Oil Painting Of An Elephant: Step 5
WELCOME TO STEP 5 OF THE OIL PAINTING OF AN ELEPHANT.
So far I have been demonstrating the painting of an Elephant on primed 16" x 20" canvas using Winsor and Newton oil paint.
The technique I am using is the Glazing technique. See the different types of Oil Painting Techniques.
I started in Step 1 with a charcoal sketch and monochrome under-painting.
This formed the basic structure or skeleton of the painting.
In subsequent steps from step 2 to step 4, I carefully built up the painting with the application of thin layers of paint on one another after leaving each previous layer to dry.
In this step, I have continued to touch up the painting by enhancing the darkest areas (shadows) with a dark tone which is a mixture of Prussian blue and Burnt umber.
I also used the same mixture to outline the creases and wrinkles on the trunk and legs.
For the tusks, I used a mixture of Titanium white + Yellow ochre to produce an off white colour.
I also added the grasses in the foreground. For this, I used a size 0 round brush and a mixture of Sap green + Prussian blue for the darkest tones.
For the lighter tones, I used yellow ochre and a bit of cadmium yellow and painted it in while the paint was wet.
For the grass in her mouth, I used a mixture of raw sienna + Sap green and a bit of Titanium white.
There is a smoothness to the painting which is characteristic of glazing. This is quite unlike the alla prima technique I used to paint the African drummers.
The Alla prima technique is faster to use and the paint stays fresh with rich brushstrokes. Each technique has its beauty and they all produce awesome works of art.
Every artist has a signature style which often takes time to discover and entails trying out different styles on hundreds of paintings.
I try out different techniques and though over time I am inclining more to a particular technique; I still continue to explore
