Water color painting of horses in 5 stages

Five steps or stages of my latest watercolor painting “exile”:

"Exile" watercolor on paper

The creation or "head-scratching" stage :

This is for me the most important stage if I want to create a detailed painting or have a lot of control over the outcome. It is the only time I allow myself to think and plan the subject, composition, values, focal point and color palette. Sometimes, I never get to the second stage and start over with a new idea. Definitely the most time consuming and frustrating part of the process but necessary and, in the end, worthwhile to hang in there...(Munching on my favorite cookies helps me through this stage). 

Wet-in-wet or "merry-go-around" stage:

The aim here is to cover as much paper as quickly as possible, carefully saving the whites. This is the most exciting stage where I am still full of confidence. The challenge is to make these first layers not too dark or too light because this is just the under painting. I royally splatter water and mix and pour paint like a happy worry free kid. The world looks bright and pretty too me....

Form and texture or "sprinkle some fairy dust" stage:

The paper is still moist but not completely wet as in the first stage. Now it is time to add form and texture by adding colors in the middle value. Nothing really stands out yet except the lightest value which is the white of the paper.  In this stage I still feel confident because it is still about building tones and shapes. I wildly keep moving my brush around the whole painting like a fairy moving her wand. At the end of this stage I become a little more skeptical and a frown might be showing on my forehead...

Detail or "danger zone" stage:

Now I am treading carefully and continue building on the shapes by adding more color to create the darker values and depth. At this stage the focal area gets the most love. The painting is still moist, yet no longer wet. My confidence sneaks away and doubts creep in.  My trust issues are starting to show. This is probably the stage where artists seem mad…..where they start staring out of the window or through you. Maybe they just abandon the painting at this stage all together. I have a blank stare and a big question mark is hovering above my head. What now? How to proceed? The paint is drying and I have to remind myself that thinking is only allowed in the first stage. This stage is all about diving in and letting go. It is about trusting that the painting will come to life or end up as one big muddy blob. Since I can't trust my thinking or feelings at this stage, I just move on to the last stage when I feel that I should spend another hour on the painting. This decision is protecting myself from overworking the painting and from hating myself and the painting afterwards....

Final touches or "the-next-time-better" stage:

When the painting is completely dry I either breath a sigh of relief or comfort myself with the words "next time better" making notes about what I want to avoid the next time. But I will not fix any thing to satisfy my perfectionistic silly ego. Instead, I am using only a maximum of 10 minutes (yes, I do set a timer to control myself) to add the final touches and dark accents. Then I let it go and consider it finished.  Consider this phase like the exclamation mark or period after a sentence. No more long winded paragraphs or sentences.  In the past I would fuss over a painting until the paper and my head would rip in two. By moving on I protect myself from crazy behavior and I happily look forward to starting the next “better” painting.  I throw out the empty cookie bag and look back on a fun time with my brushes, paint, paper and soul, craving for more...

The original painting is no longer available but prints, greeting cards and iPhone case can be purchased at  Fine Art America. Their commissions seem to be meant to starve us so I need a lot of buyers to buy one bag of cookies...!

Or visit me at my Facebook cave or leave comments below. They are an artist's mental and emotional food. So, thanks for nourishing my soul!

Creating a fantasy story book illustration

How do I come up with a fantasy scene that I can't draw from life?



First, I find a subject that does exist in our human realm and study it for accuracy.

Horses are my favorite subjects. Growing up on Curacao I learned to appreciate and respect the Colombian Paso Fino horse breed and their trainers.
These gaited Paso Fino horses are graceful and natural dancers and carry their tail proudly. The rider in my picture wears zamarros, chaps which give the rider an elegant appearance. 

This quick study drawing/sketch is created from my own reference pictures and from cherished memories. Horses were the first subjects I started drawing 35 years ago and they are still inspiring me. The more I draw a subject the easier it becomes to draw from memory. To create the right mood I listen to the kind of music that I remember from those Paso Fino horse competitions (Gloria Esefan album Abriendo Puertas). Listening to this kind of music while drawing brings me back to the images of the beautiful horses and I can almost hear their hooves dancing on the beat.

Second, from study to illustration. 

