WIP - Boat

I thought it would be fun to post the progress of this painting. I usually try to avoid so much detail, but I didn't think this boat would look like much without it.

Besides, I got a little carried away while drawing it on the canvas. It would be a shame to cover up all those wonderful little lines.

I am having a little trouble getting the color on the photo right. My camera sees all the red and tries to put a warm spin on my blue-white sky back there. Things like that really make me appreciate how spectacular human sight is. Machines are wonderful, but sometimes they just don't capture some of the subtleties in color.

My mom took me to Whistle Pik Galleries in Fredericksburg last week and there was a painting in there that just blew my mind.... Well, there were quite a few that blew my mind, but one of my all time favorites was by Robert Moore called "Essence." Wow! Let me say it again- WOW! That painting is spectacular, but the photos are nothing to the real thing hanging on the wall. I would have brought it home with me if I could.

Robert Moore, according to the salesman at the gallery, is color blind. I don't know to what degree. Oh! And he is ambidextrous and paints with a brush in each hand- both working at the same time. I paint with a brush in each hand, but one is always stationary... unless I happen to drop it.

Another fantastic artist at Whistle Pik is Cheri Christensen- her work glows! The lighting is spectacular. We were told that she will wait in a field all day long until the light or position of her subject is just right before taking her reference photo. Two of my favorites of her paintings are "Magpie on the Roof" and "Full House."

Check out the links- they are well worth a visit.