Here is an in-progress painting I'm working on for my Faire stock. I'm trying to develop scenes instead of just portraits--stories, instead of just pictures of people. It was strongly suggested that I do something Mary for the upcoming Calaveras Faire (and subsequently every Celtic/Scottish faire after), so this scene of Mary on horseback popped into my head. I haven't found very good reference for the drape of skirts from a sidesaddle, so I may give it up and drape the skirt the way it falls when a lady rides astride...you can't see the legs either way, and they both look pretty, so we'll see.These in-progress images show the initial sketch, and then the color lay-in. This painting is going to take me a LONG TIME, I think, to get right, since in terms of lighting, it's not a controlled environment. I need to pay particular attention to where the sun is, what shadows are cast, and how the mist effects everything. I have a pretty good image in my head, but I will need a lot more reference in order to get things right.
