Start to finish with Audrey Dixon, part one

The newest entry in the "Start to Finish" series comes from airbrush artist, Audrey Dixon of Wild Horse Studios. Thank you, Audrey!

Start to Finish

by Audrey Dixon

This year for NaMoPaiMo, I chose to paint my Sue Kern Miss Prince resin as a portrait of my heart horse, Izzadorable. 

Here's an old picture of Izzy and I competing in the cross country portion of  an event. She loved to run! And she loved how it was different every time!

On to painting!

I use Liquitex Soft Body acrylics, and then thin them out to work in my airbrush.

Here are the colors I used for this bay portrait model. They're not quite in order in the photo, but pretty close. This is the actual order.

• Unbleached Titanium (all over)
• Gold (just a light shimmer)
• Neutral Grey (Nose, eyes, groin)
• Raw Sienna
• Gold again (bringing out a touch more shimmer)
• Black (Just on the legs so I can visualize how dark the brown will be compared to the black points, because I know I tend to go too dark with the brown sometimes.)
• Raw Umber with a touch of Burnt Umber (brown shading, added slowly to make sure I didn't go too dark)
• Black again to go back over the legs, fill in large areas on the mane & tail, around the eyes, nose, ear tips, and groin. The edges of the mane will all get hand painted.

I typically use Rustoleum Painter's Touch Primer in white - not paint+primer - just primer! - and do several light layers.

First layer - Unbleached Titanium all over

Another picture of the first layer. I am sharing multiple photos of this same stage to illustrate the effects of lighting. The light in my booth is very bright, especially in the afternoons. When painting, it's helpful to also view the horse in less intense light, similar to what you would normally have in your house or at a show.

Next I added just a light layer of gold. I find it helps those brighter shades of bay to really pop. I also added the grey as well - around her eye, mouth/nostril area and between her hind legs. The area between her hind legs was always very light, so I didn't darken that area in the next steps.

Raw Sienna added - getting to that "cheeto" stage all the bay and chestnuts go through. This photo shows how I avoid the areas around the nose that I want to be light. It's easier to go around them and avoid painting them any further than it is to lighten anything back up. Going darker is easy, going lighter can be tough!

Full body photo of the raw sienna layer. I started getting some of the shading going in this layer. Its less noticeable on this side because of the pose, but you can see it in the area around the flank and behind the elbow, as well. I also gave it just a mist of the gold again to make sure I kept that slight shimmer I wanted.

This is Lilo - she is my Studio Supurrvisor. Just doing her duties and helping me. Just ya know... Supurrvising. She is reminding me that I forgot to grab a photo at this layer, but I added black to the legs. Especially when I'm working on a lighter bay, I do this so I can better visualize exactly how light or dark the model really is. Sometimes that black makes you realize it's not as dark as you thought! 

Next, I went in with the Raw Umber/Burnt Umber mix and finished up the shading throughout the body - again using my reference to see where the lighter & darker areas of her body are. After that, I finished the black areas - made sure the legs looked good, filled in the larger areas of the mane and tail, shaded around the eyes, muzzle, and between the hind legs.

The airbrushing is now finished! This is the same stage as the previous photo - again, just different light!

A quick check with the main color reference. References are your BEST FRIEND!!! Even though I know how to get a paint or chestnut, I use them every time I paint. This looks good, so she's now ready for the hand painting work - mane, tail, hooves, markings, eyes, chestnuts - all those little details!

To be continued...