Getting ready to roll......

When I began this painting it was quite cold out. It is now 89 degrees and so humid that I'm sweating in my air conditioned house. But I have made a fair amount of progress lately, so the end is in sight!
As I continue working on the painting, I think about the major decision I made before I started: changing the color of the bike. I am SO glad I did! I think having the color of the tank a bright orange would have thrown off the balance of the painting so much. Now it's cohesive.
I have been filling in all the details of the various chrome reflections using Payne's Grey, Indigo, Sepia, Cobalt Blue and some Daniel Smith Hematite glazes as well. The dark section on the bottom right......I have NO idea what that actually is! So I just painted the shapes that I saw in the deep shadows... and I like how the deep dark area sets off the chrome. Just what I was going for.
Now that I have a few weeks off before the next series of art festivals (phew), I plan to yes, finish the bike.
Before it snows.

Purple irises catching the sun.....

Boy.....it pays to have your camera ready! The sun wasn't supposed to be out this morning, but when the clouds cleared and I headed out between thunderstorms, I spotted my purple irises. They survived the middle-of-the-night downpour in great shape...amazingly enough! When, (not if!!) I paint these, I'm sure Windsor Violet will be the predominant purple I'll use....with Windsor Blue as well. Both colors are staining colors and can be difficult to use, but they both are gorgeous. I can only hope I do these lovelies justice! And it does pay to keep your camera handy....because with more storms coming, these may be gone tomorrow!!

Spring bulbs and busy days....

I've paused work on my motorcycle for the time being...getting ready for the Allentown Art Festival has taken over! While out watering my newly planted vegetable garden, I spotted this iris blossoming, and I knew I had to get a photo. I have no idea what kind this is, but I love it. Sometimes it seems as if the yellow glows...it will catch your eye from a distance- gorgeous!

The plant on the right?? I have NO idea what it is....and I planted it! It grows in the same bed as the iris above, and blooms at the same time. I love the unusual shape of the bloom. Doing each of these flowers justice in a painting will be a challenge! I love the colors in the iris, and it will be tough to get the intensity of the yellow without it looking too opaque in comparison to the other colors. The flower on the right has each little bloom opening straight downwards, but I think in the photo here I was able to capture enough of the interior color to make it accurate. With how busy I have been these past few weeks, I'm glad I was able to catch these beauties!

Further on up the road.....

Yes.....it's beginning to look like an actual bike!
Due to our relentlessly soggy weather, I've been able to spend more time in the studio than I usually do this time of year. The gardens need to dry out, and I get to work on my bike.
No big major changes so far....just adding more details to the motorcycle and all the reflections.
The end is in sight!

Motorcycles and artistic license....

When I began this painting, snow was everywhere. Now, there are daffodils blooming outside my door! I haven't been able to get much studio time in lately...life events and such. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this bike soon.

One big decision I had to make...and I suppose time will tell if I made the right one, was to change the color of the bike itself. As artists we all have artistic license...we can move things around, we can alter the reality we see to suit our vision. In this case....the tank of the bike was not a deep blue, but a bright orange! I've had this photo for a few years now....I had wanted to paint it for a long time, but the orange color did throw me. The way I had framed the photo, the orange of the tank only really appeared, for the most part, in the upper right. There weren't really any reflections of the orange tank to speak of in what would be the rest of the painting. Practically all the other reflections were of other bikes. So what to do? I decided to do what would make the better painting, and change the color. The subtle coloring of the rest of the piece would not be compromised by the garish orange that would only have appeared in one corner. And as the painting is going along...I am SO happy I made that decision- watercolor does NOT lend itself to quick and easy color alterations!!

Funny...one of the things that helped me make the decision was listing to film commentaries on DVD's. Listening to a director say..."We moved the tree here"..."We added rain and made it a cloudy day"...all to make the story, and the artist's vision, a better one.

Reflections on a Honda....

I laugh as I look at the photo here. It really doesn't reflect (pun intended) all the hours I've put in working on it! But it has been fun.....working on a painting with so many reflections in the chrome....the bike within a bike within a bike!!

The pavement wash I laid down, on the lower left, was a wash of Daniel Smith's Hematite. I ordered a set of 3 of the Hematite colors a while back....and while I don't use them often, there are times when they are perfect. The Hematites are a natural compound, and the paints themselves are sedimentary, meaning they give a granular look when dry. Nothing better for pavement. They also never get really dark, so they can't be used for truly rich deep color, but they do have their place. I also have the Hematite Burnt Scarlet and Hematite Violet.

My next step will be to paint the leather seat, and I will use a different black mixture for it...not the same black as I use on the painted areas of the bike or the tires. And then it's just necessary to keep refining.....just getting the details of the bike down...adjusting the values as I go along.

There is snow outside right now......I sincerely hope I can complete this painting before it's shorts and t-shirt weather!!

The beginning of a new motorcycle....

A cold and snowy winter is the perfect time to begin a motorcycle painting! The paintings themselves take months to do....no better time to begin than when the temperatures are in the single digits...with bitter cold wind chills!

I took this photo a couple of summers ago. I LOVE all the reflections that appear in the chrome on this bike! I began by doing a detailed drawing....and that took a while!! I wanted to make sure I got every detail correct...a necessity when painting a piece of machinery. After I felt the drawing was accurate, I began by laying down light washes of Cobalt Blue for the sky reflections, and also washes of Sepia for the reflections of the pavement in the chrome. I also like to put in some darks, using Payne's Grey in various places throughout the painting.

It sure doesn't look like much now. I remember a teacher told me that ALL paintings go through an "ugly stage" and to not give up! I think of those words often! With the weather forecast of many cold and snowy days ahead....I think I'll be able to get past the "ugly stage" soon!!