Yesterday was just a glorious day all the way around! Our temperatures hit a balmy 70 degrees fehrenheit which is most unusual in these parts for mid March.
I spent most of the day painting in the studio on this painting after dusting it off. It's been almost a year since I last worked on it; hard as that is to believe; so the first step was to wipe it down with turpentine to soften the paint slightly for better adherence of this fresh layer. Next, I oiled out the part that I was going to be working on and began the paint application. You can see that I've painted the upper part of the trailer and will finish it before moving back to the horses.
My mentor had suggested using a straight edge for getting edges nice and straight in paint, and I happened to think of my old plastic triangles from my old graphic design days. They proved perfect for this task! They were designed for using with ink pens and, unlike a straight edge, there is a slight recessed area underneath the edge of the triangle. This prevents the ink or paint from bleeding under the edge and then smearing. I used a large triangle and a small one to make the edges straighter as I painted. A bristle brush worked well and probably better than a sable or blend for this purpose, and there were no smears. The chrome strip on the roof still looks messy from the underpainting, but I'll clean that up once this layer is dry and the chrome strip can be painted.
Due to the tediousness of painting all those edges, I can see that the trailer will be a time consuming project. It's obvious already, though, that it will improve the appearance of the painting tremendously.
The second half of my day went equally well. I headed to the barn in a short sleeved t shirt and had a lovely ride inside where it was actually colder than outside. There's still far too much snow outside for Scottie and I to go on a trail ride, but we hope to soon. He is still sore, and we are both very out of shape.
When I turned Scott loose after our ride, instead of eagerly heading off to join his buddies, he stayed by my side nuzzling and licking me as if to say how much he's missed me or perhaps to comfort me. I swear sometimes that he reads my mind!
I headed home from the barn with a very full heart and a feeling of deep satisfaction. It had been one mighty fine day.
2 comments:
That's a great tip, Karen - I often struggle with rails and such, can't avoid them with racetrack scenes! Sounds like you've been having some of the same weather as we have - so nice after this past winter! It does sound like you had the perfect day!
The triangles are proving to be very useful. For one thing, they're easier to hold in place, and your fingers stay out of the way.
Yes, our weather is staying very spring-like.
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