Thursday, June 04, 2009

DAISY'S BICYCLE

(Click Image to Enlarge)
There was no reference photo for this painting. I had seen some renderings of wicker baskets and wanted to give it a try. A bike basket was an easy way to start. I masked off all the flowers. It took a long time, but the result was worth it as I was able to put the underpainting of green in with several washes using long strokes and a large brush. I kept going back in to make the underneath colors darker and darker.
After painting the fence and the background, I painted in the bike saving the basket for last. I decided to mask off the lightest of reflective color on the wicker and then, after putting a wash across the whole basket, added the darks and finally removed the masking to reveal the reserved whites. I eventually toned down the white on the wicker but left enough contrast to give the basket texture.
I do like the wicker basket, but I also like the way the background fades out into a misty, foggy distance. I'm also glad I let the foreground fade out as well.

3 comments:

Krista Hasson said...

Tim, excellent job. I also really enjoy your postcard blog they are terrific. I have seen alot of your stuff on wetcanvas, always look forward to seeing more.

shannon goss said...

Very nice! This is one of my new favorites. Love the colors. They really pop.

Terry Banderas said...

Tim--
Beautiful work. Masking can take lots of time but most of the time it is worth it. You will have many people liking this one.