Monday, August 13, 2012

Woodcarver WIP 2

I've finished the background and am now ready to begin working on the woodcarver and the child.

 I kept to a pretty limited palette for the background because although I felt it was important to include it as it helped create atmosphere, I didnt want all the detail in it to detract from my subjects and what they were doing.

My board has a tiny bit of a curve in it which doesn't bother me at all while painting and isn't usually noticable when I take a photo, but because this background is full of straight lines its a little noticable on the window sill. I promise you its straight really, although I suppose with an old building it could be slightly warped :)


I've removed the masking now so its a little easier to see my outline drawing. A couple of people have asked me about whether I find the masking fluid removes pencil outlines. It does a little, but I do two things to try to reduce the chance that my outline will disappear when using MF.

1. Draw in the areas that you know you are going to mask just a touch darker than the rest.
2. Apply the MF thickly (I often apply 2 layers to get an even covering, and  a thick enough covering to allow me to peel off the masking fluid in one piece once I have finished. This both preserves the fibres of the paper a little more and avoids you having to rub on the pencil marks causing them to get fainter or disappear altogether.

Hope this tip is useful :)

Ona

7 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, this is going to be a beautiful painting! What brand of masking fluid do you use? It worked so well for you!

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  2. Hi katherine. I use incredible white mask. I have tried several brands and this one suits me the best. Its clear so you are not thrown off by the colour. It doesnt smell like many and it is the only one that allows you to use a hairdryer if you want to (as long as you dotn get too close) without yellowing the paper. I do get through a lot of it though :)

    Ona

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  3. this is so lovely! you are so talented, wish i was half as good as you!

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  4. I look forward to seeing your progress On..... it's always a delight. Thank you for the tip re masking. I don't think we have the super white here in New Zealand :( I paid a lot for some blue schminke and I was very disappointed. Even without using a dryer it lifted the paper and ruined a painting :(

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  5. Wow this is amazing!!! Thanks so much for sharing and allowing us to see how each piece comes to life.

    Sandra

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  6. yes Pene, its a real shame its not available in New Zealand. I wonder if its possible to ship it in from australia?

    Thank you Sandra. Its a pleasure to share :)

    Ona

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