Chronology of The Might of the Innocent

I usually receive quite a few requests from art students and art lovers around the world-for a write up on “step by step” for my paintings.

So ,now as a rule, I make it a point to take photo shots at various steps of my ongoing artwork.

For this one, I was very keen myself to prepare a chronology statement-not just for friends, more so for myself..

Technically, an elephant is the most difficult animal to paint in a realistic style. – and that too, on a big canvas !

Well , small canvases are a blast to paint on, no doubt ..but large canvas is always very majestic and easily screams out the story!

The story of the distraught elephant invaded my thoughts and dreams-I decided to put it up on canvas.

It took me quite a bit of time to search for suitable reference pictures I needed to study the fine details of the elephants.! I think , I have just learnt 10% about the mighty jumbo yet!

Anyway, I settled on one elephant from an action packed group picture!

Well, I do think that if we ,as artists ,open our eyes to magazines and publications-even cartoons,we can snatch many inspiring ideas actually!

THE PAINTING PROCESS NOW…

The first step is always the ”Prematura”- the first coating or the first wash to cover up the canvas.

Since I had a daytime painting in mind, so the first wash was with a mix of Ultramarine Blue + Chrome Green + Titanium White. Since this is a base coat- I diluted the colours with turpentine oil, quite a bit.

By the way , the entire process of making this artwork that I am gonna explain here, stretches over a period of 3 weeks- approximately 130 hours!

Next day,I work on the sketch of the main hero-the elephant!

There are several ways to sketch or draft the subject. If one is confident with sketching a proportional figure freehandedly-it is great!.

But I am not yet too comfortable with this –so I still depend upon the graph or the grid method – to get a fairly detailed drawing.

The sketch done,I am now ready to paint my main subject.

As you can see in the picture,I start by giving the elephant a bath in lightgrayish bluish shade-the base coat –again fairly thin!

I mainly work on the basic contrasts-the dark and the light values first.

This is essential to get the contrasts right at the appropriate places.-otherwise later I might have to do a lot repainting

At every step, need to do a lot of squinting –to compare the values.

I start with the trunk of the elephant. I simply make rounded lines with a thin brush no. 0 – in the direction of the trunk movement .I need to do this very carefully . The shading of light and dark for wrinkle formation on the hide ,wud be following these VERY lines.!

Here I apply the wet on wet technique.

I pay extra attention to the edges-putting light grey, blue and white on the wrinkles. The farther along I get –more comparisons are taking place in the values.

I carry on by giving texture and colour to the eyes and the ear and the mouth sections…!

Next agenda is the heavy duty leg of the animal.-again a challenging feat- really need to get the wrinkles right.

The leg area in the reference photo was very blurred to start with !

So I had to really search for more elephant pics where the legs were in 3d J

So that I cud study the hide on the leg properly..

Then I got down to it… and I felt the work on the leg is neverending.-the wrinkles positioning was much more challenging here.

Over a few days, I worked and refined the shapes and smaller details on the the entire hide –working with SAME shades and techniques and brushes-to maintain a unity in the painting.

I like to work in sections –when such a big canvas is being used-and when the detailwork is of utmost importance

.I enjoyed painting this so much-esp. once the effects were showing—I cudnt wait to get up in the morning and run to my studioJ

I worked on tusk,giving it a rounded feel with the shading.and keeping it simple.

All this while , I keep on reworking , simultaneously , on any parts which are distracting .

Once the thick paint on the elephant was relatively dry,I did some green glazing on it.

An oil painting,actually , dries over a period of 1 year! And it stays with you for more than 100 years …generations to generations..!

The protagonist of my painting looks done up now.in fact much more brighter than the reference picture.

I feel, a well rendered painting can actually look much more alluring and alive then a mere photo.

It might be due to the luminous oil paints and also the imperfections of the handJ

Next I make the bricks directly and give a raw sienna colour coat on it.that is justa base coat again.

Then I work on the clouds, which is also a fun part…as I dip my hands and go crazy with circular motions on the canvasJ

Then i punch up the details on the bricks.

I make it a point to step till the far end of my studio for a ‘totality’ view-which is essential in an oil painting.

And finally , I decide to stop-which is  very difficult for me always.!

As my friend John David Smith says”Knowing when to stop is an art in itself.”

I think I SERIOUSLY  need classes for this .!

THE MIGHT OF THE INNOCENT