Mijo
I was in the middle of working up Mijo’s portrait when Jasmine and Ginger came along. I put him aside while I worked on them, and just finished him this morning. He’s a miniature pony of unknown breed, who was at the barn where I board my horse for a while. I was interested in painting him because he’s a nice rich black color, and black is often a problematical color to recreate. If you make the animal really black, you can’t see any detail. But if you don’t make him black enough, he looks gray. I think I got enough “black” in this one.
Ginger Finished
Ginger is complete. I had to find a background for her that wouldn’t lose any part of her silhouette. This is a consideration in an animal that has both very dark and very light areas that border the background. Dark areas get lost in dark backgrounds, and likewise light areas get lost in light ones. With clouds, I can sort of plan where the dark and light areas are and distribute them to my advantage.
Believe it or not, I am still fussing with Jasmine. I like the background now, but the horse is too bright! I’m planning to do one (or one and a half) more coats to make her a richer ocher-tan color. I will finish her by this evening!
Alli Farkas Artist Adventures 