Painting in Progress

DAY 1

Below is my latest commission of a very handsome 3/4 thoroughbred. I spent the first day 'blocking in' all the major areas of colour but I have to admit I spend a little more time working around the muzzle and eye. Being careful at this stage means that I won't have to make any major drawing changes later on. In a couple of days, when the oil paint is completely dry, I will start again, working from the muzzle up until the piece is completely finished. This process will take me a few days so I will post another In Progress picture soon.

Day 1 - Blocking In

DAY 2

Painting has gone more slowly today as I've had a few interruptions, but there has been some progress. I've done more work around the nose and muzzle and painted in the bridle. In my next session I will work around the eye and the rest of the face.

Day 2

muzzle detail

DAY 3

It's actually over a week since I touched this painting due to other commitments but today I've had a few hours to work on it. As you can see, I've changed the background colour as I wasn't happy with the pale underpainting I'd initially started with. The darker colour complements the rich bay of the coat more I think. Unfortunately, as I have used a lot of burnt umber it started to dry rather quickly and became difficult to work with so in a couple of days I will mix up a whole lot of colour and repaint the background. I've also done some work around the eye and enriched the colour overall. The next stage, after I have repainted the background, will be to refine some of the parts I have worked on today, finish off the tack and eventually put a liquin glaze with a bit of body colour over the whole lot just to even out the finish.

Day 3

eye detail