Friday, July 29, 2011

Head of the Harem

Head of the Harem

8x10 inches

Acrylics and Oils on Gessobord

Another week filled with ups and downs and pieces going in the bin. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had bought some Gessobord and also some Speedball Mona Lisa Gesso Boards which were about 1/3 of the price of the Gessobord. The Speedball boards, whilst they are called Gesso board, really don't have the feel of gesso at all. They are extremely slick, in a different way to Claybord, and actually feel more like laminated board. Whilst the labelling states they are suitable for a range of media, including oils, acrylics, watercolours, coloured pencils etc., I personally didn't find this to be the case. Watermedia bubbles up, coloured pencils slide off, and even the oil painting I got half way through started to peel away.

This painting was done on the gessobord and this surface is a joy to work with - enough tooth for the paint to adhere well, but smooth enough for lovely detail. This gorgeous rooster posed for us a few years ago at our local wildlife park and was just the subject for a little more experimentation with oils, which I have to say I'm really loving. The only down side, of course, is the length of time it takes for the paint to dry, so even though I finished this fellow earlier in the week, I couldn't really scan him for a few days.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

wow Karen, he is superb, and in oils too, your a marvel!

Autumn Leaves said...

Amazingly beautiful rooster!!

Artoholic said...

He's just lovely Karen! I think your work in oils is stunning. It has such a richness to it - real look-into-the-painting-depth. I've always had a soft spot for poultry - I'm a Bantam keeper from way back. Roosters and Dawn don't do much for me though....

Sorry to hear about all the sacrifies made to the rubbish bin. Sometimes I think I rub out more than I actually put down on paper some days.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks over here, sorry I haven't had a chance to catch up with your blog. Hope all is well with you and the boys,

Cheers,

Cindy

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Maria and Sherry - your wonderful feedback means a lot!!!

How's it going Cindy? I have had almost no time to do much catching up on the internet either, but also haven't really achieved much artistically. I was wondering what you've been up to and whether you are working on the Claybord, or larger scale stuff. Looking forward to seeing what you've been creating. I'm really enjoying the oils for a change, and for just the reason you stated - the colours are so rich. Hope all is great in WA - I've heard on the news that the weather is still a bit crazy over there!!! :)

Unknown said...

WOW stunning work Karen.

oils are so lovely to work with and the detail here is great.

You are truly a great inspiration.

Unknown said...

They really are Dors and thank you so much for your generous words - you are an inspiration yourself!!! :)

Wendy Mould AFCA said...

Wow, what wonderful colours. Roosters are such fun to paint and draw. I love yours.

Unknown said...

Thank you Wendy and yes they have such wonderful colours don't they!!! :)

Sadami said...

Dear Karen,
Your beautiful work & great sense of humour with humane eyes filled with awe for any life, impresses viewers. Thank you for visiting my blog. Please keep up wonderful work!!!
Kind regards,Sadami

Unknown said...

Aren't you lovely Sadami - I was guided to your blog via another blogger who mentioned how inspirational your blog is and how right they are. I had a glorious time browsing through all your charming paintings and drawings and your wonderful commentary put a huge smile on my face. You are a huge ray of sunshine!!! :)