Easter Aubrey - WIP

After Easter, I received a photo of Aubrey at an Easter Egg Hunt that just said "paint me, Grandma!" So, I decided to do just that. I am trying a different technique with this one. We saw a demo at a recent AAG meeting where the artist used clear Contact paper for masking larger areas. I painted the modeling shadows grisaille first, then the slightest tint to her hair and skin. When that was dry I placed the Contact paper over all of her figure and then used a sharp utility knife (yikes!) to cut around Aubrey's entire figure. When I lifted the excess paper off, I found that I had not cut any of the w/c paper...hooray! I used a brayer to burnish the edges of the paper to make sure nothing seeped underneath and then did my usual wet-in-wet foliage underpainting and just sloshed away, splattering Aubrey's little figure with green paint, praying the entire time that the Contact paper would hold. When I removed the Contact paper, I found that some of the green had seeped onto her left arm. So, I put a piece of Contact paper over that arm, cut out her arm shape, then used my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and scrubbed the offending paint off. It worked!

What do I think of this method of masking now? One disadvantage is you are still left with those pesky hard edges that will have to be softened in places, just like masking fluid. An advantage is you can splash freely without using a gallon of masking fluid beforehand. I will try this Contact paper technique more and see what I think.

I did use masking fluid in the greens to preserve the geranium shapes, which will be a bright pink/red color. Lots of negative painting later in that foliage, I dislike that part of the process, but will endure since I think this photo has such merit.

More to follow as I have time....