Cycad Painting - Final

© Ellen Blonder

I think this is done. I added some red leaves behind the bromeliad, darkened, then lightened the sky a bit, spending hours touching it up behind the cycad and refining the cycad leaves afterward. I've also darkened the underside and beard of the goat, added contrast in the horns and fixed its face so those weird far-apart eyes read better. 

In retrospect, this was a crazy way to paint, without even a foggy idea of where I was headed, finishing out the key elements and then having to paint around them. What's funny is that in the end, it doesn't look so different from my other paintings that are more planned ahead. I don't know how others manage to have a layout all planned out ahead. I needed time out to let this sit between painting sessions so I could figure out what else it required.

Cycad Painting 8

© Ellen Blonder

This is both the fun and tedious part, adding details with the finest brushes. There are now additional goats in the background, and patterns on the bromeliad leaves. I've also added strappy leaves behind and under the bromeliad and blades of grass in the foreground. The goat still feels a bit pasted in, though. While he looked very dark against the beige background when I first painted him, he now looks too flatly white against the dark path.

Cycad Painting 7

© Ellen Blonder

Here's the bromeliad shaping up. 

© Ellen Blonder

And here it is with the colorful flower bracts. It needed something on the right for balance, so I've added some fan palm leaves.

Cycad Painting 6

© Ellen Blonder

I've got to add some color. I can't let this just be a goat by himself in green grass. There's a bromeliad I've been wanting to paint, and I now have it sketched into the lower left corner. I'll decide what else to add after I work on that.

Big Goat - Final

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

Finally finished. I decided to stop before overdoing everything. The second photo gives a better sense of the scale of this, and why it took so long to paint.

Big Goat - 17

© Ellen Blonder

I'll still have to do more to the background, but I want to add details to the orchids first. I've waited a long time for this. 

Big Goat - 16

© Ellen Blonder

Today, I filled in the thin red flower stalks to the goat's right, and added more detail behind the goat's back.

Big Goat - 15

© Ellen Blonder

I want to keep a misty softness to the background as I start filling in the tree trunks and foliage. Today, I started on the red ti plants on the right. I'm saving the orchids for last.

Big Goat - 14

© Ellen Blonder

I finally finished the plant on the lower left and can move on to the middle and background. The first step was giving the air a soft, misty look. 

Big Goat - 13

© Ellen Blonder

Leaf by leaf, this is the last few days of work.

Big Goat - 12

© Ellen Blonder

Working on the smooth-leaved plant in front of the goat is a welcome change after painting all that fur. Only the leaves toward the right are finished.

Big Goat - 11

© Ellen Blonder

Painting fur all day long. I'm two-thirds done down the length of his body, then still need to add highlights and shadow.

Big Goat - 10

© Ellen Blonder

I realized I was already painting the goat's fur way too finely, noodling it in with a 00 brush before I getting the general sweep of all those unruly locks. Today, I roughed it all in with a bigger brush, to refine more gradually.

Big Goat - 9

© Ellen Blonder

I'm filling in the plant on the lower left, in front of the goat. Otherwise, it's hard to judge how light to go with the goat's fur. It doesn't feel like fast progress, until I realize the painting is about four times the area I usually paint. Only the darkest leaves on the bottom are even close to finished.

Big Goat - 8

© Ellen Blonder

The fur is at a point where it looks terrible, with the much of the under color painted, but not the detailed lighter fur over it. It'll be hard to rest until I get it right.

Big Goat - 7

© Ellen Blonder

I've spent the last few days focusing on the lower right side, leaf by leaf, with more and more detail.

Big Goat - 6

© Ellen Blonder

Hard to know what order to paint things, but the bromeliads in the lower right corner wanted attention most, yesterday and today. The leaves aren't done; it's tricky sorting each one apart from the others.