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 Professional artist, Anne Olwin, brings you some of her best art lessons, tips and tricks of the trade.
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The Sentinel- Painting Process
What to Paint
It’s one of those days where the “big blank white” stares back at me daring me to begin. Are you ever there? Have you had times when it seems like there are either no ideas or too many?
I seldom lack ideas. In fact, to find myself there, I have to be totally stressed or completely exhausted. Most of the time, I experience the opposite extreme: The jumble of ideas competes for my attention and I can’t settle on just one.
Today, that jumble had me sorting through countless files of reference photographs. I want to paint that oil of the Don Cesar that has been swimming around my mind since the visit last summer. And the thought of another pastel of roses has my fingers itching. Then there is that painting of horses along a fence from our trip to Wyoming I simply *must* get to… and… and…
 The wolves won out today as I have a private lesson and a couple of demos on Fur, Feathers and Animal Features in watercolor this weekend. Tomorrow, I begin the drawing!
Wolf Drawing
 Here is the progress I've made today on the drawing for the wolf painting. As you can see, it's not finished, but coming along.
The paper is a full sheet of Arches 300 lb cold press, one of my favorites. It is heavy enough that it doesn't need stretching and provides the perfect surface for a grisaille drawing like this.
Wolf Progress
The demos this weekend were such fun! It was fabulous seeing so many old friends among the sea of new faces. For those of you who were at the demos, you can see I’ve done a bit more on the wolves since you were there.
I plan to post the progress as I go along so you can watch. One note: Nothing in the painting as you see it below is finished yet.
 Progress to date:
4 hours of drawing before the demo.
2 hours of painting during the demos: Initial underpainting, intensified some of the background along the neck of the left wolf to show how to get the soft fur/background transition, beginning of the fur with a discussion of random strokes, beginning the eyes.
2 hours since: More work on the fur, eyes, and background under throat edge of left wolf, and beginning the noses.
Total time so far: 8 hours
More Wolf Progress
 Another 2 hours of work and here is how the painting looks.
I've intensified the background in some areas to establish the neck of the wolf on the right and have begun knocking out the background light by glazing with more saturated color.
More work has also gone into the ears and fur. Total time into this painting so far: 10 hours.
Wolf Painting Progress
 Two more hours of painting and I've gotten here.
Another couple of saturated washes on the background have brought more color and a deeper value.
I've continued to work on the fur on both wolves, establishing more of the form of the forward wolf.
Finally, I placed the first wash on the foreground.
Another Wolf Painting Report
 I worked on the wolf painting another two hours yesterday, much of it adding more color washes and texture on the fallen log in the foreground.
The closer wolf is taking shape as I round out the form and work on the fur.
Total time thus far: 14 hours.
More Wolf Progress
 It's been a busy week, but I've found four more hours for the wolves.
At this point, I've intensified portions of the background, worked on the fur of both wolves, brought out the forward wolf and added more to the painting of the fallen log in the foreground.
While the painting itself has more of the log in the foreground, I've decided to indulge in a bit of creative cropping. This sends the focus back to the faces of the wolves.
The painting has acquired a name: The Sentinel. These two wolves were on the pack's mound behind a fallen log, one keeping watch.
More to come: The background needs more glazing to intensify the darks and the wolves need more work.
Total hours so far: 18
Master artist, Anne Olwin's artwork and writing have appeared in Watercolor Magic Magazine, National Gardening Magazine, and various other publications. Most recently, Creativity Press has published her Quick Reference Guides for artists.
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