Book Title

BEFORE HE PAINTED

9781581809800_0050_002

A look in Kris’ high school yearbook gives an indication of his future. Under the title “Where You’ll Be In Ten Years,” Kris wrote “Doing something with art, though I’m not sure what.” After high school, Kris attended Wilmington College in Ohio, studying to be an art teacher. Soon realizing that creating was more fun than teaching, he left school to pursue other avenues. Managing a pizza parlor kept him from becoming a “starving” artist, while completing murals for friends and the occasional commissioned portrait. When painting a mural for a friend, the friend’s decorator asked if he could do any decorative finishes. Curious, he took a class from Dave Schmidt of Prismatic Painting Studio, which led Kris to work with Dave on actual jobs. After working on his own for a few years, and subcontracting with Dave and Gary Lord, Kris decided to take a full-time position with Gary Lord Wall Options in Cincinnati, Ohio, so he could focus on creating. Kris’ murals have helped Wall Options to win multiple national awards. He feels the business side of decorative painting is mostly about marketing and networking, while the creative side relies on being able to stay open to new ideas. He’s still not sure entirely what he‘ll do with art, and that’s the beauty of murals and decorative finishes: they are constantly evolving into something new and exciting.

Autumn Brown, Black, Dark Brown, Eggplant, French Red, Ochre Yellow, Violet, White

This dog is part of a mural I painted for an animal hospital. I worked with the hospital’s staff to select examples of dogs and cats that represented the hospital’s patient population. The client wanted the mural to capture the spirit of happy and healthy pets and brand the hospital as a very special place for pet health care. The mural is an enjoyable conversation piece for both the hospital’s clients and its staff.

Using an overhead project saved countless hours on this project. With projectors, I save myself time, save my client money, and increase profits, all in one small step. While some call it cheating, in 1490, Leonardo da Vinci wrote of using a projector (at the time called a “camera obscura”) for his paintings. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.

1. TRANSPARENCY. Once you’ve gathered your photo or drawing and any references you’ll use, it’s time to create a transparency. Using a fine point, felt-tip marker, trace your image onto a transparency sheet. Include any important information such as strong shadows and highlights. Small details are unnecessary. Your goal is to get the basic shape of the lights and darks within the dog.

(Note: If you choose to use an opaque projector instead of an overhead, you do not need to make a transparency. Go directly to step 2, still making a drawing with the same information as covered in step 1.)

2. TRANSFER IMAGE. Project the image onto the mural surface using your overhead projector. Move the image around until you and the client are happy with the position. Using chalk that is a color similar to the completed painting, transfer the image onto the surface. Before moving the projector, unplug it and turn the lights back on to ensure you’ve transferred the entire image. Unplugging, rather than turning off, ensures that you won’t move the projector slightly, and end up with an out-of-proportion dog.

3. FUR. Pick two or three of the dominant colors you’ll be using. Here, I used Autumn Brown and Dark Brown. With a medium-sized square brush, make a loose, washy color and do a value study as an underpainting. The purpose here is to give some shape and dimension to your dog. Be sure to make your brushstrokes in the direction of the fur, rather than just “coloring in.” Focus on the shape and suggesting the fur and save the facial features for later. Let this step dry before continuing.

4. SHADOWS. Refine the shadows with medium-sized square brushes. Don’t make the common mistake of being afraid to go really dark; darks add depth to the subject. I rarely use black for my shadows; instead, I use darker or complimentary colors. In this case, I use Dark Brown + Eggplant, mixed with a small amount of Autumn Brown and a tiny amount of Black only in the darkest darks. Again, make brushstrokes in the direction of the fur. Let dry.

5. HIGHLIGHTS. With medium-sized square brushes, add in the lighter tones using a combination of Autumn Brown + Ochre Yellow + a very small amount of White. Use White sparingly here, as it’s easy to go too “chalky.” During this step, you may have to use some of your midtones to blend out the edges of your highlights. In the thicker fur, use very definite strokes, with little blending.

EXPERT ADVICE

Tip 1: I like to mix my colors on a palette, in small amounts so my mural doesn’t have the exact same six or seven colors throughout. This looks more natural.

Tip 2: Instead of turning off the projector to see your drawing, unplug it. This will keep it from shifting and throwing your drawing off.

Tip 3: Use chalk that is close to the color of the image. The chalk will mix with the paint, and if you’re not careful, will still be visible in the end.

Tip 4: Forget what you’re painting. It’s not an “eye,” it’s a combination of shapes and shadows. Paint what you see and not what you know.

Tip 5: Opaque projectors require a dark room, but allow for more detail. Overhead projectors can work in light areas, but need a transparency, and small details are easy to lose.

Tip 6: Don’t be afraid to go dark. An all-midtone mural looks very flat.

6. FEATURES. Rough the features in using a smaller square or round brush, whichever you prefer to get better control of your brushstrokes. Do not simply “block in” color. Instead, show some indication of the shape, using darks and lights. Here, I use Black, White and Dark Brown for the eyes, nose and mouth, and French Red, White and Violet for the tongue. Let dry.

7. FEATURE DETAILS. With the same small brush and colors, build up the shadows and highlights of the nose, eyes and mouth. Try to forget that you’re painting a nose or mouth or eyes; instead concentrate on the shapes of the darks and lights. Let dry.

8. EDGES. At this point, the facial features may appear to “jump” off of the dog’s fur. Go back and soften any edges that may need it with the brush used to paint the features. Using the two adjoining colors (Black for the nose, Autumn Brown for the fur), slightly blend the harshest lines. Be selective of which edges to soften. At the same time, add in any extra shadows that may be around, or caused by, the nose, eyes and mouth. Once you’re more familiar with this step, you can eliminate it, instead doing it wet-into-wet while you’re painting in the features.

9. BRIGHTEST HIGHLIGHTS. Add in the brightest highlights with a combination of White + Ochre Yellow and a very small round brush. The “wet” areas of the dog (eyes, nose and tongue) will reflect light, and the brighter lights help to make these areas read as “wet” to the viewer, while breathing a little excitement and life into the subject.