Rainy Day in the Studio

A plein air trip planned for Sloughhouse was rained out today, so I retreated to the studio for a couple of hours while the rain came down.  I used a photo generously posted in one of the "Monthly Challenges" on Wetcanvas.com.  I liked the light coming from the single source to the right.  The rest of the painting was very dark.  I tried to stay loose and throughout the painting.  The canvas panel that I had handy already had a tone of raw umber, so it was quite light.  I started by making a quick sketch with a brush and burnt sienna.  As I went along, I wished I had spent a little more time on the sketch.  It might have made what followed easier.  I blocked in dark areas with burnt sienna and a bit of ultramarine blue.  I did a lot of negative painting in this one, painting around shapes such as the stirrup and belt. I also tried to add thick darks in spots...and that's where a more accurate sketch would have been helpful.  During most of this painting, I kept thinking about carving the saddle out of the dark background. 

The photo has a little light reflection in it...it was photographed with only overhead florescent light which washed out the top portion somewhat.  In particular, the rope appears much lighter that it is in the painting. Total time, about 1 1/2 hours

Saddle  12" x 9" Oil on canvas panel