Seeing red - prep, sand and prime

I am in an upcoming show titled Vanegeddon, a tribute to van murals.
The show opens July 19th at House Gallery - 2607 - 35th st SW.
facebook event page 

It just so happens I have my old truck hood, I've been saving it for an event just like this.

It is however is pretty rough shape. The clear coat has worn away and chipped off some areas and has to be removed.

Ben lent me his palm sander and some 220 grit pads. With a little spit and sweat I get prepping.

I have to take down all the brittle clear coat to ensure my primer and the following paint layers adhere.

I had to make a quick run to the Home Depot to get some rougher 80 grit disks to help the process. I also picked up some primer and clear coat while there.

This is what the layers reveal. The clear coat turns pastel and pink, then there is the red paint and the two primer coats underneath followed by the shiny metal. I think this pattern looks really cool.

There were lots of dents and nicks but I sanded it down with a higher grit sandpaper then wiped it clear of dust particles with solvent.

I began with the first coat of flat black primer.

The fresh coat is drying.

Just as I predicted, red ruined my clothes.

Stay tuned for the exciting development of my tribute to one of my heroes - Carl Sagan!

bird is the dead

Back to the piece I have been developing before the life drawing intensive I completed.

The main focal point of this piece is the skull head on the birds body. I used raw umber, for the outline and shadow elements. I blended titanium white to create shadow. Raw umber goes a bit grey when mixed with white so it is a perfect candidate for bone. I brought in a bit of the red as reflected light and added highlights with some yellow ochre mixed in.

The previous layer of paint is dry so I sanded it down with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper. It gives it a nice worn out feel and allows the under painting to show thru a bit for the next stage.

After the skull had been painted in I painted in the brightly coloured feathers and added some textute to the image.

I then filled in the background making it a very dark burnt umber to pop off the colours.

I drew in a branch for my "angel of death" to perch by scraping away to the under painting and brought in some white to set off the space with some light areas.

The paint is wet and shiny and hard to photograph straight on. I'll let it dry and revisit the piece on my next opportunity to work in the studio.