2nd day of painting

I spent some time on Monday getting some color on this painting. I haven't touched the deer yet.

Full view of painting in progress.

First day of painting

Yes! On the day after Christmas I was able to spend about 3 hours painting. I started a large piece (large for me) 24x30 on stretched canvas. It is a Christmas present for my sweet husband. I told him about it on Christmas morning after opening the presents that he wasn't supposed to get for me, because we are moving to a new house in Simpsonville, SC in Feb and our present to each other is an HD tv that we will buy when we get there. Dave is an avid bow hunter and the painting of course will have a nice buck in it. The background is from photos i shot in Shram Park in Gretna, Ne. The buck is from googling "buck" on my computer. I hate using other people's photos, and never do, but in this case, since i won't be entering any competitions or selling it, I'm going to use it.
I had wiped a thin layer of Trans. Red Oxide on the canvas the day before, because i like to work on a toned canvas rather than start out with a stark white one. Then, yesterday the fun began. I used a cheap 2" brush and a mixture of raw umber and ultra marine mixed with some underpainting medium made by Studio Products. I applied the paint, thinly, as an underpainting, indicating my darks and lights (values) This is a great way to start a painting,because I was able to step back and see if the painting was going to work as a whole before i spend too much time and expensive paint on something that would need major corrections later. When I wanted to make an area lighter, I wiped it with a rag. That is how the deer came to be, by rubbing with a rag.Very fun. I think this stage is my favorite . Next step will be to decide on colors that i will use to do the actual painting. This is just the underpainting.

Full-time painter

Well, here it is. The time that I have been waiting for, for the past 12 years. The time that I would be able to quit my job and paint full time. Thursday was my last day at my job. So, why haven't I picked up a brush in the past 2 1/2 months? I've been busy, and it's the Christmas season. Christmas will be here in 5 days and then no more excuses. I will paint!!!!