Making a Splash!

Here's the painting so far. It's almost complete but I need to put it aside for a week as the paint is slightly dry and getting tacky (not good to keep going at this point). I'll look at this under different lighting and think about what else needs to be done. Two areas that I'll be concentrating on are: Value corrections and details in focal areas.
A warning to myself: Don't overwork this! I want this bird to give the impression of taking flight, not feel tight. Another reason to set this aside for a few days.

A Work in Progress

I thought I'd share a work in progress. I enjoy sharing my process but this is not for the faint of heart as most of my paintings go through an adolescent phase from hell! :-0  With oils I enjoy starting loose, very loose with a watercolor underpainting(see above) as this first step helps me visualize my finished painting and I find it relaxing. It also helps me check my composition, drawing and value patterns. This step can also be done with oil and turpentine, but I used a light wash of watercolor here.
In the top photo you can see the original photograph from a generous photographer/friend of mine (thanks Don Anderson!), along with a small value sketch. If you look at the actual painting (top) you can see where I've drawn grid marks lightly on the canvas. This is how I check my drawing to make sure my proportions are correct. Not much worse than getting 3/4 of the way into a painting and then realizing your basic structure (or drawing) is flawed!
The background is not finished but this feels like a good start. I've loosely blocked in the swan- don't get scared! The marks I've made are mostly for landmark purposes and how I begin to map out darker values.
OK, after posting these scary photos I'd better finish this in a few days, huh?!? I'll post the next or finished photos as soon as they're completed. Thanks for viewing!