3rd Lesson - Camels

Today Jo and I started painting our camels with a mixture of Cadmium Red Deep and Yellow Ochre.  We filled in the head first with dark tones and light tones.  The eyes were next using a dark Ultramarine mixed with the Cadmium Red.  The tricky bit here is to get both eyes looking straight and similar to each other.  I added a bit of Ultramarine to my orange mix and darkened darks where needed, dabbing lightly to indicate hair.  We reverted to a fine brush at this stage to detail the nostrils and mouth, keeping it slightly out-of-focus as we will adjust and sharpen next time when it is dry.  We continued down the neck with a dark orange first, outlining the folds in his neck, then slowly dabbing in lighter colours as we went.  Next week we'll tone down the orange with darker shadows and fill in his halter.

2nd Lesson - Camels

We started with the sky, using our "Jo" sky as I call it.  I used Tasman Blue mixed with white and then alternately slapped on the blue mix then just white, lightly feathering off as I go.  It took about 5 mins to cover the sky.  I added a touch of Cadmium Red to the blue mix for a slightly purple haze across the horizon.

Next the pyramids.  I used a mix of the Tasman, Cad Red and Yellow Ochre and following our light source, just covered one side with a dark mix and the other sides with a lighter mix.  I then played around with the paint dabbing darks and lights all over them.  I softened the hard edges with a light Tasman Blue mix.  Then I just dabbed in some whites here and there while it was all wet.

1st Lesson - Camels

We are still busy painting our thatched cottages, but in the meantime Jo and I have selected one of her Egyptian photos of camels to paint.  I've wanted to paint them since I first saw the photos.  I imagined them with the pyramids in the background, so we first had to roughly sketch a suitable composition on paper first.  I then went to Australia Zoo to gather more photos of camels to see more details.

So here is our drawing on canvas.  I still have to fill in some of the details from my own photos.

Ivan's Black Panther

Jo had a request from her son to paint a black panther, which is actually a leopard or jaguar without the spots.  A black animal is always tricky to paint, so to give it body I always use a variety of colours e.g. blues, purples and browns.  I then use a black to darken the very darks.

6th Lesson - Thatched Cottage

We've blocked in the windows with a mix of Ultramarine and Scarlet so that we can do the frames in white when they are dry.  With the same dark mix of paint I detailed the wooden beams of the house then highlighted areas with a fine brush.