Definite Final

I took Sue's (Pencilpix blog) advice and added some distant "somethings" to the right side of the horizon line.  I figure it's a stand of trees or maybe a jumble of rock - I'm not sure what it is but I do think it helps the painting.

I hope so as I varnished it and we went to Michael's and Hobby Lobby today to look for frames.

We bought two frames, one at each store, and we both like both of them equally!  I joked and said that since the painting is varnished and not behind glass, we could easily exchange frames every 6 months so both of them could be used!

Not only did we find frames we liked, but both were on sale.  Of course, both stores regularly have "sales" on their frames but Michael's sale was 60% off, plus, our son had given me a gift card for there so the one frame only cost me a dollar and 12 cents.  Can't beat that!

I was also looking for some small (6") square frames but they didn't have any.  Or at least Michael's didn't have any - I forgot to look at Hobby Lobby!  Oh, well, guess that means another road trip!

In the meantime, I need a title for this and for the other cowboy (pastel on black shown below).  While the other cowboy won't be framed, I did enough to it to get a decent scan so I can offer prints at FAA.  I'll offer prints of both of these as soon as I can title them.

One of my BIL's suggested Campfire Thoughts for the cowboy on black and I've gotten quite a few suggestions for naming this painting but none really click.  Any ideas out there?

Adult Portrait WIP 2

I worked on the portrait of my western dressed husband yesterday afternoon and this morning and am very pleased with the quality and handling of the Schminke gouache so far.

I had already made a start on the denim jacket (back and sleeve) before the new paints arrived and had had trouble making the fabric look like denim.  When I repainted some areas, the bottom layer re-wet and mingled with the new paint layer.  That's a quality of gouache that can either work for or against the artist.  In this case, it is working somewhat against me as the new color is mixing with the old and it becomes a color I don't really want.  But, I'll be able to solve that eventually.

What is concerning me right now is the value of the different sections of the jacket.  Some of the highlights are very bright while others read as white but are very subdued.  With other paint media, I would use a wash to control the values but, as I've said, gouache lifts any previous layer which then mixes with the new layer.  This creates a new color and a new value and it's kind of tricky to get it right.  Also, gouache will either dry lighter or darker than the applied color and that also throws another problem into the mix.

Since I've not used this new paint color before, I'm just having to try one thing or another to try to get the look I need.  So, while I'd hoped to be finished with this painting by now, it's going to take a while longer.  I'll try to post updates along the way but I may just get into the "zone" and finish it all quickly.  I hope that happens but I'm not holding my breath!

Oh, I also played with the new color, Titanium Gold Ochre, in the background and I think I'll want to re-paint the background, at least partially.  We'll see how that goes when we get there.  Funny how one small change affects the whole painting!  This may turn into a totally different and unexpected painting!