Water Horse is the latest painting in the Spirit Horse series. After languishing in the closet of shame for a long, long time it has seen the light of day once again.
I had painted a small study and really loved the feel of it.
This one is a 4"x5" and has sold.
This one is a 4"x5" and has sold.The iconic horse image was inspired by the Tibetan wind horses, which were simply put a good luck or prosperity symbol.
I started the larger one in a different format. The canvas is 28"x 42" so a much more rectangular format than the study. Cruising along on it I suddenly realized that the composition was not working at all, the horse was too large the legs too short and the ground chopped everything at the wrong place. So into the closet of shame it went.
The closet of shame is a magical place where paintings can live and sometimes drastically improve not under the direct glare of an overcritical artist who keeps visions of sugar plums in her head so much she can't see a good painting when it bites her.
Anyway back to Water Horse.
I pulled it out of my special closet but alas no improvement. I did however have an epiphany and knew in an instant what I could do. The phthalo blue paint comes out. I change the ground to all water, fade in the too short legs and it looks fabulous. Now wasn't that easy?
Note to self: take a better photo of this painting.
ReplyDeleteHaha. I have a box of shame. It's amazing what happens in there sometimes. I can't wait to see the finished painting.
ReplyDeleteYes, M.M.E. those little painter elves are amazing aren't they? Do you call it the box of shame or have a different name for it? Any one else use this method?
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