Thursday, March 29, 2012

White tiger eyes revealed!

An animal portrait just doesn't seem to come to life until one adds the eyes. This tiger cub painting should be completed very soon and will be on display at my next exhibition (duo show with good friend Ray Thoms) which opens April 30th in Sudbury. I will be posting an announcement regarding the show shortly on my FB page as well as my website and blog.

and slowly the eyes are revealed....

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Today's painting update

I did not like how the ear presented on the reference image and so today's progress was relatively slow as I struggled to work in the tiger's left ear. I think I am happy with it...now if I can only concentrate long enough to finish the pattern on his forehead...working in negative tends to leave me tired at the end of a session but I love working "in reverse" on a dark background.


I can't wait to add the beautiful eyes!!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Progress on cub painting

more of today's work....


and a bit more....

Cub pastel painting

Next on the easel is another pastel painting inspired by a wild animal encounter at Kisma Preserve. I am not sure why I was tempted to start with the nose but I realize now that I should be working the top left of the painting and methodically working my way down and across. This is to prevent smudging and dirtying of the black background (which I may or may not change)! 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Hooded Merganser (male) Painting in Pastel...revisited

Update: thanks to everyone who commented and suggested the painting was fine as it was. However, it was bugging me so much that I just had to change the reflection (the head in the water was competing with the rest  of the bird imo). While I was at it, decided to add more blue highlights in the lighter bands in the water...I think now I can finally call it done!-----

Although I love my large format flatbed scanner, I find there is always a need for color adjusting. I suspect this is due to the lamp casting a yellow hue on the painting as it scans across the glass. Nonetheless, it is a time consuming process and wish that the final image would match the actual painting more closely.  The image below is a good representation however some of the detail in the black areas are lost, mostly on the bird's face.
I will leave this painting for a few days and then look at it with fresh eyes to see if some tweaking is in order. I will most likely be reducing/reshaping  the width of the black outer border of the bird's crest in the reflection.  It seems to be too distracting for some reason.
Hooded Merganser (male)
Title;"Resplendent"
6"x12"
pastel on archival suede
Reference image for duck painting

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Stop being a slave...

Sometimes, things don't become apparent until I am well advanced on a painting. This is exactly what happened on this composition.The lesson learned today is to stop being a slave to my reference photo and enjoy and take advantage of the artistic license painters are so fortunate to have.
   
Workin in Progress of Hooded Merganser Painting in Pastel by Colette Theriault
Once this painting is complete, I will reveal the original reference photo.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Progression of a bird painting:The Hooded Merganser

In this stage I have begun adding the details of the reeds reflecting in the water above the bird. Once the water will have been painted around the bird, I will resume adding the feathers on the rest of the body.
Progression of a bird painting; The Hooded Merganser by Canadian Wildlife Artist Colette Theriault

A bit of background...

Backgrounds are usually not my strong point so I probably should have started it first in this case. I just couldn't help but begin with the strange looking bird!

 The plan is to methodically work my way downwards at this point but I may begin to randomly paint the water when I begin to loose my concentration! We'll see what happens...

Friday, March 9, 2012

New Bird Painting work in progress!

The beginings of a waterfowl painting are taking shape on this suedeboard. I am using mainly pastel pencils to draw the detail of this strange looking bird. Watch for more updates to come soon!


Brown Tabby Cat Painting in Pastel


As promised, here is the final portrait of the cat commission. After client approval, it was packed and shipped out today.
Brown Tabby Cat Painting in Pastel by Award Winning Artist Colette Theriault

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Miniature Moth Orchid Painting in Pastel

Completed my second miniature painting tonight. Although not 100% satisfied with it, I take it as a learning experience and just move on!  I will be posting my completed cat commission tomorrow, now that the owner approved the final version.

hummm, now what to work on next....

Miniature Moth Orchid Painting in Pastel by Canadian Nature Artist Colette Theriault
"Cascade of Blossoms"
Phalaenopsis (Moth) Orchid
3" x 4.5"
pastel on sandpaper

Monday, March 5, 2012

Miniature Pastel Painting no.2

Being an avid orchid collector, I have been wanting to paint one of my flowering beauties for as long as I can remember. I have spent the better part of yesterday going over my photos and trying to figure out which poses to combine and use fo rmy next composition.  Many of you will readily recognize this now popular orchid as none other than the "moth" orchid.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Silvery Blue Butterfly (male) Painting in Miniature

Today's work in the studio resulted in a miniature butterfly painting using pastel on sanded paper. Yesterday, I spent about an hour working with my photo references to come up with the resulting composition and then I was able to actually paint it in one day.

Most of you may not realize this tiny butterfly which is resting momentarily on a single blade of grass has a wing-span of only about an inch!!!!  (which means one fore wing measures less than a half inch).   In addition to the striking blue metallic color of the upper wings, you should also notice the fray of tiny white hairs on the outer border of the wings which is characteristic of this species.
I called this painting "A Wink of Blue"  because you only see the intense color when the male opens his wings and it is only for a fraction of a second (like most butterflies, they keep the wings folded unless in flight)! The painting therefore acts as a "teaser" to the observer, offering only a partial glimpse of those splendid blue wings; something that can be easily missed in the blink of an eye.

Silvery Blue Butterfly Painting in pastel by Colette Theriault
"A Wink of Blue"
male silvery blue butterfly
(Glaucopsyche lygdamus)
4.5" x 3"
pastel on sandpaper

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Pastel Portrait Progress

Most of the fur has been added in this step. I should have this portrait completed within the next day or so pending there aren't too many distractions....