12/20/2013

I am making good progress on my Maasai woman. I have finished the woman's face and am now about to start on the baby she is holding. Keep your eyes peeled, I will be finishing sometime in January :-)

Massai Woman

Here are the first couple of updates for my new painting! The painting will be of a mother and child, with vibrant oranges, reds and intricate and brightly coloured beaded jewelery!

The Elk is finished!

I have made such great time that I have managed to finish my elk painting before my trip to South Africa... with just 2 days to spare!! I hope you all enjoy it and especially the new owners; John & Theresa Barr!

I arrive back from South Africa on October 30th, so please check back in November!

Here is a quick snapshot of the final result ... the painting will be professionally photographed and once it has, I will try remember to post it (much more impressive) ...

9/8 update

The days are flying by as I prepare for my trip to South Africa and work on my painting. I am making excellent time, with very long hour days, but it's so motivating in this last stretch to complete the elk in time, that despite being tired, I am enjoying myself.

Today I will continue on the antlers, which are of course quite difficult, you could imagine them to be similar to some tree types where you have to capture the texture and 'grain'. Once these are finished I will power on through for the rest of the week while working on the foreground. The bulk of the elk's legs will be hidden behind tall grass which will also pull the painting together and build the perspective I want.

Here's an update from yesterday:

9/2 update

I am happy to say I have now begun the Elk himself, and will continue to paint him while the first layer of grass dries...  I still need to do the grass foreground of course which might be a little painstaking but very rewarding once completed  :-)

The background has been interesting to paint as I have combined a number of various photographs to create it. I went so far as to photograph a nearby meadow to help with the detail, so we'll see what the finished result will be in a couple of weeks.

15 September I am off to visit South Africa for 6 weeks, so I am doing my best to finish this painting in good time!

Here's the latest sneak-peak:

8/26/2013

Congratulations to the new owners of my current Elk painting; John and Theresa Barr! I'm thrilled this piece will be joining 'Salmon for Lunch' and 'Sojourner' in your home...

Here is the latest update, hopefully in a week or so I will be able to start on the Elk himself...

The Elk Painting

After some time of prep work for my new elk painting, I have finally begun to make some progress over the last week! Although I don't usually do the background first, this time I felt compelled to because of the magnificient antlers interrupting my sky space, which would have made the brushwork difficult in the reverse ;-) Thanks to my practise with clouds in 'Ingonyama' and mountains in 'Sierra Encounter' I have moved quite speedily so far...

Once the mountains are completed I will carry on working my way down the painting, covering hills with trees, closer trees and bushes and lastly the grass covered meadow. It seems to be a great build up towards the elk himself, which is making me quite excited to reach that point... of course the main subject is always my favourite - he will bring the painting to life!

While we wait for the climax, here are some background progress shots...

Cougar in the Snow

"Cougar in theSnow has finally been completed! I have enjoyed the enormous challange of the snow and feel like I have added another set of skills to my belt because of it... I no longer dread the 'how to' of painting snow, I have learnt the subtlety of hues involved, which consist mostly of the colors 'Pthalo Blue', 'Permanent Rose' and 'Ultramarine Blue' in this particular painting.

Next up I will be painting an Elk on a 24x24" canvas, drawing my inspiration from the photographs of Tom Blandford; nature and wildlife photographer.

7/23 update! Cougar completed ... now for the snow!

Cougar update 7/10

 

 

 

I have made much progress since the last shot... in the following week I will be working on the forelegs and you will finally be able to seeing the swift running position the cougar holds. The snow has been challenging on the coat, but I think it will be even more challanging in the background with bits of snow flyinf in all directions! Keep checking back for more updates!

The Cougar

Here are some of the first update for my current painting. You cannot see the whole picture right now, but the cougar is running towards the viewer in the snow, a great action shot!

 

 

Next Up...

Keep checking back for updates of the MOUNTAIN LION I will be working on next!

FINISHED!

"Ingonyama" is finally completed and I have to admitt, this is one of my favourite pieces. I thoroughly enjoyed the challange and hope you all like the end result!

For interest sake, the background is based on one of the many photographs I have take in Hluhluwe/ Unfolozi Game Reserve near where I grew up in South Africa.

Congratulations to the new owners! I hope they love this painting as much as I do :-)

 

Limited Edition Giclee Prints available! contact me at holly@hollykavonic.com or Pacific Crest Gallery at pacificcrestgallery@yahoo.com 

Almost completed.........

Here are the last two updates of "Ingonyama". I am loving painting this piece and have derived much joy from painting an animal I know so well. I should be able to complete this piece within the next week so keep looking for the final update :-)

 

 

INGONYAMA - He is a Lion! (zulu)

I have taken a break from the painting of the young woman a.k.a 'The Secret'.

Instead, I have been working on "Ingonyama" - He is a Lion! I am extemely motivated by this painting, not only because it is the first african wildlife I have painted, but also because it is a commission for a dear friend of mine. It feels like a fresh breath of air after a series of portraits, and I hope you all follow the progress over the next 6 - 8 weeks.

New Current Work

I recently began my new painting and hope to make good progess.... I love her expression and the interesting placement of of her hand.... this will be more of a lighthearted painting, capturing the quiet charm of this young woman.

The Waiting Room

It is finished!!

A few days away from the finish....

Tomorrow I will begin in the background. I'm planning on a very textured 'cement' type background that will look like a wall.... I'll be incorporating purple and grey hues in the shadows, and using something like a palette knife to smear on my 'cement', with much brushwork in the fine-tuning.

Once completed I'll be touching up little nuisances, and working more on the necklace.

This painting is for sale! Please email me at holly@hollykavonic.com if interested and I'll provide details and put you in touch with my gallery for further proceedings.

Not to far to go now....