AN OIL PAINTING FROM START TO FINISH

Horse, Horses, Carousel, Merry-go-round, Carousel Horse, Drawing, Horse Drawing, Conte, Imagination, Rick Paller, Artist Rick Paller, Fine Art, Painting, Oil Painting

This is my initial sketch for the painting CAROUSEL, a 40" x 32" oil painting on canvas.
At this point it's research.  I am just trying to get a feel for what makes a carousel horse; the expressions, the movement, the sculptural aspects, etc. I know they're not just horses. They're sculptures and they tell a story.
The drawing is in conte crayon on grey paper.

Horse, Horses, Carousel, Merry-go-round, Carousel Horse, Drawing, Horse Drawing, Conte, Imagination, Rick Paller, Artist Rick Paller, Fine Art, Painting, Oil Painting

Sometimes the horse is a story in itself, sometimes the whole carousel has a theme.
This is one I made up that represents the story East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon.  That is an old fairy tale love story.  The great illustrator Kay Neilsen's illustrations of this story, from about 1914, are some of my all time favorites.  It's a good story, too.
The drawing is also conte crayon on grey paper.
 
Horse, Horses, Carousel, Merry-go-round, Carousel Horse, Drawing, Horse Drawing, Conte, Imagination, Rick Paller, Artist Rick Paller, Fine Art, Pastel Painting, Painting, Oil Painting

 Carrying the concept into color, this is called the Fire Horse.
No fairy tale this time, just my visual interpretation of how a Fire Horse might look.
Pastel and charcoal on grey paper.

Horse, Horses, Carousel, Merry-go-round, Carousel Horse, Drawing, Horse Drawing, Conte, Imagination, Rick Paller, Artist Rick Paller, Fine Art, Painting, Oil Painting

 A position study in conte crayon on grey matboard at full size.
 
 "Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?" 
That's from the Book Of Job

 Horse, Horses, Carousel, Merry-go-round, Carousel Horse, Drawing, Horse Drawing, Conte, Imagination, Rick Paller, Artist Rick Paller, Fine Art, Painting, Oil Painting

  After more thought, I made a final "cartoon" study, in conte crayon on grey matboard.  Here I took the previous study further and developed the details that would be painted in the final version.  Actual size, 32" x 40", this drawing was traced on to transfer paper which was "pounced" with powdered charcoal on to the canvas.  If you watch the movie THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY,  Michelangelo used this same technique for his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.  Just sayin'....


Horse, Horses, Carousel, Oil painting, Merry-go-round, Carousel Horse, Drawing, Horse Drawing, Conte, Imagination, Rick Paller, Artist Rick Paller, Fine Art, Painting, Oil Painting
 CAROUSEL: War Horse, Flower Horse, Fire Horse

Here is the final painting on canvas, in the Oil Mosaic style that I used at the time.
Circa, roughly, 1990.  You can see that even with all that advance work I still do a lot of my thinking on the canvas.
Click on any of these images for a larger view.  :-)