Toscana - some more background work

I painted the background some more. I've been painting Tutankhamon's Throne (see the link to my Egyptian art blog) and after that I usually paint a few strokes of this painting to relax.

Toscana - beginnings of a landscape

Here is the beginning of the landscape. Done with a tiny brush (faithful to my style...)

Toscana - hazy background

Oh how I enjoyed myself: took one of my biggest brushes to avoid doodling with too many details (at this stage at least) and did what I could - very quickly again - to make an impression of a landscape veiled by the mist of a summer evening. I haven't the foggiest what this will be like - it's more like an exercise in painting than anything else. I've been painting on smooth board so long that even the grain of the canvas felt odd. Also I have been doing underpaintings and gradual glazing for so long it is really interesting to find out how my eyes see tone and value when I paint straight with color. I'm quite curious to see will this be a total flop or a good painting. (The light glares off the wet paint on the left - it is darker in real life. Will take a better photo later)

Toscana

I felt I needed to have one "loose" oilpainting on the side. Something I can add a few brushstrokes to when I have first worked on another, detailed painting, and need to loosen up a bit. There's only so much detail one can paint at a time... I am not planning any underpainting here, just hopping in straight with color.

I thought I might paint this horse in what I hope will look like a Tuscany landscape. I chose a linen canvas 46 x 30 cm.

The first three stages I did really quickly - all in all the work in these three photos took me half an hour.

First a loose sketch - the outline of the background with rough pastel, a slightly more detailed horse with ink. Then a spray of fixative to keep it all in place.

 Then some burnt umbra, diluted with turpentine to block out the white background.

And while I still had some wet paint in my brush, I loosely blocked some formations of the landscape I am planning to paint, and brought out the horse some more.

Planning new paintings

I'm in the process of planning new paintings. Will begin posting as soon as I get started. One is a commissioned portrait that has been waiting for me to get my art show "out of the way". And others are just ideas in my head at the moment.

My Egyptology paintings will take most of my painting time, but I do intend to paint horses as well, time permitting.

So check in once in a while to see what'g going on horse-painting-wise.

Opening of the Art Show at Galleria Ferin

And here is a photo taken by my friend Merja Attia, from the opening of the art show in Galleria Ferin (Yrjönkatu 11, Helsinki) on October 18th 2010.

I am just explaining to the visitors how I have done "Calling" - if you look closely, you see me holding a scalpel in my hand. That is my "brush" for the work. (See the pictures of the work in progress below)

The art show will be open until 7th of November. If you are around, do visit the exhibition.

Calling - Done!

And here is the finished scratchboard artwork "Calling", 90 cm x 60 cm. I will take it to my framer this weekend and then to a horse art show in Helsinki in October. Will put the info about the exhibition here on my blog later.