"Star Billing," A Work in Progress

In my last blog I showed you a preliminary sketch for my upcoming
rooster painting. Here's a small refresher.

I had visions of bright lime green and turquoise to set off the bright red comb and the orange-red feathers. I wanted a theme, so I perched my rooster on a bale of hay and let him strut his stuff. The title "star billing" popped into my head and stuck. The only problem? In the process of making that vision a reality on canvas, I got "star struck."

I bought a stamp and proceeded to lay acrylic stars over the background. I'd never done this with acrylic, and some of it globbed rather than stamped. At this point in time, I'm not sure if I'll stick with 100% acrylic paint, or move onto a layering of oils, at least on the rooster and bale of hay. This will give the painting an added dimension and make the rooster more three-dimentional. I may change my mind.

As you've seen in my past "works in progress," the painting does not have the depth nor the detail. The last few coats of paint matter! The "devil is in the details," and this is what separates an artist from a dabbler, so to speak. It is amazing what depth is added and life when the final small details are finished. A highlight here, a highlight there makes all the difference. My gut tells me when a work of art is complete.

I hope my stars don't make you dizzy! I was looking for something unique and different to set my rooster apart from the millions of other fowl paintings (forgive the pun). Enjoy, and please leave a comment and vote either for or against the stars. Shall I lose them? Keep them?