A Good Day's Art

You may recall my dilemma late last year as I struggled to decide upon a subject to paint for the final piece of my art course.  I had wanted to paint the lovely Cleo, a European eagle owl, I became closely acquainted with on my trip to the UK. Instead I composed an image from scratch using a combination of imagination and real life objects to copy from.  Well, now that particular piece is completed, I have time to give the lovely Cleo some attention. Hurrah!  I spent about 4 1/2 hours on her today and this included deciding on a format, the initial drawing onto canvas, deciding upon and mixing colours and beginning to paint.  Photos of the initial white charcoal sketch didn't turn out so I've show the first two painting stages. 

A bit of colour on the eyes and starting to lay down the foundations lights and darks. I'm using the background colour as a mid-tone and will allow it to show through in some places. Using a lot of dry brushing where you paint with dry brush (for those who need help with that concept!).

Here she is, a little further on. I've continued to build up layers and have started to include the warmer feather colours. Still a long way to go but I'm happy with her so far. I hope to be finished by the end of the week. Will keep you up to date on Lady Cleo's progress.