My Art in the Making Lockheed Electra

STAGE 1 THE SKETCH

For this painting I prepared a 40-by-60-inch canvas with a thin wash background of cadmium yellow, cobalt violet and odorless thinner. I scaled the image up onto the canvas with white chalk pencil. I then used the same wash, only a little darker, to sketch the composition.

STAGE 2 THE FIRST DAY OF PAINTING

I go straight to the focal point of interest to start. Place highlights and work around the lightest spot.

STAGE 3 CONTINUING ON

I often continue to the next step by the degree of difficulty…the hard part. The engine has particular elements that require attention. I make the most with the least brushstrokes. Apply the darkest paint areas first, working back into the wet paint for middle shades. Then to the lightest points.

STAGE 4 MAKING CREATIVE CHOICES

I decided to put the plane on sand and make the reflection on the plane a beach surf. I wanted all of that for better color and it actually suits the reference to Amelia Earhart. Clean your brushes well before starting another basic color area.

STAGE 5 DEFINING THE OUTLINE OF THE PLANE

Again, as I start a new section, I sketch in the very darkest shadows and work back into light.

STAGE 6 PAINTING THE BEACH

I paint in the sandy beach that helps define the shape of the plane and the shadows. It also illuminates the reflection that lights the underbody of the plane. A simple combination of titanium white, cadmium yellow and very small additions of cobalt or Theo violet as it graduates to a slightly darker shade.

STAGE 7 DARKER COLORS

I use a mixture of ultramarine blue, Theo violet and cadmium yellow to paint the black tires. I like the versatility of adjusting the tone of black instead of straight out of a black tube. The shadow is painted in with a lighter version of this mix by adding a small amount of white and yellow.

STAGE 8 A CLEAR DAY

I’ve given the sky less clouds and bounced the color back off the plane.

STAGE 9 FINISHING TOUCHES

Lockheed Electra, oil on canvas, 40 x 60" (102 x 152 cm) I eliminated the authentic red wing simply because I didn’t want the red. Signed and finished.