The "Nothing New Under the Sun" Problem

After too much angst I finally decided on the subject for my next painting - two fawns in a woodland clearing.  But there's a problem.  Specifically, the "nothing new under the sun" problem.

This subject has been done, done some more, and probably over-done.  So how can I make it "fresh?"  Or is that even possible?  I suppose I'm more aware of this issue than I would ordinarily be because I'm painting pieces for my next - and hopefully finally successful - application to the Society of Animal Artists.  Each piece must be the best I can do and the best I can do shouldn't include cliches.

So I have had real doubts about this subject.  My hope is that once I emotionally connect with these little guys the connection will come through and make the painting special.  The trouble is that with most other subjects I've felt connected before I started painting.

What to do?  What can I do but plunge ahead? 

By the way, I've used my Faber-Castell Polychromos pastels in this first stage and I really like them.  They're hard, like NuPastel, but there are more colors and once I break through the varnish skin on them they lay down the pigment beautifully.

Lilies of the Field - Finished!

I'm happy with this now.  The most important change I made was to Lavina's profile shape.  The bone above her left eye was too prominent and the shape was too angular.  Her left ear and left horn bud also needed tweaking.

I refined the modeling on her body and worked more on Adam's knee, finished the halters, worked a little higher on the grass, and enlarged the shadows. 

I also brightened Adam by adding orange highlights and glazing  over some of the highlight areas, particularly on the face, with light blue.  I also worked quite a bit more on Lavina's eye to, hopefully, enliven her expression.  So now it's time to leave them to their nap!

Lilies in the Field - Nearly Finished

Yes, I'm nearly finished, but it's those last steps that make or break the painting.

I scrubbed the idea of the weeds and wildflowers in the background.  After sketching in the fence wire I didn't like it - thougth it was too busy - so I took it back out and just simplified the area with greens.  After more work on the straw I think I'm close, and the lighter overall color there helps with the composition.

Adam's front knee needs work.  And I'm just not satisfied with Lavina.    She needs more modeling in her face and body, and her body under her needs to recede more.  Her halter needs more work too as it is too bright.

The light source is directly overhead, but I think the shadow under her nose needs to be bigger.  Somehow, she just doesn't look quite grounded.

I'll spend time scrutinizing it this evening and see what other ideas I can come up with.  It just doesn't "pop" yet.  (I hear people using that word all the time, especially for landscapes.  But I think I need a different word for animals.)  Or, to express it better, it just doesn't "breathe" yet!

The Final Fiona

I made a few "final" changes to Fiona but never posted the result, so here she is. 

On to the Giraults and Lovin' It!

Today I worked on Adam, the calf on the left, using my Girault pastels.  I switched to those from the Rembrandts for two reasons.  The first is that the color range is better for this little guy, and the second is that the smaller size of the Girault pastel sticks makes the details of the fur easier.

It was slow going, but satisfying as it seemed to be working out pretty well.

Actually, before I started working on Adam's fur, I made a few minor but important corrections to the drawing - things I noticed last night when I set the painting up by the TV for liesurely scrutinizing.  I changed the curve of Adam's right horn and made several changes on Lavina, including widening her body and right knee, changing the slope of her nose, and changing the outline of her back and hips.

The background is going to be very challening.  I have several photos of Mariposa lilies which I want to suggest in the background.  I may actually work on that next then come back to Lavina.

I am enjoying this project, and very much like my Giraults.

Working on the Calves

In this painting I switched from NuPastel to Rembrandts early in the game - after just one layer.  It seemed like the right thing to do.  And as I think about it, I think it was because the color range in NuPastel was just too limited.

I'm trying out these colors for the harnesses, and I think I like them.  And I have roughed in a background.  What I have in mind is for them to lay on hay with a area of bare dirt behind it and then thick pasture behind that.  I may need to put in some fence wire between the bare dirt and the pasture becuase the calves would be eating those lush plants if they could get at them.  I'm thinking of adding a few subtle wild lilies in the pasture to add a little "double entendre" to the painting's title.

Tonight I will be pondering the problem of the background - what will it be and how carefully should I paint it?  The hay realistically, the dirt less so, and the pasture just a suggestion?  Don't know yet.  But I do know that I would like to add a bit of the blues to some wild flowers in the pasture to integrate those colors.  There will also be blues on the highlights on Adam's fur.

But tomorrow - if I get a chance to paint - will be more work on the calves.

Lilies of the Field

The other day I was looking through my old photos from Livermore hoping to find some source material for my next animal painting.  Both the cows and donkeys inspired me and there was the usual complement of nice cat and dog photos.  I found a photo of calves on a hillside that I was going to work on.  I loved the composition and the poses of the calves, but there really wasn't enough detail.  That sent me to an internet search where I found several inspiring photos of Hereford calves.

On a whim, I search for Jersey calves and found this precious pair and couldn't resist painting them.  These two calves were born at a dairy.  Since the dairy is in the milk business they restrict the amount of milk the calves get and separate them from the moms fairy early.  To ease the stress, they are careful to raise them together.  When I look at these two my heart both aches and melts.  They are so innocent and seemingly content finding comfort in the closeness of the other.  Of course the viewer knows of the perils they will face, hence the aching heart.  I searched my mind for a title for the painting and came up with Lilies of the Field, a reference from the Bible - the Lord provides.

After carefully doing the drawing and transferring it to the velour paper, I began with the pastel.  This is the first stage of the painting, the NuPastel, or hard pastel, layer.

The challenge in this painting will be making the poses of the calves understandable and convincing.  And it will be critical to make it clear that Adam, the calf on the left, is nuzzling his nose into Lavina's neck.  The texture in the fur is challenging and very interesting.  I am looking forward to working on this painting.