Finishing Touches

 "There's a Chinese proberb that I think is true: You often find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it".

 (Hector Elizondo)

I just wanted to post the finished versions of the last paintings I posted previously;

I am re posting the previous photo to show the progression.

This just wasn't finished off right...

Gray Sentinel - 16" x 20" x 1.5" acrylic on cradled birch. Sides are painted black and coated with a matte varnish.



This stage was okay, but I wanted to push back the trees in the distance and the values were all too similar; the subjects were getting lost in the background a bit.



Sunday Drive - 11" x 14" x .75" acrylic on stretched canvas with gloss varnish. I greyed out the background a bit...actually too much at first, so had to add color back into it. I also brightened the red in the tailites and made the back of the buggy more detailed (as it is closer).

I really enjoyed doing this last painting, as it did test me. I was going for a looser paint brush feel and trying to paint shapes found within the picture, rather than 'things' such as a horse and figures etc. I increased the light source to add more contrast and gave it a bit more of a red hue over all. Here is the photo reference for Sunday Drive.



I blurred the photograph with photo shop on purpose. This helps me to concentrate on the shapes and hues over-all.