slideshow

Friday, May 13, 2011

Charla's Black Panther

My friend Charla took a great picture of a black panther while she was on vacation and gave me permission to use it for painting. I thought you might enjoy the step by step process of how I develop something like this so here are the first 3 steps; keep checking back to watch it unfold! This is acrylic on linen, 16x20 inches.
Charla's Panther, step one
I had a couple of false starts with my drawing, had to revise and rework it a bit. In step one I've used regular acrylics for the drawing and shadows and to block in the background.
Charla's Panther, step two

In step two I've switched to Chroma's Atelier Interactive acrylics and have begun blocking in the darkest shadows and the lightest highlights. The Interactives are a new type of acrylic paint that even when touch dry can be re-hydrated and reworked, unlike regular acrylics that become basically waterproof once dry. I like how each layer of the Interactives sort of melts into the previous layer, adding depth to the painting.

Charla's Panther, step 3
In step three I continue to block in lights and darks and evaluate and compare to the photo. He's in a bit of an awkward looking position and there are plants and grass in front of his legs, making it hard to see exactly what's going on in some areas. Don't worry, he won't look like an amputee when I'm done!

And now I'll go sign in for Paint Party Friday! Just click on the button on the right to go to their page and the list of participating artists. Have fun browsing and seeing all the beautiful Art out there in the world!

28 comments:

  1. Looks like he's going to be awesome. Can't wait to see the finished product.

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  2. I use the Atelier Interactive acrylics but I don't use them properly. I just buy them cos they are cheaper than Golden and do cover! I like you panther and look forward to more progress pictures.

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  3. It does look like he is going to be just awesome!! Great panther so far. Happy ppf.

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  4. I didn't post yet on PPF today, having trouble with my blog. I still wanted to see what's happening out there anyway.
    Beautiful foundation. I do like to see the step by step. I'm always interested in how other artist's approach their work.
    Have a great weekend!

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  5. That's amazing. Thanks for showing your steps. :D
    My Blog

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  6. Loved seeing the steps. Very cool.

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  7. Your panther is looking great and I look forward to seeing it progress.

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  8. Looking great! Thanks for showing the process. That always fascinates me, seeing how other people work. I've never heard of the interactive acrylics before. Sounds interesting.

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  9. Thanks everyone for your kind comments! I worked on it some more today, I'll post some more photos tomorrow. @Anne, the interactives do have a little learning curve, but they are fun and I also have fun just fooling around with them, seeing what sort of effects I can get from them.

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  10. Keep the step by steps coming! I love 'em and learn from them :) thanks!

    I have done a lot of research on the interactives but haven't bought any yet, since I had already bought quite a few W&N $$$. But I would love to try them. They make a tester kit with all the goodies at Blick that I have on my wish list to buy sometime.

    You're panther drew me in right away. Not many people know this about me but I collect black panthers. I guess I don't tell cause most of the time you see those cheesey ceramic panthers. haha... it's actually kinda hard to find really different ones out there. I had a great collection at one time and lost most due to a house fire. Your painting is looking beautiful and I had to snicker at the amputee comment ;)

    Happy PPF!

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  11. I'm enjoying your WIP as I'm also learning to use Atelier Acrylic to paint as well. Definitely coming back to see how you finish the painting!

    Well done and thank you for sharing! ;)

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  12. Thanks for sharing how you are painting your panther, what an awesome subject! Valerie

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  13. Oh wow this is going to be such a powerful picture. Thank you so much for sharing. Annette x

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  14. this looks amazing so far and i enjoy hearing how artists do the step by step progression of their paintings. i 've never used acrylics but the interactive ones sound interesting. i can't wait to see the finished painting.

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  15. Neat seeing the process, maybe in time I might like to try the interactives. Nice work so far, look forward to your next steps.


    Happy Rainy Weekend
    Annabelle ~^..^~

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  16. oh I LOVE panthers....such sleek velvety beauty..you have captured it well. Lovely to see the progress...never heard or seen the interactive acrylics before but sounds like something I'd like to try. I shall look forward to seeing your beautiful cat completed :)

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  17. Wonderful!! And informative about the interactives.

    I'm looking forward to seeing more of this gorgeous painting!

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  18. This is looking amazing! I can't wait to see it finished. And I never heard of interactive acrylics. I'll have to check them out.

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  19. Thank you all! i buy most all of my supplies at dick blick, here's their interactive page; http://www.dickblick.com/products/chroma-atelier-interactive-professional-artists-acrylics/

    Also, Chroma has a website with videos:
    http://www.chromaonline.com/products/atelier_interactive

    was out most of the morning, so just home cooling off, then I'll try and upload some of the newest photos of the panther.

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  20. This is already so beautiful- you've really captured the essence of his "panther-ness" here....LOVE it!

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  21. Thank you Stephanie! I've posted an update, Sunday May 15.

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  22. I love seeing the step by step process of how other's create their work. Thanks so much for sharing. It's my first PPF & I'm absolutely loving seeing the wide range of styles and inspiring talent.

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  23. This is looking great! I can not wait to see it finished!

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  24. I've never heard of Interactive acrylics. Must investigate! I can't wait to see the finished piece. It looks great so far!

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  25. excellent -thanks for sharing your process.
    cheers, dana

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  26. Great! Great! If you are an artist ... this panther erdadera has very good way, thank you for showing the way you work. Saludos

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