Start to finish with Lesli Kathman, part two

Here's part two of Lesli Kathman's tobiano painting journey. Thank you again, Lesli!

Start to Finish

by Lesli Kathman

Days 4-6 - Masking Cleanup

This is the downside of using masking fluid. It's the trade-off for the time saved later when I won't have to add layers and layers of white. (It took three days because I had limited time I could devote to the task, not because it was that time-consuming!)

1 - This is what he looked like after the mask was removed. Notice the flakes of paint hanging from the edges of the pattern. Once they are fully dry, they come right off with a soft brush. 

2 - There are bits of paint along the edges that look like they are attached, but are just laying flat. I press a small piece of kneaded eraser against the edges to pick these pieces up. 

3 - This is the ugly part. This is where I clean up the areas that I missed when painting on the masking. I also clean up the edges, like the white area of the mane that drapes across the spot behind the shoulder. This is also where I begin to discover that the sealing job that looked so effective at first, is more uneven than I would like. I can etch the paint off, but it's more of a pain than I hoped. 

4 - Once I have the masked areas cleaned up, I am ready to reassess my pattern design. I am a big believer in using the placement of the pattern to highlight the best aspects of a sculpture - and minimize problems, if they are there. I have a sense of this as I pick patterns and draw them on the horse, but some things only jump out at you once the color is on the horse. Here I have identified two things that I want to change. 

a) This white patch inside the left hindquarter was added for visual interest. However, viewed as a whole, I didn't like how it changed the visual "weight" of the hindquarter. That part of the sculpture really reads typey for the breed, and I felt I broke up the area in a way that undermined that. So it will be painted over. 

b) I have an area around the middle of the mane where a lot of colored sections come together. This created a mass that interrupted the visual flow of the mane, which I wanted to echo the motion of the tail. I'll etch off some of the color there. 

5 - Here is my final basecoated design, left and right. I'm happy with the design, but I am going to have to move to Plan C. My intention was to detail out the edges (more on that in picture 6). The idea was that once the pattern was set, I would just clean up the edge again with each subsequent layer. I'd already moved to Plan B when I took Heather's first class, because the oils were too opaque. I wouldn't be able to see the previous edge. The plan then was to detail the edges after the oil was applied. However, with my sealant being uneven in spots, I'll be doing the edging closer to the end. 

6 - This is what I mean by detailing the edges. This pattern has an intricate edge (and mapping, but I mean the outline). The red line represents (more or less) the pattern *as I masked it*. Eventually, the paint along that edge will be removed (or covered in white) to create the edge of the actual pattern. Part of the reason for masking further out (to the red) is that if I do get the edge that sometimes happens with a mask, I have the opportunity to etch or sand it away. 

The next step is doing the oils thing! The black oil paint will go over the dark brown areas. I'm super late for our next class, but I am hoping that I can make up the difference later when I am not adding so much white.

To be continued...