Duke Of Wellington - Diary Of A Painting #6

The poor old Duke - I hadn't tickled him with a brush since October. The Christmas season came upon us, and i was busy adding new designs to my online shops. I was also lucky enough to receive a kind offer to display some of my illustration work on Cafe Wanders gallery walls, so it was fun to curate that collection. Some pieces have gone to England, France and even as far as Paisley! I've added more to the wall, in case you want to treat yourself to a wee 'heilan coo' etc

I've also been busy with the other figurative paintings of "Innocence and Experience", and , "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys", from the "Wallflowers" series, but today was the Duke's turn.

Subconsciously I think i've been avoiding him as I'd started off both the face of the horse and the Duke's, along with his little traffic cone hat, using wee finicky brushes. It was a thought to try and work on his jacket etc with those same wee brushes - it would take forever and a day.

I just stood staring at him, sitting there, jauntily astride his big beast, when i grabbed the biggest brush I had (Da Vinci size 10), plopped it in some medium, then a big dod o' paint, and just attacked the horses neck. Again and again pffft, plop, swishhh, and before I knew it I had laid down some tonal values. These will serve as a guide for the next layer up when i work on the details.

adding in tonal values to serve as a guide for next layer up.

I'll leave hm to dry for a few days and come back to him with fresh eyes.

Hope yer having a creative day.

Speak soon!

​Davy