It all depends on what the story is about. This quick sketch could work for a book about Paso Finos. But in this case I needed to create a fantasy illustration. Asking myself questions such as, who are the characters, where are they and what are they doing help me to get an idea.  
Again, I use music (in this case more dreamy music like Enya, Era, classical music) to create the fairy tale atmosphere. But without drawing skills they remain just ideas and daydreams in my head. Only by daily observing and practicing drawing from life can I make my imagination come to life on paper.

For the fairy I used my own pictures of childhood and made my ears just a touch bigger and gave myself a pair of wings as well.  I always carry a sketch book with me and over the years I have not only tried to capture the wings of our own chickens but also the wings of swans and raptors in the wild and captivity. 
These observations from wildlife enabled me to create a horse with wings or Pegasus. Once I have designed the characters, the background naturally unfolded. 
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No worries about copy right issues 


By working from my own studies and creating my own reference pictures I never have to worry about infringing someone's copy right. Nature provides enough references and my imagination does the rest!


In this self portrait below I illustrated my own happy memories of my beloved first Paso Fino friend and the beautiful beaches of Curacao.
Imagination, observations and memories can be powerful tools for creating illustrations.

What is your favorite tool? Feel free to add a link to your illustration work.
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Stolen Black and White Paso Fino horse, Mayito

Mayito, a Paso Fino Stallion was taken out of the pasture sometime after 6pm on the 16th of September 2010 and found missing noon on the 17^th. The pasture is located 6 miles E. of Clinton Missouri 7 HWY.

He is a 16 year old Black and White Pinto. I made this pastel sketch of him to show his spotting patterns on his left side.

Mayito 

Pastel sketch 16" x 12"

Characteristics: long B&W mane and forelock, black head, large white star, large white snip on nose, 4 white legs, top of tail is white - rest is black, weight: 850 lbs, height: 14 hands,  and he is easy to handle.

He has been seen on Saturday 18, 2010 at Lebanon Missouri Livestock Auction.

His owner Bernice Kingsbury will not give up the search. I would like to help her in her search to bring Mayito home. He is not just a horse but he is a member of her family.

This is a picture of him, showing the right side of his body.

He is listed on Netposse,

Were you can also download flyers.

You can also see him on You tube:

 

There is a reward for him. If you have seen him or have any information, please contact the owner directly:

bernice@wildblue.net or call anytime:

1-660-924-7279

Please help to bring Mayito home. Thank you so much!

Three reasons why artists paint

Why do artists paint?

1.     A painting is a description

There are no words to describe, for example, a mother’s love. We humans perceive a mother’s interest sometimes as overbearing but a foal would not survive without a caring mother. A mother knows instinctively what her child needs. This Paso Fino mother horse, or dam, encourages her baby to stand on its own feet. The baby will soon explore the world and mom will be right at its side to protect and nourish her.  

                            Through a mother's eyes

                           Acrylics on 18x22 canvas

2.     Painting is like reporting

With each of my paintings, I try to explain what I observe. When I saw the newborn foal, I saw a wet slimy creature that didn’t look like a horse at all, with its long clumsy legs and formless long head. When I looked further however, at the mother, I saw pure love in mother’s eyes. It seemed like all she could see was this beautiful fuzzy baby. Her labor pains and I no longer existed. Her eyes, completely focused on the tiny creature that was trying to open its eyes and untangle its legs. She gently nudged her baby to stand up. It was such a magical moment and I was happy to be there to report all this. A camera can capture this moment also but can only capture a slimy baby horse. I was able to capture more by noticing the mother's loving watchful eyes. When we paint, our observation is deeper and we can capture an emotion that a camera will miss.

3.    Painting is our way of communication 

As artists, we communicate what we really see, feel, smell, touch and hear. Therefore, when someone visits a gallery, one can have a very intimate conversation with the artist.  Knowing about  the style, materials, subject and other technical aspects of the artist is just small talk. But closely observing a painting, asking oneself, 'what is the artist really saying about her or himself ?' That is where the real conversation begins… 

My personal reasons why I painted “Through a Mother's Eyes”:

• To keep the memory alive of Presumida, my wonderful friend and a loving mother.
• It was a privilege to have witnessed this miraculous moment and I wanted to share this special intimate moment.

Please check out the animals paintings at Fine Art America where my paintings can be ordered as prints or greeting cards. Thanks for visiting.