Buttercup Cuckoo

This painting was a real adventure!  I had a strange concept to make a yellow clock accented by pink, not bold but slightly odd in color choice.  At one time it was accented by bursts of bright red and intense blue.  I gained by that mistake though, the red paint glimmers up now through the tan mask of paint on the satchel and the nest on top for an exciting sparkle. I enjoyed the layering of color immensely.  It reminds me of traditional oil painting techniques where under painting of green brings life to pink flesh painted on top, simulating blood in the veins.

Here is my reference picture for starters:

tracing out the proportions

painting the line drawing, I like to put the color around the lines instead of painting on color blocks.

free handing a beautiful stag with antlers like the waves of the sea

laying down a happy yellow to serve as a visual foundation for all my color choices

trying something out… the red is a mistake but in the end it makes things even better once it’s covered.

See how the red sparkles through once it’s been covered?

The finished piece will go in a lovely warm light brown colored vintage frame.