Tanglewood Underpinnings (III) and Tree Removal

Above is where I currently stand with my acrylic version of Tanglewood. I changed the foreground and began adding colors to the leaves, hoping to indicate dappled light. The foreground was similar in texture and appearance to the leaves, so I applied paint and mushed things around.

In looking at it, I thought this was looking okay, but so boring. Teacher and I both agreed the trees were too symmetrical and their pattern to repetitive. Time to fell some trees!

Home, the painting was scanned, and then sent to LR or some other program to remove the center tree. I didn’t even need to get out my saw! This definitely makes the painting better already.

More tree removal, but not as well done as the first one. The hint of the upright remains, but in that glimmer of a tree comes some new ideas.

First, the removal of just one tree is my preferred one of the two. The second one shows that suggestion of an upright, perhaps more subtle (i.e. obscured by foliage) works, too. More upright trees in the background, hidden by foliage, will add to the visual interest of the painting without creating a yawn-worthy one.

So, this is where I am right now. Not finished, but getting close. If you have an opinion, let me know!

Stray

Nothing more appealing (to some) than a sad, stray kitten, abandoned by all. However, this really is not the point of the study!

I tried the Luminance colored pencils, rather than my usual Prismacolor Premier. It is a totally different experience using them, but not better or worse. I decided to just play with the pencils, not aiming for anything other than just experience. I used a grey-brown Mi Teintes paper and a picture from Pixabay. I laid in a number of layers, ending with a brush and Gamsol (odorless mineral spirits), followed by a few quick lines for whiskers.

Poor kitty, but I didn’t stop there, either. After scanning the image, I really didn’t like the roughness of the cat’s fur. In post, I dropped the black a bit and blurred them together. This made the kitten more opaque. I also pushed colors a bit – don’t remember what I did – and ended up with a picture I prefer to the original. The poor kitty also has lopsided eyes – how pathetic is that?

Anyway, original is below. What do you think? Each has its merits, IMHO.

Orange

I am retaking the beginner’s colored pencil class again as well as a more advanced class offered by the teacher later this month. It’s not a bad thing – it gets me out, I meet up with people I enjoy, practice continues. The teacher and group are both excellent, so why not?

Here, an orange, done with about 5 colors. Pencils are Prismacolor Premier drawn upon Stonehenge Legion 140# watercolor paper.