Black and I’ve also added some highlighting with French Grey 10%. I’ve gone over more of her body with the Mineral Orange and Burnt Ochre to make it richer looking since her coat is, in fact, quite a rich orange. I may even get wild and wacky and throw in some Pumpkin Orange and, dare I say it, Henna.
I should mention the table now since it’s pretty much complete. I went over the entire surface with Cool Grey 30% then I added both Cool Grey 50% and 70% (more of the 50% though) to the dark areas and for the lightest area I used, you guessed it, Cool Grey 10% and a touch of White. Easy stuff!


So above is the final product. There was quite a bit more Burnt Ochre added to the left side of her body as well as on top of her head. I darkened the left ear and I also used some Warm Grey 70% on her mouth on the dark side to play up the shadows. I wasn’t pleased with the darks on the left side so I went over it veeeery lightly with Cool Grey 90% and Black. There were some areas where my mid-tones weren’t sitting right with me, such as her forehead and the bridge of her nose, so I added in some Yellow Ochre. Wouldn't ya know it, I did get wild and wacky and threw in some Pumpkin Orange, Henna and Black Grape (where did that come from??)
To finish off the background I used my Indigo Blue and starting in the background and did quick strokes into Onion’s coat. After using the Indigo Blue I did the same thing with Cool Grey 90% using light strokes. This helped to reduce the halo-ing that was happening between her and the background. I didn’t get rid of it completely but I’m okay with that because, when viewed at a distance, it works.

For it only being my second attempt at putting Onion into art I’m pleased with the results. In looking back over the various stages I can think of a few things that I would’ve done a bit differently but that’s part of the learning process, isn’t it? For those that are interested Onion will be up for auction on Sunday night on my eBay.


Before I sign off for the week-end I wanted to wish Canucks a happy Victoria Day long week-end and also, with it being the long week-end and all, I’ll be taking the time off and resume posting again on Tuesday or Wednesday. For any Canucks that are living somewhere other than Canada I’ll have a beer on your behalf, and speaking of beer I encourage you to check out this blog that was passed onto me. This gal, Meg Lyman, does artwork of octopuses (octupi??), zombie giraffe's and she also does beer reviews, can it get much better than that? I think not.
As well, in the spirit of folks that will be starting home renos both indoor and out this week-end I’m also going to direct you to the blog of my dear friend Kristina and her boyfriend Ryan who have undertaken a rather large home project...like, re-doing their entire house.
Both these people can consider themselves tagged. Any other takers? ;)

6 comments:

Jennifer Rose said...

Onion looks really good. I'm always amazed at people that can do ACEOs quickly. Takes me a day to do one. :/

Dammit! I'm going to miss the fireworks. Thanks for the blog link with the zombie giraffe's :D

Rita said...

Thanks Jennifer! ACEO's used to take me awhile to do (about 3-4 hours) but I'm finding that since I do them on a regular basis they now take me about an hour to do.

I love that zombie giraffe and I love beer so I'll be checking her blog regularly, it's good stuff!

Anonymous said...

Rita,

Thanks for the shout! I'm in the same pickle you are about knowing un-tagged art bloggers, so can I tag a non-artist?

I think Onion looks great, and that is a most excellent name for a cat. Good job.

Rita said...

Thanks Meg,

I think it's supposed to me more for the artsy folks but I figure if it's worth reading, then it's worth tagging. Damn the rules and throw caution to the wind...or in this case, the keyboard.

PS- Onion think her name is pretty neat-o as well. ;)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful work. I wish I could draw like that.

And garden. I just got some tomato plants, put them in pots, watered and fed them, put them in the sun...5 days later...dead. If I turn my attention to a plant, it will die. I try not to look at them...its bad luck for them.

Life has definitely given you a ticket to go forth and participate. Please feel very fortunate.

Rita said...

Thanks Tim! I do feel very fortunate that I have the opportunity to do what I love and that I also have the opportunity to make a living at it, it really doesn't get much better than that.

My condolences on your tomatoes. Two things could have happened:
1- They were over-watered
2- They were in a spot that was a bit too sunny for them just yet

When it comes to baby plants moderation and patience pay off big time so if you're feeling brave give it another go. If it's any consolation, when I started gardening I killed off many a plant... :)