Demonstration

Demonstration–Painting the heads of two draft horses Ben and Gus on a 20×20 linen canvas. I usually use photos (ALWAYS my own) for information.This one isn’t very clear, but I can see the bridle and other tack.
	I begin by painting the initial image directly on canvas grounded with an orange acrylic paint. I haven’t done a preliminary drawing. To begin I use thin washes of Transparent oxide red, ultramarine blue and white. At this stage I’m concentrating on composition and values. I never use a projector because through free-hand drawing (or painting) I learn the subject well enough to paint it decisively.
Here I add more colors and work on modeling as well as on light and shadow.
	I work more on modeling, add more color and more detail to the tack. I don’t want too much detail because I like the strength of the initial drawing.
I finish by painting the background and the sides of the museum wrap canvas. If I were to do a more elaborate background, I would work in and out on the background as I did the rest of the painting, but I thought a simple background would better emphasize the shapes of the horses’ heads.