Love and Hate WIP

After completing a rewarding project for a friend and an awful set of commissions for a difficult client, I've decided to do something for myself.

Right now I'm at the underpainting stage, and before I do things like hair and the arrow and such, I'm resolving composition and anatomy. The top figure is more figured-out than the bottom. After I complete a monochromatic underpainting, I'll apply oil glazes that use an alkyd base as a medium rather than a traditional base like linseed oil.

I've fallen in love with glazes! I wish that everyone can experience what it's like to use them. Most of the people I know in RL shy away from my offer to show them how easy and effective glazes are..kind of like offering someone who likes steak a trip to the slaughterhouse! I'll never totally understand how the process of art scares people.

ROzbeans 12 years ago
Field trip to Wystro's place for a glaze class!
Eve 12 years ago
Oh cool! Gonna be one of those pieces I get a crick in my neck trying to look at it from every angle
ROzbeans 12 years ago
Can you turn it sideways, I wonder? I do love it so far. =) Both sides look like a hot date to me.
Kilandra 12 years ago
Oh! I love it! An I 'd totally go to you to learn how to do glazes.. and other things lol Oils were fun because they could be altered after applied to canvas, was my first choice eons ago. Can't wait to see more!
Wystro 12 years ago
Glazes make a huge impact! Even though photos and scans don't fully capture the depth and complexity they generate, you'll get an idea of it as I go through the painting. I just discovered that since it's 9x 12 it almost completely fits on my scanner! Here is a sideways version so that my dear friend Eve doesn't strain her neck =P

Eve 12 years ago
Awesome! Had to explain to hubby why I suddenly burst into giggles
Kilandra 12 years ago
I love it even more. And I'm loving that barbed whip for some reason.
Wystro 12 years ago
This may look strange and almost like I'm going backwards, but I need to keep bringing the value super-high for the eventual glazes which will intensify the image. If I went the full scale of values at this point, the ultimate darks will become distractingly dark. More work has been done on Love and only a white wash on Hate:

Kilandra 12 years ago
Okay the long hair just made me completely fall in love with this. You should make this into a print. I'd soooo buy it. even like this lol
Jetamio 12 years ago
Mmmm, yummy. And I agree with Roz, field trip to Wystro's!
Wystro 12 years ago
You are so awesome, Kilandra... Thank you!

(edit: Thank you so much, Jet! I should have looked at page two before posting my response =) )
Wystro 12 years ago
This is the completed underpainting. I'm going to leave the weapons dark. This is about as dark as I want for an underpainting. As tempting as it is to have a full range of values, I need to keep this stage high key.

Eve 12 years ago
This is coming right along hon. Methinks it shall be epic by the time you are through
Kilandra 12 years ago
totally agreed. And I still want it.
Wystro 12 years ago
We'll talk, Kilandra!
Wystro 12 years ago
Okay...I worked with a glaze for hours, pushing it around, manipulating it, and I realized that I wasn't adding any goodness to it! I got some turpentine and washed it off so that it is back to B&W. Making the flesh look fleshy is just weird on something that's symbolic. It looks better looking like a marble sculpture, so that's how I'm leaving it!
Lessa 12 years ago
I love it in black and white/monochrome, I think it looks fantastic as it is.. like a DaVinci or something!
Dia 12 years ago
The marbleness of it looks devine and make it's epic all in itself.

Great work!