🛡The Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild 🗡

 

022 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Close up of Link

🦢 Swan

021 Swan

A painting I copied from one of the very best photos I have taken.

The painting is also amongst my best artworks.

Here's how I did it

So this started of as a challenge for myself.  I wanted to paint an animal or bird from a photograph that I had taken.  So the only photo that was ever in the running was this one below taken at Waverley Abbey in 2014 and it is one of my favourite photos.

© Rosa Foulger - 2014

For this project I have chosen this photo that I took at Waverley Abbey, Farnham in 2014.  It is a favourite of mine and I hope it's as easy to paint as I am hoping.

I started off by preparing the 8"x 8" canvas.  I taped it to a board so I could handle it easily without marking it with fingerprints and so on.  I also printed the photo out onto a piece of A4 sized paper.  I then cut the Swan and his reflection out to make one template.  I put a level pencilled centre mark on each side of the canvas as this would be a guide to where the Swan ends and reflection begins.  I made sure it was marked on surrounding board quite obviously too in case paint went over it.  I then worked in exactly the same way as I did HM The Queen's picture.  I painted a rough background and then drew around the template, being careful to line up the centre of template with the guidelines I had drawn on my prepped canvas and board.  

It was then a case of colouring it in and adding the details.

👑 HM Queen Elizabeth II

 020 HM Queen Elizabeth II

Artist's Notes:  I can still see areas around the chin area that don't look correct to me but I have chosen to leave as it is.  I could quite easily 'do too much' now and ruin the good work I have done.

Here's how I did it

Her Majesty had started out as a New Challenge for me.  Painting a Famous Public Figure.  You can't get much more famous than Queen Elizabeth II.

I am going to attempt to paint Her Majesty the Queen.  Rather than draw freehand, I am going to try something different.  It is a completely new idea I had and I want to see how it turns out.

First of all I printed out the picture I want to paint on a sheet of A4 paper.

I then prepared my 8"x 8" Canvas panel by taping it (using Masking Tape) to a larger board so I can handle it easier without messing up the 8"x 8" canvas with fingerprints and smudges.  After this I painted a background.  

In the original photo, her Majesty has greenery behind her so I used lots of Sap Green and daubs of Naples Yellow here and there, stabbing at the canvas rather than stroking it.

The next step was to cut her Majesty out of the printout.  I actually put it against a window and drew around it which was quite un-necessary and could've just as easily cut out that original, duh!

Anyway, I then drew around the figure so that I had the basic outline.  I then drew the rest in free hand.  

It is quite faint in this picture but you can see the pencil lines in this photo.  Once I had the basic shapes down on the canvas it was just a case of colouring it in.

At the end of today this is how far I have got. I have used various yellows for the Queens attire.  This is really pretty good so far.  I am really very pleased with how it is progressing.  

But for me the challenge will be the next bit.  When I study a photo of someone I see the face as irregular blocks of different colours. The colours may only differ very slightly in another shade but at 2 metres away it looks completely realistic.  

The trick is to get the right 'colour', the right 'shapes', and then getting them to 'blend'.  Not Easy!

🎶 Hello Darkness, my old friend

 019 'Hello Darkness, my old friend' 

from the 1965 Song by Simon & Garfunkel, The Sound of Silence

 

New project today and carrying on with the song lyrics theme.

This will be "Hello darkness my old friend" from the Simon and Garfunkel 1966 hit 'The Sound of Silence'

Background is complete.  Dark Storm clouds and a lonely hill top - Perfect!

I have tilted the artwork in this photo so you can see the stencilled Song Lyrics pencilled in and ready to paint

🌳 A quiet Country Lane

018 A quiet Country Lane

My latest piece.  A Inspired by a picture of Hillside I found on Pinterest and this lyric popped into my head.  

I am being hyper-critical of my art recently but looking back at this a few hours after I had done it and it's actually not bad at all.  

I have captured the sun and shadows across the lane perfectly I think.

🌼 Daffodils

017 Daffodils

From one of my own photos.  It's not turned out as great as I'd hoped.  But it is OK and I am still finding what my strengths and weaknesses are.

 

A new project today, I'm going to try and paint daffodils from one of my own photos.

Background base colours done.  I wouldn't normally use tape in a project like this but I wanted a straight line in the background so I was just a bit lazy!