Work In Progress - Bathing Beauty

Here is a close-up of her face. I still have to complete her halter...tack...gear.

This little shire filly is coming along. She still has a short tail, but I think I will add a full one...what do you think?

Work In Progress - Bathing Beauty

Well, the water has arrived along with the soap. I roughed it in to get a sense of how it would be, then decided it was time to make this shire come alive.

Work In Progress - Bathing Beauty

A slight head cold has kept me from working more diligently on this painting, but I think the fog is clearing. For a while there I felt that my head was a large balloon...about to pop. In any case, the painting is taking shape. I have pretty much completed the background and will now concentrate on the horse and the other items in the foreground.

Work In Progress - Bathing Beauty

I have now added a ladder and you can see the possible buckets and sponge that I have quickly sketched in. I will probably have to move the hose. It might be nice to have it winding around the objects...connecting them in a way.

Work In Progress - Bathing Beauty

Today I worked a little on the background and the horse. You can see that shadows are developing. My horse still looks challenged, but soon she will have personality. I haven't decided on the type of bucket I want for the lower left corner area...wood or blue plastic. Any suggestions?

Work In Progress - Bathing Beauty

Now that the toucan has been completed, I am starting a series of horse paintings. The first two will be large...depicting Clydesdales getting bathed. I got the idea for this when I visited the fair and watched them bathe these beauties...how patiently they stood for their baths.

I have blocked in the initial composition, attempting to pick out the values. There is little emphasis on color at this point. I fear that the horse's anatomy is slightly wierd...the ears look like those of a mule. Left out is the bucket with soapy water and the brush. I will place them in the lower left corner.

Toucan-Still In Progress

It is Sunday night and the work continues. I have added more leaves and some flowering jungle plants. The leaves to the right seem to be reaching out for the toucan. I guess that is the way the jungle is...it has an agressive spirit and, as I have been told, so do many of its inhabitants.