Saturday, November 15, 2008

Change of Pace - Misty



On to another commission. this one is of a German Wire Hair pointer pup, Misty. Like all my other commissions a looming deadline, is needed to boot me to the easel and get to work. Sorely in need of a change, like so many other aspects of my life, this piece was begging to be done in acrylics and not my usual oils. The last acrylic to sit on my easel was Spruce Baby (see sidebar for image) I had forgotten how nice it can be to work in acrylic. the fast drying time, and flexible application techniques is a huge attraction at this point. I cannot afford to be waiting for it to dry between applications not wanting to leave it to the last minute. Christmas IS coming!



This one is on a 12 X 16" MDF panel gessoed with about 3 coats of Daniel Smith gray gesso. I had forgotten how much I love this surface. Originally I thought the panel was an inch too wide for the drawing, so left the right hand edge blank so a carpenter friend could cut it off for me. after much consideration, it was decided it best to leave it alone, so I painted in the undertones of the grass right to the edge.

I am using matte medium on this one to stabilize the transparent glazes. In the past I used gloss medium. I'm not sure what motivated me to switch to matte, it just seems right this time. Payne's gray is the colour of choice for the under painting. The plan is to use a very limited grayed down palette of Payne's gray, burnt sienna, titanium white and raw sienna with some Naples yellow thrown in the mix.

4 comments:

Linda Shantz said...

What a great reference shot!!! It's looking great!! Chop chop! ;-) Can't wait to see it done!

Semenkosarmy said...

Wow, just unbelievable Michelle. I cannot believe how this painting has changed since friday when i seen it. It looks alot better with the extra grass on the side. It's totally amazing how you've captured the depth in this piece, as the puppy behind the grass gives it a 3-D effect. It looks so real, and once again, you've nailed it. Great work Michelle.

Michelle Grant said...

linda: I cannot take credit for the reference shot. The client supplied it! We all dream of clients who take such great photos!

semenkosarmy: Thanks! I was working on it late Friday til about 2 in the morning. Think I'm ready to start on the snow.

Anonymous said...

I know what MDO is = medium density overlay, it's plywood with a resin treated fiber applied to both or one faces. What is MDF?