If you think the last painting I posted had a complicated background, you are correct.
In this next piece I am showcasing the subject with a simplified background but one that does not go all the way to abstract. In almost all my paintings I like a sense of place with my animals. I've seen them in the wild and the background adds to their story.
After I draw my subject I do a light yellow ochre turpentine wash. Not only does this get rid of the blindingly white gessoed board staring at me, but the turpentine wash makes it easier for paint to glide over my gesso.
For this giraffe, I really wanted the spots to glow and lend a depth of color to the oil paint on top. After the first light turpentine wash had dried, I applied a much heavier turpentine wash made up of Rembrandt cadmium orange and Gamblin transparent earth orange. I'm not sure when I bought the Gamblin paint (and don't think I have used it before) but it had a nice effect in the mix.
The right side of the giraffe used more of the Gamblin paint along with touches of Rembrandt's burnt sienna and burnt umber.
As you can see, this heavier turnpentine wash mimics how the spots will look. The lighter spots have a lighter colored wash. The time spent creating the spots with the turpentine wash plays well in to the final result.
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