Monday, April 18, 2011

A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION - NEXT STAGE









It's coming along.




14 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

It's different with the backlight going on. Coming out wonderfully.

Vicki Greene said...

This is looking great!

RH Carpenter said...

Carol, I'm afraid that's the photo - it's a bit burned out in the corner - no backlighting. I hope to get a better photo at the next stage.

Thanks, Vicki!

Jane said...

Your ravens are really incredible, looking great and strong already.

debwardart said...

This is looking great; now, go slowly and think it through to the end!!!

Gary L. Everest said...

Hi Rhonda,
I really like what you're doing here.
The composition draws me in and holds me. The birds seem about to explode or fly away or fight and this tension is palpable.
I'm eager to see how the work progresses.
And, my dear, your portrait is taking a well-deserved rest. Sometimes it's good to leave a painting alone for a bit. I'll be back at it tomorrow, I believe. So many things to consider; edges, colors, values and drawing.
Have a great day tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Gary.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Jane :)

Yes, Deb :)

Thanks, Gary - glad you are enjoying this one. No worries about resting Ye Olde Blue Rhonda :)

Jeanette Jobson said...

This is a beauty and I like the piebald look of the crow in the rear as it is.

The composition is unique and it has energy. Great stuff.

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

Good to see you back with your crows and I love the light in the background. You can almost hear them 'cawing away' in competition with each other.

Harry Kent said...

Brilliant angle, looking up at them from among the grass, wormcam. The effect is to make them somehow menacing, esp with that open beak. They form a cross (not a tick), a negation that has eyes in all directions. One eye is white. And yet, hey, we are just crows - it must be all in my mind. Great stuff, RH.

Carol Flatt said...

Rhonda, this is a very compelling piece. I love the composition. It's as if the crows are intertwined. There's a boldness about it, but a softness, too, in the grasses and the sky. Love how you did the grasses.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks so much, Jeanette. I don't think I'll leave it that way - it's just unfinished at this stage but maybe keep the edges soft and the color more pale in the bg bird.

Thanks, Joan :)

Harry, some of us are crows...some of us are peacocks :) Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.

Carol, thanks so much for your kind remarks.

Gretchen Bjornson ART said...

Oh my gosh Rhonda, this is amazing. Lately I'm really drawn to unique and colorful backgrounds. I really want to master that piece of my paintings and I believe I'm lacking in a bad way. What colors did you use to get the greens? Did you mix your own? Is it many layers? I love it!

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Gretchen :) The foreground grasses were done first and I painted in the colors, wasn't happy with the value, so added more here and there and even splattered color over the whole thing (covering the crows and sky as I did so). Colors were (I think) Hansa Yellow Light, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Turquoise to make it more on the blue side. Then added more Hansa mixed with Indanthrone Blue to darken. Then splattered with that mix and some pure Bismuth Yellow (a more opaque yellow). Let that all run towards the bottom. Sounds complicated but it really wasn't and I do enjoy splattering (as long as I remember to protect areas I don't want splatter to get into :)