I have studied oil painting for most of my life, far longer than I have been sculpting.  Painting can be a frustrating endeavor especially on 3 dimensional art, if you let it be.  I believe the quality of the finished painting, absolutey reflects the time an artist is willing to spend researching.  It shows his amount of interest in his work.  It is a painstaking task and requires extreme discipline.

That said, I must admit to stressing as much, maybe even more, over the painting process than I do over the actual sculpting.  The numerous hours I’ve spent sculpting can be destroyed by paint if not properly applied.  The sculpting process is accopmplished by both feel and sight.  Sight alone, however is the key to painting.

Prior to any paint being applied there are a couple of important steps that need to be taken.  First I spend a good amount of time observing.  This is especially important if I have an actual model I am working from.  I’ll look at the model saddle or leather study as if i’m seeing leather for the first time.  I force myself to be inquisitive.  What colors are in small sections of the leather.  What areas include bright & dominant colors, and where are soft colors, like the worn and dusty leather.  What area of the saddle is the leather shiny from wear, and what areas are dull?  This step is probably the most important one in the entire process.  Next, what direction do I want the light source to come from?  This is important as it will cast shadows.  Now it’s time to challenge myself to paint what I see.

I like to begin by using my air brush to spray a base coat on the sculpture.  This serves much the same as a primer, to help seal the wood.  It also is a much easier way to cover the entire sculpture (including crevices) which would be more difficult with a brush.

A good source of light is mandatory when I begin painting.  I prefer to paint with natural light.  Northern light is the best and I always prfer to paint during daytime hours.  If I do paint late inthe da, or at night, I use incandescent (not fluorescent) flood lights to illuminate my painting area.  I use glass to mix my paint on putting white paper under the glass so I can more accurately assess the intensity of color I am using.  As with any other project, good tools are a must.  I use good quality paints and brushes.  I like to use oil paint versus acrylics, oil seals the wood and I find it easier to blend colors and add washes.When there are bold, dominant colors, I may paint directly from the tube, but when I need to duplicte dust or worn areas, I will build the color up the several light washes.  Adding highlights and a slight gloss to key areas will also add authenticity and interest to the saddle.

I have discussed sculpting the base in an earlier blog.  But now, I will also add some color the the base.  I use care to make sure colors added to the base compliment the saddle sitting on it.

After the paint has completely dried, (usually several weeks), I like to add two or three very light washes of burnt umber over the entire sculpture.  This softens some colors, mutes others and brings all elements of the sculpture together.  We now have the finished sculpture.

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