Stuart Street Atelier Painting Workshop II, Day 4

Rooster, XVII, is a painting by Gail Dee Guirreri Maslyk.

Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters square references

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Hens and Roosters 11x14 references

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Hens and Roosters 11x14 references

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Hens and Roosters 11x14 references

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Hens and Roosters 11x14 references

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Hens and Roosters 16x20 references

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Hens and Roosters 16x20 references

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Hens and Roosters 16x20 references

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Hens and Roosters 16x20 references

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Hens and Roosters 16x20 references

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Hens and Roosters 16x20 references

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Hens and Roosters 20x30 references

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Hens and Roosters 20x30 references

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Hens and Roosters 20x30 references

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Hens and Roosters 20x30 references

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Hens and Roosters 20x30 references

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Hens and Roosters 20x30 references

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Chickens and roosters are full of lovely gestures for painting. Loose brush strokes give arch to the necks, feathers and legs accentuating character. On the other hand, much care has to be given to drawing the fine shapes for accuracy and proportion. We will have much fun with this class putting together all we have been practicing. Remember to allow the brush freedom and build shapes from the outside in while depending on your palette to have your back.

So, how does the palette have your back exactly? Each week we have chosen colors that don't go to mud, have similar tinting strength and reach your composition goal simply. The palette colors we have been using are often producing surprising range. Now that you have seen this happen with your own brush you might try new palettes on your own. Start by picking one juicy unique pigment. Next look for a compliment that strikes a chord against your first color. Take some time to read the labels and notice if you have copper, cobalt or cadmium, etc. Not all colors like to play with each other. Though the opaques are wonderful, they are less forgiving in mixing and moving a composition around the canvas. You will warm up your brush faster with less frustration painting in transparents first. Pick a third color to help you find your ultimate range. Using a cheap board or piece of canvas to try out three colors before you start painting is a good idea. Take notes and question the colors. Why do they like each other? Are they of similar tinting strength? What are they made of (chemistry and pigment number)? Can you get a strong start with just these three colors? If not, start over. You can spend a lot of time considering palette combinations. In the end it will save you much time painting over colors that just don't do what you want them to do. Use artoilcolor.com to help you start to find answers then search the internet further.

For the chickens and roosters there are many palette approaches to consider. Clean purples, reds, oranges and highlights are the end goal. We want to choose colors that will compliment that goal without getting in the way of those final mixes. Often in the past I have used transparent yellow oxide (py42) but it browns out the purples mixing wet into wet. Green is fun drawing color as well but it takes a day of drying before finishing since it produces the same problem mixing wet into wet. With the goal of alla prima (single sitting) let's start with purple. Purple will be a softer choice and allow your reds and pinks to develop at the end with less hassle. Green backgrounds also like having purple shadows. Leaving clean glowing purples in the feathers with transparent paint will give you a lovely effect. One note, add white carefully and slowly if painting dark base roosters. Those highlights in the feathers will beg you for white but white deletes chroma. Consider using some zinc in your white for those areas. If you pick strong tinting strength purple, you will want to keep high chroma in your medians. On the other hand if you pick a low tinting strength purple (cobalt violet, manganese violet) that would change the balance completely. This is a new subject that we will start to play with when you are ready to consider that in a future challenge. If you would like to start your canvas a day ahead, just use one or two unique pigment, transparent colors. Use handy magenta to change your range of purples stepping from lighter to darker. Don't get so much paint on the canvas that you can't see through the paint to the canvas. Purple will allow the crisp rusts and browns as you found last week painting hounds.

Most of the compositions loaded are squares. There are a couple 11x14 to make for easy warm ups as well as 16x20's and 20x30s. Your local art store should have 20x30. It is more unusual but a common size and I thought some of you may enjoy it. What you paint is completely your choice!

NOTE: I have changed the zoom feature and you should now be able to save the image. If you don't see 'Save Image', hold your finger down on the image for a long time (phone) or right click (mouse) and click 'Open in New Tab'. Then you can save the image. Text me on my cell anytime if you need help!