The first painting of 2025!

Or at least a teaser, anyway. ;)

I had the need to paint something both beautiful and meaningful. I also had a canvas with a background wash already complete from a previous painting idea that I decided against. Let their forces combine!

If a picture isn't crooked, did I even take it?

The light gray sketching is difficult to see, so you'll have to trust me that a fox and three cardinals are outlined in addition to the shrubbery. Since the shrubbery and snow are in the background, they of course need to come first. Time to channel my inner Bob Ross!

In all seriousness, Bob Ross could paint snow like no one's business, and I learned from watching him. Once your base hue is down, you load your brush with white and your shadow colors--blue and purple, in this case--so that they blend while you pull them in the direction of your drifts. It's incredibly easy--and incredibly easy to overwork! I took a break and made tea, just to be on the safe side.

Hmmm... I feel like I need to darken some branches to create depth, but I'll wait until more of the is painting done to make that decision. The branches in question are closest to the viewer and won't be underneath anything until I get to the last cardinal, so I've time to consider my options.

Foxes take so many colors and layers! Much like octopodes, I often wonder just what I've done to myself/my hand at the start of one, but I how I love it when everything starts to coalesce.

I wanted to keep my fox's wings nice and soft--matching, but not exactly the same shades of red. I've painted them alike in previous pieces, and while I wouldn't redo anything for "Undisturbed," I do feel that this was the right choice for this particular fox.

"Undisturbed"

Phew, that was a lot of fur! Now for the cardinals. Tiny, tiny cardinals.

My detail brush put in a shift!!!

And that's as much as you get to see for now! The final few photos are so close to the finished piece that I don't want to spoil it, nor do I want to simply show you a photograph. Next Monday will be my first opportunity to scan the painting properly; at 12 x 9," it's too big for my home scanner. It's also $15 per scan, so I'd prefer that it wasn't scanned by itself! Hopefully, I'll have my addition to the ConStellation 14 t-shirt design done this weekend as planned; then I can have that to scan and share with all of you!

Happy new year, friends. HUGS