When I completed the most recent watercolour foal series, it spurred another idea. How about a sketch series in mixed media? I had some old oil and cold wax on paper starts kicking around and since they were well and cured - they took drawing media very well. I went into them with a trusty Stabilo, some bravery and fast music to develop a series of dressage horses over these old paintings. The result I immediately loved.
The old paintings underneath gave the sketches unexpected life and drama. The translucency of the cold wax allowed me to work the image negatively to give contrast to the form. My marks carving out the form I left loose and often leaving in my sketchy circles and angle marks which is me mapping out the form in the early stages.
R & F oil bars were added in some sketches, such as Cassie (above) to enhance movement and form.
The sketches are then mounted to cradled panel to give the artwork a finished edge and the collector does not have to frame the work behind glass.
I am thrilled with how these turned out. They look spectacular in groupings. I've added an automatic 10% discount on purchases of 2 or more.
At the time of writing this I am winding down the series, but I am thinking about getting one big piece on the go to add to the series to cap the sequence off. Any questions about these works, hit the comment button below and ask away!